The 1988 Minnesota Twins season was the 28th season for the Minnesota Twins franchise in the Twin Cities of Minnesota, their 7th season at Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome and the 88th overall in the American League.

The Twins finished at 91–71, second in the American League West. 3,030,672 fans attended Twins games, at the time, establishing a new major league record. Pitcher Allan Anderson had his most successful season in 1988, winning the American League ERA title at 2.45 and compiling a record of 16–9 in 30 starts.

Offseason November 7, 1987: Eric Bullock was signed as a free agent by the Twins.Eric Bullock at Baseball Reference December 21, 1987: Don Baylor was released by the Twins.Don Baylor at Baseball Reference December 21, 1987: Dan Schatzeder was released by the Twins.Dan Schatzeder at Baseball Reference December 21, 1987: Mike Smithson was released by the Twins.Mike Smithson at Baseball Reference January 1988: Vic Rodriguez was signed as a free agent by the Twins.Vic Rodriguez at Baseball Reference January 4, 1988: Brian Harper was signed as a free agent by the Twins.Brian Harper at Baseball Reference March 18, 1988: Sal Butera was released by the Twins.Sal Butera at Baseball Reference March 24, 1988: Billy Beane was traded by the Twins to the Detroit Tigers for Balvino Gálvez.Billy Beane at Baseball Reference

Regular season

Five Twins made the All-Star Game, third baseman Gary Gaetti, outfielder Kirby Puckett, catcher Tim Laudner, starting pitcher Frank Viola, and relief pitcher Jeff Reardon.

On September 16, Puckett got his 1000th hit, becoming just the fifth major leaguer to achieve that total before completing his fifth year.

On September 17, reliever Reardon collected his 40th save of the season. With 41 saves as a 1985 Montreal Expo, he became the only major league player to reach 40 saves in each league.

Frank Viola became the first Twins player since Jim Perry in 1970 to win the AL Cy Young Award.

Offense

Kirby Puckett hit .356 with 24 HR, drove in 121 runs and scored 109. Puckett led the AL with 234 hits, 163 singles, and 358 total bases. Puckett's 234 hits were the most by a right-handed batter since Joe Medwick had 237 hits in 1937.

Kent Hrbek hit .312 with 25 HR and 76 RBI. Gary Gaetti hit .301 with 28 HR and 88 RBI.

+ Team Leaders Statistic Player QuantityHR Gary Gaetti 28RBI Kirby Puckett 121BA Kirby Puckett .356Runs Kirby Puckett 109

Pitching

The Twins had two solid starting pitchers: Frank Viola (24–7), and Allan Anderson (16–9). Viola led the AL with 24 wins. Anderson led the AL with a 2.45 ERA. Reliever Jeff Reardon had 42 saves. Bert Blyleven (10–17, 5.43 ERA) led the AL with 17 losses, 125 earned runs allowed, and 16 hit batsmen.

+ Team Leaders Statistic Player QuantityERA Allan Anderson 2.45*Wins Frank Viola 24*Saves Jeff Reardon 42Strikeouts Frank Viola 193

*League leader

Defense

Third baseman Gary Gaetti and center fielder Kirby Puckett each won their third Gold Glove Award.

Season standings

Record vs. opponents

Roster 1988 Minnesota Twins Roster Pitchers Catchers

Infielders Outfielders Manager

Coaches

Notable transactions April 5, 1988: John Moses was signed as a free agent by the Twins.John Moses at Baseball Reference April 22, 1988: Tom Brunansky was traded by the Twins to the St. Louis Cardinals for Tom Herr. May 28, 1988: John Christensen was signed as a free agent by the Twins.John Christensen at Baseball Reference June 27, 1988: Dan Schatzeder was signed as a free agent by the Twins.

Notable games September 17: Jeff Reardon becomes the first pitcher in baseball history to record 40 saves in both leagues in a 3–1 win versus the White Sox.

Player stats

= Indicates team leader

= Indicates league leader

Batting

Starters by position Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in Pos Player G AB H Avg. HR RBI C 117 375 94 .251 13 54 1B 143 510 159 .312 25 76 2B 103 287 60 .209 3 27 SS 149 461 109 .236 14 48 3B 133 468 141 .301 28 88 LF 141 576 155 .269 11 62 CF 158 657 234 .356 24 121 RF 136 394 103 .261 14 51 DH 149 505 135 .267 8 70

Other batters Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in Player G AB H Avg. HR RBI 86 304 80 .263 1 21 105 260 58 .223 0 19 105 206 65 .316 2 12 60 166 49 .295 3 20 100 106 23 .217 1 10 24 60 4 .067 0 0 20 41 12 .293 2 15 23 38 10 .263 0 5 16 17 5 .294 0 3 12 16 3 .188 1 2 11 7 0 .000 0 0 7 7 0 .000 0 0

Pitching

= Indicates league leader

Starting pitchers Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts Player G IP W L ERA SO 35 255.1 24 7 2.64 193 33 207.1 10 17 5.43 145 30 202.1 16 9 2.45 83 24 130.0 7 7 4.85 72 21 114.2 7 6 4.24 69 16 82.2 2 5 3.92 23

Other pitchers Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts Player G IP W L ERA SO 9 37.0 3 0 2.68 17 5 11.2 1 1 10.03 7 4 9.2 0 1 16.76 5

Relief pitchers Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts Player G W L SV ERA SO 63 2 4 42 2.47 56 57 8 4 2 3.96 99 49 7 5 3 3.41 43 26 3 3 3 4.53 31 16 0 0 1 3.38 19 11 0 0 0 6.00 9 10 0 1 0 1.74 7 9 1 0 0 6.00 9 5 0 1 0 10.80 7 3 0 0 0 18.00 3 1 0 0 0 0.00 0

Awards and honors Frank Viola, Pitcher, Cy Young Award Gary Gaetti, Third Baseman, Gold Glove Award Kirby Puckett, Centerfield, Gold Glove Award Kirby Puckett – American League Leader At-Bats (657) Kirby Puckett – American League Leader Hits (234) Kirby Puckett – American League Leader Singles (163) Kirby Puckett – Major League Baseball Leader Total Bases (358) Frank Viola – Major League Baseball Leader Total Wins (24)

All-Star Game Gary Gaetti, third base, reserve Tim Laudner, catcher, reserve Kirby Puckett, outfield, reserve Jeff Reardon, relief pitcher, reserve Frank Viola, pitcher, starter

Farm system

Johnson, Lloyd, and Wolff, Miles, ed., The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball, 2nd and 3rd editions. Durham, North Carolina: Baseball America, 1997 and 2007

References

External links Player stats from www.baseball-reference.com Team info from www.baseball-almanac.com