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1995 Minnesota Twins season

The 1995 Minnesota Twins season was the 35th season for the Minnesota Twins franchise in the Twin Cities of Minnesota, their 14th season at Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome and the 95th overall in the American League.

Due to the 1994–95 Major League Baseball strike, the season got off to a late start. However, it did not end soon enough, as the team finished with a 56–88 record and in last place in its division. The team found it impossible to compete against the runaway Cleveland Indians who won 100 games despite the shortened season and finished 44 games ahead of the Twins. By July, the team was trading away its veterans in a fire sale. Manager Tom Kelly might have preferred that the strike had continued.

Offseason

Regular season

  • On May 7, the Twins played their longest game ever—in terms of time—losing in 17 innings to Cleveland after 6 hours and 36 minutes.
  • May 17 – Kirby Puckett scores his 1000th run, at the Metrodome.
  • May 26 – Kirby Puckett gets his 1000th RBI, at the Metrodome.
  • The lone representative of the Twins in the All-Star Game was outfielder Kirby Puckett.
  • On September 13, three Seattle pitchers struck out eighteen Twins, which set a team record for batting futility.
  • The highest paid Twin in 1995 was Kirby Puckett at $6,300,000, followed by Rick Aguilera at $4,3500,000.

Offense

The performance of three players were praised: second baseman Chuck Knoblauch, and outfielders Kirby Puckett and Marty Cordova. In the last year of his career, Puckett would be the team's lone all-star representative. Knoblauch won his first Silver Slugger Award, while Cordova won the Rookie of the Year award.

Pitching

The starting rotation was uncertain. Surprisingly, the only certainty was that rookie Brad Radke would get the ball every fifth game. He made 28 starts, but the other pitchers were either injury-prone, inconsistent, or traded by the end of the year, with Kevin Tapani making 20 starts, Mike Trombley 18, Frank Rodriguez 16, Scott Erickson 15, and Jose Parra 12. Closer Rick Aguilera would also be traded midway through the season. He earned 12 saves while Dave Stevens earned 10. Aguilera, Rich Robertson, and Mark Guthrie were the only regular pitchers with ERAs under 5.

Defense

Like most of Tom Kelly's teams, the defense was capable. Matt Walbeck was the starting catcher, backed up by Matt Merullo. Scott Stahoviak played in 69 games at first base. Although he was not a good hitter, he had a .998 fielding percentage that year. Knoblauch capably manned second base. Scott Leius played reasonably well at third in his last year with the Twins. Pat Meares continued his decent play at shortstop in his third year with the Twins. The regular outfielders were Puckett, Cordova, and Rich Becker.

Notable Transactions

Season standings

Record vs. opponents

Roster

Player stats

Batting

Starters by position

Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in

Other batters

Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in

Pitching

Starting pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Other pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Relief pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Other post-season awards

Farm system

References

External links