TOM KELLY
Game 342 | January 14, 1987 | Tom Kelly
Succeeding Ray Miller, Kelly became the 11th manager in Minnesota Twins history, and his 15-year tenure was the longest in the team's history. With a team built of players he had developed in the minor leagues, Kelly led the 1987 Twins to their first World Series title with a seven-game win over St. Louis.
Game 357 | April 28, 1988 | Tom Kelly
The Twins traded popular Tom Brunansky to St. Louis for second baseman Tom Herr a week before Kelly appeared at Dunkers. The team won six more games than the 1987 World Championship team, but finished in second, 13 games behind first-place Oakland, which lost to Los Angeles in the World Series. Kirby Puckett finished second to Wade Boggs in the batting race with a .356 average. Frank Viola led the league with 24 victories. Herr hit .263 with one home run and 21 RBIs and was traded for Shane Rawley at the end of the season.
Game 403 | May 14, 1991 | Tom Kelly, Jack Morris, Chuck Knoblauch
When the Twins manager and two players appeared before Dunkers in May, it was hard to imagine that all three would play key roles in the Twins' improbable World Series win that fall. Kelly, in only his sixth year as manager, would lead the Twins to their second championship. Knoblauch, who hit .281 and stole 25 bases as the team's second baseman, was named American League Rookie of the Year. Morris finished 18-12 and pitched the Twins to victory over Atlanta in the seventh game of the World Series in what many rank as one of the greatest World Series pitching performances in history.
Game 417 | January 15, 1992 | Tom Kelly, Andy MacPhail, Carl Pohlad, Jerry Bell
The Twins were coming off their second World Series victory in four years. Kelly was the league's Manager of the Year, and MacPhail was the league's Executive of the Year. Team President Jerry Bell and owner Carl Pohlad shared their feelings with the Dunkers.
Game 444 | June 29, 1993 | Tom Kelly, Jerry Bell, Andy MacPhail, Dave Winfield
One of the great athletes in the history of the University of Minnesota, St. Paul-native Winfield came home to play for the Twins in 1993-'94. On Sept. 16, 1993, at age 41, he collected his 3,000th major league hit off Oakland reliever Dennis Eckersley. Winfield starred in both baseball and basketball for the Gophers and was drafted by Major League Baseball, the National Basketball Association, the American Basketball Association and the National Football League (Vikings), despite the fact he had never played organized football.
Game 459 | May 18, 1994 | Tom Kelly, Matt Walbeck
With Brian Harper gone, the Twins traded Willie Banks to the Cubs in an off-season deal for Walbeck and pitcher Dave Stevens. Walbeck became the starting catcher that year, but hit only .204 with five home runs and 35 RBIs. In a strike-shortened season, Kelly's Twins finished in fourth place, 14 games out of first.
Game 477 | May 18, 1995 | Tom Kelly, Jerald Clark, Pat Meares
The Twins made a mid-season appearance featuring two of their newer players. Shortstop Meares joined the team in 1993 and played until 1998. Clark, a veteran outfielder/designated hitter, signed as a free agent in 1995, played only one year and hit .339 with 3 home runs and 15 RBIs.
Game 494 | April 3, 1996 | Carl Pohlad, Tom Kelly
With the real prospect of losing the Twins via sale to an out-of-town owner, Pohlad stepped up to purchase the team from Calvin Griffith in 1984. A well-known banker and business owner, Pohlad had been a member of Dunkers since 1989. He talked about the decision to promote from within by naming Kelly to succeed Ray Miller as manager, 10 years and two World Series ago. The 1995 Twins had one of the worst seasons in team history, finishing 56-88, a full 44 games out of first place. The 1996 team improved to 78-84.
Game 546 | April 28, 1999 | Doug Mientkiewicz, Torii Hunter, Tom Kelly
The Twins, in Kelly's 13th year as manager, went with yet another youth movement and took a step back in 1999, finishing 63-97, 33 games out of first place. Mientkiewicz took over first base, hitting .229 with two home runs and 32 RBIs. Hunter established himself as the regular center fielder and hit .255 with nine home runs and 35 RBIs.
Game 563 | April 6, 2000 | Tom Kelly, Corey Koskie, Eric Milton
The Twins' fortunes improved modestly in 2000, with the team winning six more games than the year before. Milton, who came to the Twins in a trade that sent Chuck Knoblauch to the Yankees, led the pitching staff with a 13-10 record while Koskie played solidly at third base, hitting .300 with nine home runs and 65 RBIs.
Game 583 | May 23, 2001 | Tom Kelly, Joe Mays
Acquired in a trade with Seattle for outfielder Roberto Kelly, Joe Mays led all Twins pitchers in 2001 with a 17-13 record and 3.16 earned run average. He missed all of the 2004 season with Tommy John surgery and was released after the 2005 season. The 2001 Twins, in Kelly's last season as manager; finished 85-77, six games out of first.
Game 778 | August 5, 2011 | Tom Kelly, Rick Aguilera, Al Newman, Mike Pagliarulo, John Gordon
The Twins dedicated an entire weekend to the 20th anniversary of their World Series victory over the Atlanta Braves. John Cordon, in his final year as "Voice of the Twins," interviewed manager Tom Kelly, pitcher Rick Aguilera, infielder Al Newman and third-baseman Mike Pagliarulo. All four discussed what made the season memorable and the World Series, considered by many to be among the most memorable in baseball history with the heroics of Kirby Puckett and the seventh-game pitching effort by Jack Morris.
