The 1981 Minnesota Twins season was the 21st season for the Minnesota Twins franchise in the Twin Cities of Minnesota, the 81st overall in the American League and the 21st and final season at Metropolitan Stadium, as the team moved to the Metrodome the next season.
The Twins finished with a 41–68 record, seventh in the American League West. In the strike split season, the Twins were 17–39, seventh place in the first half and 24–29, fourth place in the second half. 469,090 fans attended Twins games, the lowest total in the American League. The franchise would not play another outdoor home game until 2010, when Target Field opened.
Offseason December 8, 1980: Dave Edwards was traded by the Twins to the San Diego Padres for Chuck Baker.Dave Edwards page at Baseball Reference December 8, 1980: Jack O'Connor was drafted by the Twins from the Montreal Expos in the rule 5 draft.Jack O'Connor page at Baseball Reference December 12, 1980: Willie Norwood was traded by the Twins to the Seattle Mariners for Byron McLaughlin.Willie Norwood page at Baseball Reference March 27, 1981: Bombo Rivera was released by the Twins.Bombo Rivera page at Baseball Reference March 30, 1981: Ken Landreaux was traded by the Twins to the Los Angeles Dodgers for Mickey Hatcher, Kelly Snider (minors), and Matt Reeves (minors).Ken Landreaux page at Baseball Reference
Regular season
Only one Twins player made the All-Star Game: relief pitcher Doug Corbett.
On August 24, first baseman Kent Hrbek made his major league debut, in a Yankee Stadium game. His twelfth-inning home run beat the Yankees 3–2. Later that week, Hrbek was topped by catcher Tim Laudner, who debuted on August 28 and hit home runs in his first two games.
On September 20, Gary Gaetti made his major league debut and started at third base for the Twins. In his first at bat in the second inning, he homered off Texas Rangers pitcher Charlie Hough to become the third Twin to homer in his first-ever at bat. Gaetti joined Rick Renick (1968) and Dave McKay (1975). Later, Andre David (1984) and Eddie Rosario (2015) will join the trio in Twins history.
The Twins played their final game at Metropolitan Stadium on September 30, losing 5–2 to the Kansas City Royals. The club played their last outdoor home game for the next twenty-eight seasons in 56-degree temperature in front of 15,900 fans. "The Met" had been the Twins' home since their Minnesota opener on April 21, 1961 (also a loss). Gary Ward had the final Twins hit in the Met, a single in the ninth inning. Pete Mackanin homered in the second for the final Twins Met Stadium home run.
Offense
John Castino batted .268 with 6 HR and 36 RBI. Shortstop Roy Smalley had 7 HR and collected 22 RBI.
+ Team Leaders Statistic Player QuantityHR Roy Smalley 7RBI Mickey Hatcher 37BA John Castino .268Runs Gary Ward 42
Pitching
Reliever Doug Corbett was the Twins' only bright spot on the mound, racking up 17 saves.
+ Team Leaders Statistic Player QuantityERA Fernando Arroyo 3.93Wins Pete Redfern 9Saves Doug Corbett 17Strikeouts Pete Redfern 77
Season standings
Record vs. opponents
Notable transactions June 8, 1981: Frank Viola was drafted by the Twins in the 2nd round of the 1981 Major League Baseball draft.Frank Viola page at Baseball Reference August 23, 1981: Ron Jackson was traded by the Twins to the Detroit Tigers for a player to be named later. The Tigers completed the deal by sending Tim Corcoran to the Twins on September 4.Ron Jackson page at Baseball Reference August 30, 1981: Jerry Koosman was traded by the Twins to the Chicago White Sox for Ivan Mesa (minors), Ronnie Perry (minors), a player to be named later, and cash. The White Sox completed the trade by sending Randy Johnson to the Twins on September 2.Jerry Koosman page at Baseball Reference
Roster 1981 Minnesota Twins Roster Pitchers Catchers
Infielders Outfielders
Other batters Manager
Coaches (First Base) (Third Base) (Bullpen Catcher) (Pitching) (Bullpen)
Player stats
= Indicates team 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 Sal Butera 62 167 40 .240 0 18 1B Danny Goodwin 59 151 34 .225 2 17 2B Rob Wilfong 93 305 75 .246 3 19 3B 101 381 102 .268 6 36 SS 56 167 44 .263 7 22 LF 85 295 78 .264 3 29 CF 99 377 96 .255 3 37 RF Dave Engle 82 248 64 .258 5 32 DH Glenn Adams 72 220 46 .209 2 24
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 Hosken Powell 80 264 63 .239 2 25 Pete Mackanin 77 225 52 .231 4 18 54 175 46 .263 4 28 Butch Wynegar 47 150 37 .247 0 10 Rick Sofield 41 102 18 .176 0 5 Ron Washington 28 84 19 .226 0 5 Kent Hrbek 24 67 16 .239 1 7 40 66 12 .182 0 6 22 51 9 .176 0 4 Tim Laudner 14 43 7 .163 2 5 12 41 8 .195 0 6 Ray Smith 15 40 8 .200 1 1 Gary Gaetti 9 26 5 .192 2 3 Greg Johnston 7 16 2 .125 0 0 Mark Funderburk 8 15 3 .200 0 2
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 23 150.0 6 10 4.08 76 24 141.2 9 8 4.07 77 23 128.1 7 10 3.93 39 19 94.1 3 9 4.20 55 14 91.1 3 8 3.84 44 Brad Havens 14 78.0 3 6 3.58 43
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 14 32.2 3 3 4.41 26
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 54 2 6 17 2.57 60 28 3 2 0 5.86 16 27 1 5 0 4.30 33 John Verhoeven 25 0 0 0 3.98 16 Bob Veselic 5 1 1 0 3.18 13 John Hobbs 4 0 0 0 3.18 1 Terry Felton 1 0 0 0 40.50 1
Farm system
LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Orlando
Notes
References
Player stats from www.baseball-reference.com Team info from www.baseball-almanac.com