1983 Minnesota Twins season

The 1983 Minnesota Twins finished 70–92, tied for fifth in the AL West, and improved upon their dismal 60-102 record from 1982 by ten games. 858,939 fans attended Twins games, the third-lowest total in the American League.

1983 Minnesota Twins
League	American League
Division	West
Ballpark	Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome
City	Minneapolis, Minnesota
Owners	Calvin Griffith (majority owner, with Thelma Griffith Haynes)
General managers	Calvin Griffith
Managers	Billy Gardner
Television	KMSP-TV (Bob Kurtz, Larry Osterman) Spectrum (Pat Hughes, Dick Bremer)
Radio	830 WCCO AM (Herb Carneal, Ron Weber, Tim Moreland)
← 1982 Seasons 1984 →

Offseason

• January 12, 1983: Bob Veselic was traded by the Twins to the Houston Astros for Rick Lysander.^[1]
• January 31, 1983: Mike Hart was signed as a free agent by the Twins.^[2]
• March 25, 1983: Sal Butera was traded by the Twins to the Detroit Tigers for Stine Poole (minors) and cash.^[3]
• March 25, 1983: Pete Redfern was released by the Twins.^[4]

Regular season

Only one Twins player made the All-Star Game, outfielder Gary Ward.

Offense

• Kent Hrbek hit .297 with 16 HR and 84 RBI.
• Gary Ward hit .278 with 19 HR and 88 RBI.
• Gary Gaetti hit 21 HR and 78 RBI.
• Tom Brunansky hit 28 HR and 82 RBI.

Team Leaders

Statistic	Player	Quantity
HR	Tom Brunansky	28
RBI	Gary Ward	92
BA	Kent Hrbek	.297
Runs	John Castino	83

Pitching

Starter Ken Schrom was 15-8. Reliever Ron Davis had 30 saves.

Team Leaders

Statistic	Player	Quantity
ERA	Ken Schrom	3.71
Wins	Ken Schrom	15
Saves	Ron Davis	30
Strikeouts	Frank Viola	127

Season standings

v t e AL West	W	L	Pct.	GB	Home	Road
Chicago White Sox	99	63	0.611	—	55–26	44–37
Kansas City Royals	79	83	0.488	20	45–36	34–47
Texas Rangers	77	85	0.475	22	44–37	33–48
Oakland Athletics	74	88	0.457	25	42–39	32–49
California Angels	70	92	0.432	29	35–46	35–46
Minnesota Twins	70	92	0.432	29	37–44	33–48
Seattle Mariners	60	102	0.370	39	30–51	30–51

Record vs. opponents

1983 American League record v t e Sources: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] [14]
Team	BAL	BOS	CAL	CWS	CLE	DET	KC	MIL	MIN	NYY	OAK	SEA	TEX	TOR
Baltimore	—	8–5	7–5	7–5	6–7	5–8	8–4	11–2	8–4	6–7	8–4	8–4	9–3	7–6
Boston	5–8	—	6–6	6–6	7–6	4–9	5–7	4–9	5–7	7–6	8–4	7–5	7–5	7–6
California	5–7	6–6	—	3–10	8–4	4–8	6–7	6–6	6–7	5–7	5–8	6–7	6–7	4–8
Chicago	5–7	6–6	10–3	—	8–4	8–4	9–4	4–8	8–5	8–4	8–5	12–1	8–5	5–7
Cleveland	7–6	6–7	4–8	4–8	—	5–8	7–5	3–10	6–6	6–7	7–5	8–4	3–9	4–9
Detroit	8–5	9–4	8–4	4–8	8–5	—	7–5	6–7	9–3	5–8	6–6	8–4	8–4	6–7
Kansas City	4–8	7–5	7–6	4–9	5–7	5–7	—	6–6	6–7	6–6	7–6	8–5	8–5–1	6–6
Milwaukee	2–11	9–4	6–6	8–4	10–3	7–6	6–6	—	8–4	4–9	6–6	5–7	8–4	8–5
Minnesota	4–8	7–5	7–6	5–8	6–6	3–9	7–6	4–8	—	4–8	4–9	9–4	5–8	5–7
New York	7–6	6–7	7–5	4–8	7–6	8–5	6–6	9–4	8–4	—	8–4	7–5	7–5	7–6
Oakland	4–8	4–8	8–5	5–8	5–7	6–6	6–7	6–6	9–4	4–8	—	9–4	2–11	6–6
Seattle	4–8	5–7	7–6	1–12	4–8	4–8	5–8	7–5	4–9	5–7	4–9	—	6–7	4–8
Texas	3–9	5–7	7–6	5–8	9–3	4–8	5–8–1	4–8	8–5	5–7	11–2	7–6	—	4–8
Toronto	6–7	6–7	8–4	7–5	9–4	7–6	6–6	5–8	7–5	6–7	6–6	8–4	8–4	—

Notable transactions

• May 12, 1983: Tom Klawitter was signed as a free agent by the Twins.^[5]
• June 6, 1983: Tim Belcher was drafted by the Twins in the 1st round (1st pick) of the 1983 Major League Baseball draft, but did not sign.^[6]

Roster

1983 Minnesota Twins
Roster
Pitchers 37 Bobby Castillo 39 Ron Davis 23 Pete Filson 27 Brad Havens 21 Jim Lewis 19 Rick Lysander 33 Jack O'Connor 17 Bryan Oelkers 35 Jay Pettibone 18 Ken Schrom 16 Frank Viola 30 Mike Walters 22 Len Whitehouse 28 Albert Williams		Catchers 20 Dave Engle 15 Tim Laudner  5 Ray Smith Infielders  2 John Castino 12 Lenny Faedo  8 Gary Gaetti 31 Greg Gagne 14 Kent Hrbek  1 Houston Jimenez 11 Tim Teufel  7 Scott Ullger 38 Ron Washington		Outfielders 26 Darrell Brown 24 Tom Brunansky  4 Jim Eisenreich  9 Mickey Hatcher 11 Rusty Kuntz 10 Bobby Mitchell 32 Gary Ward 12 Tack Wilson Other batters 25 Randy Bush		Manager 42 Billy Gardner Coaches 41 Tom Kelly 44 Jim Lemon 46 Johnny Podres 45 Jim Shellenback 43 Rick Stelmaszek

Player stats

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	Dave Engle	120	374	114	.305	8	43
1B	Kent Hrbek	141	515	153	.297	16	84
2B	John Castino	142	563	156	.277	11	57
SS	Ron Washington	99	317	78	.246	4	26
3B	Gary Gaetti	157	584	143	.245	21	78
LF	Gary Ward	157	623	173	.278	19	88
CF	Darrell Brown	91	309	84	.272	0	22
RF	Tom Brunansky	151	542	123	.227	28	82
DH	Randy Bush	124	373	93	.249	11	56

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
Mickey Hatcher	106	375	119	.317	9	47
Lenny Faedo	51	173	48	.277	1	18
Tim Laudner	62	168	31	.185	6	18
Bobby Mitchell	59	152	35	.230	1	15
Ray Smith	59	152	34	.224	0	8
Rusty Kuntz	31	100	19	.190	3	5
Houston Jiménez	36	86	15	.174	0	9
Scott Ullger	35	79	15	.190	0	5
Tim Teufel	21	78	24	.308	3	6
Greg Gagne	10	27	3	.111	0	3
Jim Eisenreich	2	7	2	.286	0	0
Tack Wilson	5	4	1	.250	0	1

Pitching

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
Frank Viola	35	210.0	7	15	5.49	127
Ken Schrom	33	196.1	15	8	3.71	80
Albert Williams	36	193.1	11	14	4.14	68
Bobby Castillo	27	158.1	8	12	4.77	90
Brad Havens	16	80.1	5	8	8.18	40
Jay Pettibone	4	27.0	0	4	5.33	10

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
Pete Filson	26	90.0	4	1	3.40	49
Jack O'Connor	27	83.0	2	3	5.86	56
Bryan Oelkers	10	34.1	0	5	8.65	13

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
Ron Davis	66	5	8	30	3.34	84
Rick Lysander	61	5	12	3	3.38	58
Len Whitehouse	60	7	1	2	4.15	44
Mike Walters	23	1	1	2	4.12	21
Jim Lewis	6	0	0	0	6.50	8

Farm system

See also: Minor League Baseball

Level	Team	League	Manager
AAA	Toledo Mud Hens	International League	Cal Ermer
AA	Orlando Twins	Southern League	Phil Roof
A	Visalia Oaks	California League	Harry Warner
A	Wisconsin Rapids Twins	Midwest League	Charlie Manuel
Rookie	Elizabethton Twins	Appalachian League	Fred Waters

Notes

1. Rick Lysander page at Baseball Reference^{[permanent dead link]}
2. Mike Hart page at Baseball Reference
3. Sal Butera page at Baseball Reference
4. Pete Redfern page at Baseball Reference
5. Tom Klawitter page at Baseball Reference
6. Tim Belcher page at Baseball Reference

References

• Johnson, Lloyd; Wolff, Miles, eds. (1997). The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball (2nd ed.). Durham, North Carolina: Baseball America. ISBN 978-0-9637189-8-3.

External links

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