Article: The Top 5 Moments in Tim Laudner's Career

[Seth Stohs]

On Saturday night, Twins Daily will be hosting the 2^nd Annual Winter Meltdown. We are thrilled that we will be joined by Twins President Dave St. Peter, and former Twins Jacque Jones and Tim Laudner. Laudner was a member of the Twins 1987 World Series championship team and spent nine seasons with the Twins, from 1981 through 1989. He has been a Twins analyst the last several years for Fox Sports North.Along with the three guests who will be interviewed during the party, there will be several others in attendance that you can meet and talk Twins with. All five of the Twins Daily owners will be there, along with frequent contributors Cody Christie, Jeremy Nygaard and AJ Pettersen. Some of the writers from Vikings Journal and Wild Xtra will also be there. There are still some tickets available for the Meltdown, so click here to secure yours today.

 

In anticipation of our time with Tim Laudner, here are five of the most memorable moments of his professional career. (Check out Nick’s look at Jacque Jones’ Top 5 Moments from yesterday)

 

5. Drafted by his hometown Minnesota Twins in 1979

 

Though he was born in Mason City, Iowa, Laudner went to high school at Park Center in Brooklyn Park, MN. Following a strong high school career, he was selected in the 33^rd round by the Cincinnati Reds. He didn’t sign, instead choosing to go to the University of Missouri. In 1979, he was the Twins' third-round pick. He signed and reported directly to Double-A Orlando.

 

That year, the Twins used the 11^th overall pick in the first round on a high school outfielder from Wisconsin named Kevin Brandt. Brandt played 45 games in Elizabethton in 1979. He played two games with the E-Twins in 1980, and that was it for his professional career.

 

With their 2^nd round pick, the Twins drafted Randy Bush out of the University of New Orleans. He debuted for the Twins in May of 1982 and remained with the organization until June of 1993.

 

Laudner was the first Park Center grad to be drafted in the major league draft. Thirteen years later, Pat Neshek was drafted by the Twins out of Butler University. There may only be two Park Center kids ever drafted, but both had long MLB careers and each included a trip to the All-Star game.

 

4. Monster 1981 Season

 

OK, it’s not really a moment, but it needs to be addressed. In 1981, Laudner spent the whole season in Orlando and had an incredible season. In 130 games, Laudner hit .284/.375/.628 (1.003) with 21 doubles and a tremendous 42 home runs.

 

It’s very possible that he would have been promoted to the Twins earlier, but baseball was in the midst of a strike through much of the season.

 

3. Big-Time, Big League Debut

 

After hitting those 42 home runs in Orlando, the Twins did promote Laudner to the big league club in late August. Manager Billy Gardner put him into the lineup on August 28, 1981. He was slotted into the eighth spot. He was also charged with catching right-handed veteran Fernando Arroyo against a strong Detroit Tigers lineup that included Alan Trammell, Lou Whitaker, Lance Parrish and Kirk Gibson. Arroyo threw 6.1 shutout innings, and veteran left-hander Jerry Koosman (another Minnesota native who was a key component of the Miracle Mets in 1969) finished out the shutout with 2.2 scoreless frames.

 

At the plate, Laudner took care of several “firsts” in his first game. His first at-bat came in the top of the third. He led off with a single to centerfield off Dave Rozema. Two innings later, he took his first walk. In the bottom of the 7^th inning, Laudner connected for the first home run of his career, a two-run blast off of Rozema. He made out in his final at-bat of the day, but ended the game by going 2-3 with a walk and a homer in his major league debut.

 

Fun Fact: The next day, Laudner hit his second big league home run (and 44^th homer of his 1981 season). It came against lefty Dan Schatzeder who was his teammate on the 1987 team.

 

2. 1988 All Star Game

 

The 1988 American League All-Star roster was very interesting, but particularly so to fans of the Minnesota Twins. A quick look at the starting lineup shows five Hall of Famers to go along with three guys associated with Tony LaRussa and the Oakland A’s. Paul Molitor, Dave Winfield and Terry Steinbach, all Minnesota natives, were in the starting lineup.

 

The Twins were very well represented at Riverfront Stadium in Cincinnati. As a result of winning the 1987 World Series championship, Tom Kelly was the manager of the American League roster. He brought much of his coaching staff with him. Dick Such (pitching coach), Rich Stelmaszek (bullpen coach), Rick Renick (bench coach) and Wayne Terwilliger (first base coach) were on his staff. Frank Viola was named the starting pitcher for the game. Kelly also named Kirby Puckett, Gary Gaetti, Jeff Reardon and Tim Laudner.

 

 

After famously hitting just .191 during the regular season during the championship 1987 season, Laudner had a much better season in 1988 and earned a spot on the team.

 

In the bottom of the 6^th inning, Laudner replaced pitcher Mark Gubicza in the lineup but Terry Steinbach at the catcher position. He came to bat with no one on and two outs in the top of the 7^th inning. Against Mark Davis of the Padres, a closer who went on to win the 1989 Cy Young Award in the NL, Laudner hit a double.

 

1. Game 2 of the 1987 World Series

 

The Twins won Games 1 and 2 of the 1987 World Series at the Metrodome. The Twins won Game 1 by a score of 10-1. They used a six-run fourth inning to take a 7-0 lead and won the game 8-4. Laudner played a big part in that game.

 

In that big fourth inning, Laudner stepped to the plate with the Twins leading 3-0 and runners on second and third. He singled to left field scoring Gary Gaetti from third base. Randy Bush was at second and was waved around third. There was a close play at the plate, but Twins fans old enough to remember 1987 will remember Randy Bush’s remarkable slide.

 

In the sixth inning, Laudner hit a solo home run to give the Twins an 8-1 lead.

Following the game, Laudner was interviewed on the field by Hall of Famer Reggie Jackson who was working for ABC Sports at that time.

 

 

Laudner certainly had more great moments in baseball. He hit 77 home runs. Three times, he hit two home runs in a game. He hit a home run off of Roger Clemens, who should be a Hall of Famer. He hit homers against Hall of Famers Rollie Fingers and, another ’87 World Series teammate, Bert Blyleven.

 

If you would like to hear more about these moments from Laudner’s career and other stories from the Fox Sports North analyst, join us at Mason’s on Saturday night from 5-8. Get your tickets here.

 

Click here to view the article

[Champuckett]

Thanks for posting this article.  I would just like to add, he also caught a pop up behind the plate for the final out in game 6 of 1987 to send the series to game 7. 

 

I guess I have a soft spot for Laudner.  He was the first professional baseball player (or sports athlete for that matter) I ever met in person at the age of 5, right after the Twins had won the World Series in 1987.

 

I went to see him at a local shopping mall in the winter of '87, getting a signed ball, autographed picture, and a photo with him.  In addition, I got to sit down with him for a few minutes and just talk baseball.  He wanted to know if I liked playing baseball and I told him I loved playing it, and wanted to be just like him one day.  It was so weird, with a professional ball player, asking me, a tiny kid, questions about baseball.  I never have had any kind of a bonding experience with a professional sports player since even remotely close to that, and I have met plenty of them.

 

After meeting many other Twins players and other professional athletes in the years following, I can't say anyone ever left such an impression on me of kindness, attentiveness, and just being down to earth.  Tim Laudner will always be one of my favorites because of that.

[ashbury]

No love for the snap throw that picked off Darrell Evans in the '87 playoffs?  That was such a turning point, at least in my mind.

[Dantes929]

We used to call him Buck Eighty cuz that's what he hit most of the 87 season but never really begrudged it of him because it was mostly a defense 1st position and even though he didn't hit a lot it always looked like he could and with power.

[Seth Stohs]

No love for the snap throw that picked off Darrell Evans in the '87 playoffs?  That was such a turning point, at least in my mind.

 

That was a great one!! It's about at the 1:07 point of this video:

[nicksaviking]

Lauder was one of my favorites as a kid.  We went to Rod Carew Day at the Dome in 1987, they drove him around the field in a convertible and then retired his number.  Pretty cool stuff to a kid.  We were sitting behind the Twins bullpen but all game long I couldn't work up the nerve to ask for any autographs which was probably good since Mike Smithson was pitching which meant the guys in the pen needed to be alert and ready for action.  However Sal Butera was starting that day and when multiple bp arms were warming up (again, Smithson was pitching, so basically all game long), Laudner would trot out to the pen to help out.  I already thought highly of Laudner because the back of his baseball card said that we shared a birthday, and to an eight-year-old, that's a pretty big deal. 

 

He was warming up Jeff Reardon for the 9th and I finally got the nerve to ask for his autograph but he turned to me and said, "Not right now kid, I got to go catch" and he trotted to the field with Reardon to close out the Blue Jays (but not before giving up a bomb to Cecil Fielder).  In the top of the 8th Buetera had been pinch hit for by Roy Smalley, and my undevloped baseball mind hadn't yet pieced together what the logical outcome would be for Laudner heading into the bottom of the 9th.  I should have found my nerve earlier.

 

The funny thing is that I've gotten many autographs since then, and have largely forgotten the circumstances in which I got them.  The fact that Tim Laudner gave me the time of day during the middle of a game probably meant more to me than an autograph I probably would have lost by now.

Edited January 20, 2015 by nicksaviking

[Otto von Ballpark]

I always thought that Lauder's 1988 All Star appearance must have been entirely patronage by Tom Kelly, but indeed Laudner was one of the better catchers in the league over the first half of 1988.

 

Of course, he was hitting way over his career marks, his playing career effectively over a little more than a year later, and he was also helped by Carlton Fisk being injured and Ernie Whitt, Matt Nokes, and others having poor first halves.  The All-Star starter (and eventual MVP, Steinbach) was actually a worse All-Star pick at the time.  Eventual Gold Glove winner Bob Boone had a case, as did Don Slaught and Geno Petralli, but Laudner was an acceptable choice.

[Squirrel]

The funny thing is that I've gotten many autographs since then, and have largely forgotten the circumstances in which I got them.  The fact that Tim Laudner gave me the time of day during the middle of a game probably meant more to me than an autograph I probably would have lost by now.

You could probably get his autograph at the Meltdown if you asked.

[Seth Stohs]

You could probably get his autograph at the Meltdown if you asked.

 

Or at least a picture...

[nicksaviking]

That would be great and I'd love to go but alas my wife has me schedulded for some pretty substantial renovation work for her photo studio. Tell him I said hi, I'm sure he remembers me

[Doubles]

I don’t think it was overrated at the time, but in the years since 1987 ALCS Laudner’s pickoff of Darrell Evans has certainly been overlooked and in a way, “lost in the shuffle.” 

 

The Twins won the first two games at home, and the Tigers had taken Game 3.  Game 4 was pivotal.  A Tiger win meant they had held serve and preserved home field advantage.  A Twins win would put them one win away from their first World Series appearance since 1965.  This was a critical game.

 

The Twins were leading 4-3 in the bottom of the 6th inning and threatening.  A sacrifice bunt moved Evans to third and Dave Bergman to second.  Juan Berenguer, on in relief for Keith Atherton, was set to face Lou Whitaker.  Berenguer’s first pitch to Whitaker was low and inside.  Laudner back-handed the pitch, sprang from his crouch, and threw an absolute pill to third baseman Garry Gaetti, whose snap-tag nailed Evans for the second out.  Two pitches later, Bergman would advance to third base on a wild pitch, which naturally leads to speculation that Evans would have scored to tie the game had he not been picked off.  Berenguer eventually retired Jim Morrison on a fly ball to center to retire the side.  Tigers threat, inning, game, and essentially season, over.  Twins eventually went on to beat the Tigers 5-3 in the critical Game 4, before finishing them off the next day in Detroit with a 9-5 victory.

 

The following quotes from the clubhouse that night are courtesy of the Chicago Tribune:

 

``I thought it was the turning point in the game,`` (Tigers Manager Sparky) Anderson said.

``Gary and I have a predetermined signal,`` Laudner said. ``If he feels he can get him out, he puts it on, and I`ll throw it down there. The ball was down and in, it kept me square to third base.

``It`s fun to do something when it works,`` Gaetti said.

The play was embarrassing to the 40-year-old Evans.

``It was something I didn`t expect,`` said Evans, who was further embarrassed when he made two errors after being inserted at third base. ``The ball was in the dirt, and I went a half step too far. It was a big mistake, no question about it.``

[Wookiee of the Year]

...Crossing my fingers that a Top 5 Moments in Dave St. Peter's Career is on the way this week...

[stringer bell]

The Laudner pick-off throw occurred on probably the only day I ever went to a bar to specifically watch a game.  I don't think I ever screamed as loud (at least at a sporting event) as when G-Man slapped the tag on Evans.  It is my #1 memory of Laudner's career.