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  • This Week In Baseball History - Episode 21: The Twins Become the Worst World Champions

    Michael Bates

    By Michael Bates

    1987 changed everything. For the Twins, for Minnesota, and for two nine year olds living in the north suburbs of St. Paul. On our podcast, This Week In Baseball History, in honor of their improbable championship 30 years ago this week, Bill Parker and I discuss how the team was assembled by, first, Calvin Griffith and, then, Andy MacPhail. We look at the rise of Tom Kelly from Major League washout to minor league player-manager to manager of baseball's World Champion Minnesota Twins. And we chronicle the 1987 campaign from Spring Training through their incredible postseason run.

    Twins Video

    After that, we discuss what the club's success meant to the state of Minnesota and whether the '87 Twins really were, as they're often described, the "worst" World Series winners of all time.

    You can download or listen to the episode here. You can also find it, and our entire back catalog, on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, or wherever fine free podcasts are sold.

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    Dantes929

    Dantes929 4,529

  • Verified Member

    • Posted

    If you look at their pitching staff  and their individual and collective stats  and the fact that they were outscored by 20 runs during the regular season.   You see that Viola and Berenguer  were the only two pitchers with ERAs below 4, their team ERA of 4.63 was 11th in the AL and the offense actually scored below the league average it will be hard to come up with a worse WS winner. 

    However, do you know what they call the worst team to win a World Series?

    Answer.   World Series Champion

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    dgwills

    dgwills 567

  • Provisional Member

    • Posted

    I was 9 as well in 1987 and that season turned me into a lifelong baseball fan. Have to make one correction to the podcast though. It was stated that the Gophers football team has been bad since the 1920's. They actually won 6 national titles after that. Not that they haven't been bad for 2 generations.

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    tarheeltwinsfan

    tarheeltwinsfan 5,120

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    • Posted

    Mark Davidson, the 4th outfielder, on the 87 Twins is from my hometown, Statesville, NC. In July 1987 Mark invited me to Minneapolis to see a 4 game series with Oakland. When the Oakland Athletics arrived they were tied with the Twins for first place. 4 days later the Athletics left town 4 games behind the Twins. It was the best 4 days of my life! I got to sit with the Twins' family members at the games and to meet Harmon Killebrew, Wally the Beer Man and Tony Oliva and other Twins' greats because it was the Equitable Old Timers game that weekend also. Friends, it just doesn't get any better than that.

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    MikeBates

    MikeBates 33

  • Provisional Member

    • Posted

    Fantastic story and I'm sure it was an awesome experience. Every time I was lucky enough to be around Harmon, he was so warm and present. Alas, Wally got popped for serving underage fans a few years back and is an ex-beer man now.

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    Seth Stohs

    Seth Stohs 23,732

  • Owner

    • Posted

     

    Mark Davidson, the 4th outfielder, on the 87 Twins is from my hometown, Statesville, NC. In July 1987 Mark invited me to Minneapolis to see a 4 game series with Oakland. When the Oakland Athletics arrived they were tied with the Twins for first place. 4 days later the Athletics left town 4 games behind the Twins. It was the best 4 days of my life! I got to sit with the Twins' family members at the games and to meet Harmon Killebrew, Wally the Beer Man and Tony Oliva and other Twins' greats because it was the Equitable Old Timers game that weekend also. Friends, it just doesn't get any better than that.

     

    Baseball America had a nice story about him. He became a graduate assistant at Clemson, where his son is playing (and apparently a decent prospect). Here's the article...

     

    http://www.baseballamerica.com/columnists/now-mark-davidson/?utm_content=buffera97b6&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer#gLVvB8HPdXtKkPtm.97

     

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    Seth Stohs

    Seth Stohs 23,732

  • Owner

    • Posted

     

    Fantastic story and I'm sure it was an awesome experience. Every time I was lucky enough to be around Harmon, he was so warm and present. Alas, Wally got popped for serving underage fans a few years back and is an ex-beer man now.

     

    Though he was prominent at a Twins Daily pub crawl a couple of years ago, taking pictures with Twins Daily fans!!

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    TwinsWonWithHunter

    TwinsWonWithHunter 50

  • Provisional Member

    • Posted

    Lost to the mists of time: the Twins clinched at 85-72, with 7 games to play. They then mailed in the last 5 and finished 85-77. I have often wondered why those 5 losses seemingly account for so much in the "worst" champion debate. What if they had won all 5? Would we have this debate at all. Of course the '88 team was "better"--they won 91 games. And finished 13 GB! I'll take the '87 team every time, thank you very much

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    h2oface

    h2oface 7,066

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    • Posted

     

    Lost to the mists of time: the Twins clinched at 85-72, with 7 games to play. They then mailed in the last 5 and finished 85-77. I have often wondered why those 5 losses seemingly account for so much in the "worst" champion debate. What if they had won all 5? Would we have this debate at all. Of course the '88 team was "better"--they won 91 games. And finished 13 GB! I'll take the '87 team every time, thank you very much.

     

    Even with the fuzzy math, this is so true..... 

    Of course, in 2006, the Cardinals (who were on the bottom end of the previous worst world series champions) became the "worst champion" ever, coming into the playoffs as the National League Central Champ at 83-78 (didn't even have to play 162 games and qualified) and took home the gold. Our Gardenhire led Twins were 96-66, won the Central on a furious September and a Tiger collapse down the stretch, but were swept by Oakland 3-0, even with the MVP, Cy Young, and Battling Title winners.

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