1975 Minnesota Twins season
Major League Baseball team season
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The 1975 Minnesota Twins season was the 15th season for the Minnesota Twins franchise in the Twin Cities of Minnesota, their 15th season at Metropolitan Stadium and the 75th overall in the American League. The Twins finished 76–83, fourth in the American League West.
| 1975 Minnesota Twins | |
|---|---|
| League | American League |
| Division | West |
| Ballpark | Metropolitan Stadium |
| City | Bloomington, Minnesota |
| Owners | Calvin Griffith (majority owner, with Thelma Griffith Haynes) |
| General managers | Calvin Griffith |
| Managers | Frank Quilici |
| Television | WTCN (Larry Calton, Joe Boyle, Ray Scott) |
| Radio | 830 WCCO AM (Herb Carneal, Larry Calton) |
Offseason
- October 23, 1974: Pat Bourque was traded by the Twins to the Oakland Athletics for Dan Ford and Dennis Myers (minors).[1]
- January 16, 1975: Harmon Killebrew was released by the Twins.[2]
Regular season
Having released Harmon Killebrew during the off-season, owner Calvin Griffith devised "Harmon Killebrew Day" as a promotion for the slugger's return with his new club, the Kansas City Royals. On Sunday, May 4, DH Killebrew greeted the crowd of just 14,805 with a first-inning home run. In the fifth inning, Minnesota pitcher Jim Hughes hit Harmon with a pitch.
Only one Twins player made the All-Star Game, second baseman Rod Carew. Only 737,156 fans attended Twins games, the lowest total in the American League.
On August 22, Dave McKay debuted in the majors as the starting third baseman for the Twins. In his first at bat leading off the third inning, he homered off Detroit's Vern Ruhle. Only one other Twin had homered in his first at bat – Rick Renick in 1968. The duo will be joined in history by Gary Gaetti (1981), Andre David (1984) and Eddie Rosario (2015), who homers on the first major-league pitch thrown to him.
Carew won his fifth AL batting title with a .359 average. Three pitchers had double digit wins: Jim Hughes (16–14), Bert Blyleven (15–10), and Dave Goltz (14–14).
Season standings
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oakland Athletics | 98 | 64 | .605 | — | 54–27 | 44–37 |
| Kansas City Royals | 91 | 71 | .562 | 7 | 51–30 | 40–41 |
| Texas Rangers | 79 | 83 | .488 | 19 | 39–41 | 40–42 |
| Minnesota Twins | 76 | 83 | .478 | 20½ | 39–43 | 37–40 |
| Chicago White Sox | 75 | 86 | .466 | 22½ | 42–39 | 33–47 |
| California Angels | 72 | 89 | .447 | 25½ | 35–46 | 37–43 |
Record vs. opponents
Sources: | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | BAL | BOS | CAL | CWS | CLE | DET | KC | MIL | MIN | NYY | OAK | TEX | |
| Baltimore | — | 9–9 | 6–6 | 7–4 | 10–8 | 12–4 | 7–5 | 14–4 | 6–6 | 8–10 | 4–8 | 7–5 | |
| Boston | 9–9 | — | 6–6 | 8–4 | 7–11 | 13–5 | 7–5 | 10–8 | 10–2 | 11–5 | 6–6 | 8–4 | |
| California | 6–6 | 6–6 | — | 9–9 | 3–9 | 6–5 | 4–14 | 7–5 | 8–10 | 7–5 | 7–11 | 9–9 | |
| Chicago | 4–7 | 4–8 | 9–9 | — | 7–5 | 5–7 | 9–9 | 8–4 | 9–9 | 6–6 | 9–9 | 5–13 | |
| Cleveland | 8–10 | 11–7 | 9–3 | 5–7 | — | 12–6 | 6–6 | 9–9 | 3–6 | 9–9 | 2–10 | 5–7 | |
| Detroit | 4–12 | 5–13 | 5–6 | 7–5 | 6–12 | — | 6–6 | 7–11 | 4–8 | 6–12 | 6–6 | 1–11 | |
| Kansas City | 5–7 | 5–7 | 14–4 | 9–9 | 6–6 | 6–6 | — | 7–5 | 11–7 | 7–5 | 11–7 | 14–4 | |
| Milwaukee | 4–14 | 8–10 | 5–7 | 4–8 | 9–9 | 11–7 | 5–7 | — | 2–10 | 9–9 | 5–7 | 6–6 | |
| Minnesota | 6–6 | 2–10 | 10–8 | 9–9 | 6–3 | 8–4 | 7–11 | 10–2 | — | 4–8 | 6–12 | 8–10 | |
| New York | 10–8 | 5–11 | 5–7 | 6–6 | 9–9 | 12–6 | 5–7 | 9–9 | 8–4 | — | 6–6 | 8–4 | |
| Oakland | 8–4 | 6–6 | 11–7 | 9–9 | 10–2 | 6–6 | 11–7 | 7–5 | 12–6 | 6–6 | — | 12–6 | |
| Texas | 5–7 | 4–8 | 9–9 | 13–5 | 7–5 | 11–1 | 4–14 | 6–6 | 10–8 | 4–8 | 6–12 | — | |
Notable transactions
- June 14, 1975: Bobby Darwin was traded by the Twins to the Milwaukee Brewers for Johnny Briggs.[3]
Roster
| 1975 Minnesota Twins | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Roster | |||||||||
Pitchers
|
Catchers
Infielders
|
Outfielders
Other batters |
Manager
Coaches
| ||||||
Player stats
| = Indicates team leader |
| = Indicates league 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 | Glenn Borgmann | 125 | 352 | 73 | .207 | 2 | 33 |
| 1B | Johnny Briggs | 87 | 264 | 61 | .231 | 7 | 39 |
| 2B | Rod Carew | 143 | 535 | 192 | .359 | 14 | 80 |
| SS | Danny Thompson | 112 | 355 | 96 | .270 | 5 | 37 |
| 3B | Eric Soderholm | 117 | 419 | 120 | .286 | 11 | 58 |
| LF | Steve Braun | 136 | 453 | 137 | .302 | 11 | 45 |
| CF | Dan Ford | 130 | 440 | 123 | .280 | 15 | 59 |
| RF | Lyman Bostock | 98 | 369 | 104 | .282 | 0 | 29 |
| DH | Tony Oliva | 131 | 455 | 123 | .270 | 13 | 58 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jerry Terrell | 108 | 385 | 110 | .286 | 1 | 36 |
| Larry Hisle | 80 | 255 | 80 | .314 | 11 | 51 |
| Steve Brye | 86 | 246 | 62 | .252 | 9 | 34 |
| Bobby Darwin | 48 | 169 | 37 | .219 | 5 | 18 |
| Craig Kusick | 57 | 156 | 37 | .237 | 6 | 27 |
| Tom Kelly | 49 | 127 | 23 | .181 | 1 | 11 |
| Phil Roof | 63 | 126 | 38 | .302 | 7 | 21 |
| Dave McKay | 33 | 125 | 32 | .256 | 2 | 16 |
| Sergio Ferrer | 32 | 81 | 20 | .247 | 0 | 2 |
| Luis Gómez | 89 | 72 | 10 | .139 | 0 | 5 |
| Danny Walton | 42 | 63 | 11 | .175 | 1 | 8 |
| Mike Poepping | 14 | 37 | 5 | .135 | 0 | 1 |
| Tom Lundstedt | 18 | 28 | 3 | .107 | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bert Blyleven | 35 | 275.2 | 15 | 10 | 3.00 | 233 |
| Jim Hughes | 37 | 249.2 | 16 | 14 | 3.82 | 130 |
| Dave Goltz | 32 | 243.0 | 14 | 14 | 3.67 | 128 |
| Eddie Bane | 4 | 28.1 | 3 | 1 | 2.86 | 14 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vic Albury | 32 | 135.0 | 6 | 7 | 4.53 | 72 |
| Ray Corbin | 18 | 89.2 | 5 | 7 | 5.12 | 49 |
| Bill Butler | 23 | 81.2 | 5 | 4 | 5.95 | 55 |
| Mark Wiley | 15 | 38.2 | 1 | 3 | 6.05 | 15 |
| Joe Decker | 10 | 26.1 | 1 | 3 | 8.54 | 8 |
| Mike Pazik | 5 | 19.2 | 0 | 4 | 8.24 | 8 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tom Burgmeier | 46 | 5 | 8 | 11 | 3.09 | 41 |
| Bill Campbell | 47 | 4 | 6 | 5 | 3.79 | 76 |
| Tom Johnson | 18 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4.19 | 17 |
Awards and honors
- Rod Carew, Second Base, Starter