1992 Minnesota Twins season


Coming off a World Series victory, the 1992 Minnesota Twins continued the team's winning spree. The team finished in second place to the Oakland Athletics and did not make it to the postseason. This would be the team's last winning season until 2001.

Offseason

Outfielder Kirby Puckett got 200 hits for the fifth time in his career, as well as 100 runs and 100 RBI. He also hit over.300 for the seventh time in nine seasons. Finally, he hit the first three grand slams of his career. He was twice named American League Player of the Month. Puckett would go on to win his fifth Silver Slugger Award.
Chuck Knoblauch and Shane Mack also notched 100 runs, making Puckett, Knoblauch, and Mack the first trio of Twins in team history to score 100 times in a season.
First baseman Kent Hrbek began his fight against the injury bug, getting only 394 at-bats, a number that would decline over the next two years. Catcher Brian Harper had the second of three seasons batting over.300. Scott Leius saw a majority of the time at third base, but hit only.249 with 2 home runs. In his last year with the Twins, shortstop Greg Gagne hit.246 — right around his career average. Pedro Muñoz saw a majority of the time in right field, while Chili Davis served as the designated hitter in his second and last year with the Twins.
StatisticPlayerQuantity
HRKirby Puckett19
RBIKirby Puckett110
BAKirby Puckett.329
RunsKirby Puckett and Chuck Knoblauch104

Pitching

The first four pitchers in the starting rotation had winning records and solid ERAs, including John Smiley, Kevin Tapani, Scott Erickson, and Bill Krueger. The fifth spot in the rotation was a question mark, with Pat Mahomes making 13 mediocre starts, Willie Banks 12 poor starts, and Mike Trombley 7 reasonably capable ones.
The bullpen was outstanding, anchored by closer Rick Aguilera. Aguilera earned 41 saves, and became the Twins' all-time leader in saves on September 1 when he earned his 109th with the team. The four regular arms in the bullpen all had ERAs under three: Carl Willis, Mark Guthrie, Tom Edens, and Gary Wayne.
StatisticPlayerQuantity
ERAJohn Smiley3.21
WinsJohn Smiley and Kevin Tapani16
SavesRick Aguilera41
StrikeoutsJohn Smiley163

Defense

As expected for a Tom Kelly team, the defense was strong. Puckett would win the last of his six Gold Glove Awards. Hrbek was always strong at first base, as was Knoblauch at second. Gagne was a capable shortstop, but Leius was a question mark at third with a.955 fielding percentage. Mack and Muñoz had good years defensively alongside Puckett.

Season standings

Record vs. opponents

Notable transactions

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
PosPlayerGABHAvg.HRRBI
CBrian Harper140502154.307973
1BKent Hrbek11239496.2441558
2BChuck Knoblauch155600178.297256
3BScott Leius129409102.249235
SSGreg Gagne146439108.246739
LFShane Mack156600189.3151675
CFKirby Puckett160639210.32919110
RFPedro Muñoz127418113.2701271
DHChili Davis138444128.2881266

Other batters

Pitching

Starting pitchers

Other pitchers

Relief pitchers

Other post-season awards