1971 Minnesota Twins season

1971 Minnesota Twins
74–86, fifth in the AL Western Division
Major League affiliations
American League (since 1901)
Western Division (since 1969)
Location
Metropolitan Stadium (since 1961) Bloomington, Minnesota (since 1961)
Other information
Owner(s)	Calvin Griffith (majority owner, with Thelma Griffith Haynes)
General manager(s)	Calvin Griffith
Manager(s)	Bill Rigney
Local television	WTCN-TV (Halsey Hall, Frank Buetel, Bob Allison)
Local radio	830 WCCO AM (Herb Carneal, Halsey Hall, Ray Christensen)
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The 1971 Minnesota Twins finished 74–86, fifth in the American League West. 940,858 fans attended Twins games, the fifth-highest total in the American League, the first time the Twins failed to attract over one million fans since moving to Minnesota.

Contents

• 
  1 Regular season
  
  
  
  • 
    1.1 Season standings
    
  
  
  • 
    1.2 Record vs. opponents
    
  
  
  • 
    1.3 Notable transactions
    
  
  
  • 
    1.4 Roster
    
  
  
  
  


• 
  2 Player stats
  
  
  
  • 
    2.1 Batting
    
    
    
    • 
      2.1.1 Starters by position
      
    
    
    • 
      2.1.2 Other batters
      
    
    
    
    
  
  
  • 
    2.2 Pitching
    
    
    
    • 
      2.2.1 Starting pitchers
      
    
    
    • 
      2.2.2 Other pitchers
      
    
    
    • 
      2.2.3 Relief pitchers
      
    
    
    
    
  
  
  
  


• 
  3 Awards and honors
  


• 
  4 Farm system
  


• 
  5 Notes
  


• 
  6 References
  

Regular season

Five Twins made the All-Star Game: first baseman Harmon Killebrew, second baseman Rod Carew, shortstop Leo Cárdenas, outfielder Tony Oliva, and pitcher Jim Perry.

On August 10, at Metropolitan Stadium, slugger Harmon Killebrew hit his 500th career home run, in the first inning off the Baltimore Orioles' Mike Cuellar. He followed that in the sixth inning with his 501st, also off Cuellar.

Lead off batter César Tovar led the AL with 204 hits and was second with 94 runs. Tony Oliva won his third batting title with a .337 average and led the AL with a .546 slugging percentage. Harmon Killebrew hit 28 HR and 119 RBI. Rod Carew hit .307.

Jim Perry (17–17), Bert Blyleven (16–15), and Jim Kaat (13–14) were the Twins' best pitchers. Kaat won his tenth Gold Glove Award.

Shortstop Leo Cárdenas topped the AL with a .985 fielding percentage—the highest for an American League shortstop since records began in 1901.

Season standings

v t e AL West	W	L	Pct.	GB	Home	Road
Oakland Athletics	101	60	0.627	—	46–35	55–25
Kansas City Royals	85	76	0.528	16	44–37	41–39
Chicago White Sox	79	83	0.488	22½	39–42	40–41
California Angels	76	86	0.469	25½	35–46	41–40
Minnesota Twins	74	86	0.463	26½	37–42	37–44
Milwaukee Brewers	69	92	0.429	32	34–48	35–44

Record vs. opponents

1971 American League Records v t e Sources: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12]
Team	BAL	BOS	CAL	CWS	CLE	DET	KC	MIL	MIN	NYY	OAK	WSH
Baltimore	—	9–9	7–5	8–4	13–5	8–10	6–5	9–3	10–2	11–7	7–4	13–3
Boston	9–9	—	6–6	10–2	11–7	12–6	1–11	6–6	8–4	7–11	3–9	12–6
California	5–7	6–6	—	8–10	8–4	6–6	8–10	6–12	12–6	6–6	7–11	4–8
Chicago	4–8	2–10	10–8	—	3–9	7–5	9–9	11–7	7–11	5–7	11–7	10–2
Cleveland	5–13	7–11	4–8	9–3	—	6–12	2–10	4–8	4–8	8–10	4–8	7–11
Detroit	10–8	6–12	6–6	5–7	12–6	—	8–4	10–2	6–6	10–8	4–8	14–4
Kansas City	5–6	11–1	10–8	9–9	10–2	4–8	—	8–10	9–9	5–7	5–13	9–3
Milwaukee	3–9	6–6	12–6	7–11	8–4	2–10	10–8	—	10–7	2–10	3–15	6–6
Minnesota	2–10	4–8	6–12	11–7	8–4	6–6	9–9	7–10	—	8–4	8–10	5–6
New York	7–11	11–7	6–6	7–5	10–8	8–10	7–5	10–2	4–8	—	5–7	7–11
Oakland	4–7	9–3	11–7	7–11	8–4	8–4	13–5	15–3	10–8	7–5	—	9–3
Washington	3–13	6–12	8–4	2–10	11–7	4–14	3–9	6–6	6–5	11–7	3–9	—

Notable transactions

• April 9, 1971: Dave Boswell was released by the Twins.^[1]
  


• June 8, 1971: 1971 Major League Baseball draft
  
  
  
  • 
    Dave Edwards was drafted by the Twins in the 7th round.^[2]
    
  
  
  • Future NFL quarterback Joe Theismann was drafted by the Twins in the 39th round.^[3]
    
  
  
  • 
    Glenn Borgmann was drafted by the Twins in the 1st round of the secondary phase.^[4]
    
  
  
  
  


• July 8, 1971: Paul Ratliff was traded by the Twins to the Milwaukee Brewers for Phil Roof.^[5]
  

Roster

1971 Minnesota Twins
Roster
Pitchers 24 Steve Barber 28 Bert Blyleven 19 Sal Campisi 23 Ray Corbin 16 Bob Gebhard 21 Tom Hall 33,24 Pete Hamm 30 Hal Haydel 36 Jim Kaat 32 Steve Luebber 16 Ron Perranoski 31 Jim Perry 19 Jim Strickland 35 Stan Williams		Catchers 25 Rick Dempsey 15 George Mitterwald  8 Paul Ratliff  8 Phil Roof 22 Tom Tischinski Infielders  4 Steve Braun 17 Leo Cárdenas 29 Rod Carew  3 Harmon Killebrew 20 Rich Reese 10 Rick Renick  1 Eric Soderholm  5 Danny Thompson		Outfielders 11 Brant Alyea 37 Steve Brye 26 Jim Holt  9 Charlie Manuel  7 Jim Nettles  6 Tony Oliva  7 Paul Powell 24 George Thomas 12 César Tovar		Manager 18 Bill Rigney Coaches  2 Frankie Crosetti 46 Marv Grissom 44 Vern Morgan 43 Frank Quilici 45 Buck Rodgers

Player stats

= Indicates team 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
1B	Harmon Killebrew	147	500	127	.254	28	119
SS	Leo Cárdenas	153	554	146	.264	18	75
LF	César Tovar	157	657	204	.311	1	45
RF	Tony Oliva	126	487	164	.337	22	81

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
Danny Thompson	48	57	15	.263	0	7
Paul Ratliff	21	44	7	.159	2	6

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	38	278.1	16	15	2.81	224
Jim Perry	40	270	17	17	4.23	126
Jim Kaat	39	260.1	13	14	3.32	137

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
Ray Corbin	52	140.1	8	11	4.10	83
Tom Hall	48	129.2	4	7	3.33	137
Steve Luebber	18	68	2	5	5.03	35
Steve Barber	4	11.2	1	0	6.17	4

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
Bob Gebhard	17	1	2	0	3.00	13
Sal Campisi	6	0	0	0	4.15	2

Awards and honors

• 
  Harmon Killebrew, Lou Gehrig Award
  

Farm system

See also: Minor League Baseball

Level	Team	League	Manager
AAA	Portland Beavers	Pacific Coast League	Ralph Rowe
AA	Charlotte Hornets	Southern League	Harry Warner
A	Lynchburg Twins	Carolina League	Johnny Goryl
A	Orlando Twins	Florida State League	Jackie Ferrell
A	Wisconsin Rapids Twins	Midwest League	Weldon Bowlin
A-Short Season	Auburn Twins	New York–Penn League	Boyd Coffie
A-Short Season	St. Cloud Rox	Northern League	Ken Staples
Rookie	GCL Twins	Gulf Coast League	Fred Waters

LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Charlotte, St. Cloud

Notes

1. 
   ^ Dave Boswell at Baseball Reference
   


2. 
   ^ Dave Edwards at Baseball Reference
   


3. 
   ^ "Baseball Draft: 39th Round of the 1971 June Draft". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved December 27, 2008..mw-parser-output cite.citation{font-style:inherit}.mw-parser-output q{quotes:"""""""'""'"}.mw-parser-output code.cs1-code{color:inherit;background:inherit;border:inherit;padding:inherit}.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-free a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/65/Lock-green.svg/9px-Lock-green.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-registration a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d6/Lock-gray-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-gray-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-subscription a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-red-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration{color:#555}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription span,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration span{border-bottom:1px dotted;cursor:help}.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-error{display:none;font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-error{font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration,.mw-parser-output .cs1-format{font-size:95%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-left,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-left{padding-left:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-right,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-right{padding-right:0.2em}
   


4. 
   ^ Glenn Borgmann at Baseball Reference
   


5. 
   ^ Phil Roof at Baseball Reference
   

References

• Player stats from www.baseball-reference.com


• Team info from www.baseball-almanac.com


• 
  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.
  

v t e 1971 MLB season by team
AL East	Baltimore Boston Cleveland Detroit New York Washington
AL West	California Chicago Kansas City Milwaukee Minnesota Oakland
NL East	Chicago Montréal New York Philadelphia Pittsburgh St. Louis
NL West	Atlanta Cincinnati Houston Los Angeles San Diego San Francisco
1971 MLB draft 1971 All-Star Game 1971 World Series

v t e Minnesota Twins
Established in 1901 Formerly the Washington Nationals and the Washington Senators Based in Minneapolis, Minnesota (Twin Cities)
Franchise	Franchise history in Washington Seasons Records No-hitters Awards Players Managers Owners and executives Broadcasters First-round draft picks Opening Day starting pitchers
Ballparks	American League Park National Park Griffith Stadium Metropolitan Stadium Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome Target Field Spring Training: Plant Field Tinker Field Hammond Stadium
Culture and lore	Homer Hanky Little Big League Major League: Back to the Minors Continental League "The Piranhas" AL Central tie-breaker games 2008 2009 Damn Yankees musical film The Year the Yankees Lost the Pennant
Important figures	Senators Hall of Famers Herb Carneal Goose Goslin Bucky Harris Walter Johnson Arch McDonald Sam Rice Wall of Fame members Rick Aguilera Bob Allison Earl Battey Bert Blyleven George Brophy Rod Carew Bob Casey Gary Gaetti Calvin Griffith Kent Hrbek Jim Kaat Tom Kelly Harmon Killebrew Tony Oliva Carl Pohlad Kirby Puckett Brad Radke Jim Rantz Zoilo Versalles Frank Viola
Key personnel	Owner Jim Pohlad President Dave St. Peter Vice president/Chief baseball officer Derek Falvey General manager Thad Levine Manager Rocco Baldelli
World Series championships (3)	1924 1987 1991
Pennants (6)	American League: 1924 1925 1933 1965 1987 1991
Division titles (10)	.mw-parser-output .nobold{font-weight:normal} West 1969 1970 1987 1991 Central 2002 2003 2004 2006 2009 2010
Wild Card titles (1)	2017
Minor league affiliates	Triple-A Rochester Red Wings Double-A Pensacola Blue Wahoos A Adv. Fort Myers Miracle A Cedar Rapids Kernels Rookie Adv. Elizabethton Twins Rookie GCL Twins DSL Twins
Seasons (119) 1900s 1900 . 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910s 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920s 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930s 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940s 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950s 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960s 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970s 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980s 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990s 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000s 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010s 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019

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