1982 Minnesota Twins season
The 1982 Minnesota Twins season was the 22nd season for the Minnesota Twins franchise in the Twin Cities of Minnesota, and the 82nd overall in the American League. It was also the 1st season at Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome, which they would continue to play in until 2009.
The team finished 60–102, seventh in the American League West. It was the first time the Twins lost more than 100 games since moving to Minnesota. This feat of more than 100 losses would be matched in 2016 and was surpassed by one game as that record was 59–103.
Despite the Twins' new stadium, only 921,186 fans attended Twins games, the lowest total in the American League.
Offseason
- October 23, 1981: Mike Kinnunen was traded by the Twins to the St. Louis Cardinals for Jeff Little.
- January 12, 1982: Kirby Puckett was drafted by the Twins in the 1st round of the 1982 Major League Baseball draft.
Regular season
In the regular-season home opener, outfielder Dave Engle had the Twins' first hit and home run in the Metrodome. Third baseman Gary Gaetti homered twice and was thrown out at home trying to stretch a triple for an inside-the-park home run. The Seattle Mariners beat the Twins 11–7.
On May 29, for the only time in Twins history, a catcher nabbed four base stealers in a single game: Sal Butera threw out Ken Griffey, Graig Nettles, Bobby Murcer and Willie Randolph of the New York Yankees. Otherwise, May was not a good month as the Twins went 3-26, the worst major league month in baseball since the Philadelphia Athletics posted a 2–28 record in June of 1916. The Twins record slide of fourteen consecutive losses ended with a June 4 shutout win over Baltimore.
Only one Twins player made the All-Star Game in Montreal, first baseman Kent Hrbek.
On July 19, outfielder Tom Brunansky hit what will be the Twins only inside-the-park grand slam home run, ever. Jerry Augustine of the Milwaukee Brewers threw the pitch.
Pitcher Terry Felton – who'd gone 0–3 in 1980 – finished this season 0–13, and would not pitch in the majors again.
Offense
hit.301 with 23 HR and 92 RBI.Gary Ward hit.289 with 28 HR and 91 RBI.
Gary Gaetti hit 25 HR and 84 RBI.
Tom Brunansky hit 20 HR and 46 RBI.
| Statistic | Player | Quantity |
| HR | Gary Ward | 28 |
| RBI | Kent Hrbek | 92 |
| BA | Kent Hrbek | .301 |
| Runs | Gary Ward | 85 |
Pitching
Reliever Ron Davis had 22 saves.| Statistic | Player | Quantity |
| ERA | Bobby Castillo | 3.66 |
| Wins | Bobby Castillo | 13 |
| Saves | Ron Davis | 22 |
| Strikeouts | Brad Havens | 129 |
Defense
Season standings
Record vs. opponents
Notable transactions
- March 26, 1982: Tim Corcoran was released by the Minnesota Twins.
- April 10, 1982: Roy Smalley III was traded by the Twins to the New York Yankees for Ron Davis, Greg Gagne and Paul Boris.
- May 12, 1982: Doug Corbett and Rob Wilfong were traded by the Twins to the California Angels for Tom Brunansky, Mike Walters, and $400,000.
- May 12, 1982: Butch Wynegar and Roger Erickson were traded by the Twins to the New York Yankees for Larry Milbourne, Pete Filson, John Pacella and cash.
- July 21, 1982: Houston Jiménez was purchased by the Twins from the Broncos de Reynosa.
Roster
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| Pos | Player | G | AB | H | Avg. | HR | RBI |
| C | Tim Laudner | 93 | 306 | 78 | .255 | 7 | 33 |
| 1B | Kent Hrbek | 140 | 532 | 160 | .301 | 23 | 92 |
| 2B | John Castino | 117 | 410 | 99 | .241 | 6 | 37 |
| 3B | Gary Gaetti | 145 | 508 | 117 | .230 | 25 | 84 |
| SS | Lenny Faedo | 90 | 255 | 62 | .243 | 3 | 22 |
| LF | Gary Ward | 152 | 570 | 165 | .289 | 28 | 91 |
| CF | Bobby Mitchell | 124 | 454 | 113 | .249 | 2 | 28 |
| RF | Tom Brunansky | 127 | 463 | 126 | .272 | 20 | 46 |
| DH | Randy Johnson | 89 | 234 | 58 | .248 | 10 | 33 |