Tom Kelly (baseball player)
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Jay Thomas Kelly (born August 15, 1950 in Graceville, Minnesota), also referred to as TK, is the former manager of the Minnesota Twins baseball team from 1986 to 2001. Currently, he serves as a Special Assistant to the General Manager for the Twins.
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[edit] Managerial career
He was the 11th manager of the team and his tenure as manager was the longest in team history. Under his tenure, the Twins won two World Series crowns in the span of five years (1987 and 1991); however, from 1994 to 1997 a long sequence of retirements and injuries (including superstars Kent Hrbek and Kirby Puckett) hurt the team badly, and Kelly spent the remainder of his managerial career rebuilding the Twins.
In 1998, management cleared out the team of all of its players earning over 1 million dollars (except for pitcher Brad Radke) and rebuilt from the ground up; the team barely avoided finishing in the cellar that year, finishing just five games ahead of then-perennial cellar dwellers Detroit Tigers and avoiding the humiliating mark of 100 losses by just eight games. His efforts paid off the year after he retired from the Twins, with a threepeat of divisional championships in 2002, 2003, and 2004. Kelly was succeeded as manager of the Twins by Ron Gardenhire. Kelly also played for the Twins during the 1975 season, his only in the majors.
[edit] Managerial style
Kelly's managerial style has been described as "even-keel," emphasizing consistent performance over the span of a season rather than flashy individual game performance. Under his and successor Gardenhire's leadership, the Twins have been widely known for playing the kind of fundamental baseball that wins ball games consistently, rather than having individual superstar players, although a number of well-known stars have emerged from the Twins organization under their leadership (most notably Kirby Puckett, Torii Hunter), and Joe Mauer.
[edit] 1987 World Series
A year after taking over the reins of the Twins from Ray Miller, Kelly took the team that he had helped build through his role as one of the top people in the Twins' minor league organization and led it to a World Series championship. Though the '87 Twins were criticized for being the top team in a weak division (amassing only a .525 record in regular season play, which was the worst winning percentage for an eventual World Champion until surpassed by the St Louis Cardinals in 2006), they easily handled the Detroit Tigers in five games, losing only Game 3 of the American League Championship Series to a heartbreaking 8th-inning two-run dinger.
The World Series was a well-fought contest between the Twins and the National League champion St. Louis Cardinals, each team winning all of its home games. Games 1, 2, 4 and 6 were decidedly lopsided contests (10-1 Twins, 8-4 Twins, 7-2 Cards, 11-5 Twins), with games 3, 5 and 7 being much closer contests, each being decided by only two runs (3-1 Cards, 4-2 Cards and 4-2 Twins).
Unlike in many other cities after major championship victories, the victory celebration in the streets of Minneapolis was very notable in that it did not become a sports riot, owing partially to strong deployed police presence around the Metrodome and partially to the generally reserved nature of Minnesota fans. After a 63-year drought, Tom Kelly's leadership helped propel the Twins to their second World Championship (the first coming in 1924 as the Washington Senators).
[edit] Managerial records
| Team | Year | Regular Season | Post Season | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Games | Won | Lost | Win % | Finish | Won | Lost | Win % | Result | ||
| MIN | 1986 | 23 | 12 | 11 | .522 | 6th - AL West | - | - | - | - |
| MIN | 1987 | 162 | 85 | 77 | .525 | 1th - AL West | 8 | 4 | .667 | Won ALCS vs. Detroit Won World Series vs. St. Louis |
| MIN | 1988 | 162 | 91 | 71 | .562 | 2nd - AL West | - | - | - | - |
| MIN | 1989 | 162 | 80 | 82 | .494 | 5th - AL West | - | - | - | - |
| MIN | 1990 | 162 | 74 | 88 | .457 | 7th - AL West | - | - | - | - |
| MIN | 1991 | 162 | 95 | 67 | .586 | 1st - AL West | 8 | 4 | .667 | Won ALCS vs. Toronto Won World Series vs. Atlanta |
| MIN | 1992 | 162 | 90 | 72 | .556 | 2nd - AL West | - | - | - | - |
| MIN | 1993 | 162 | 71 | 91 | .438 | 6th - AL West | - | - | - | - |
| MIN | 1994 | 113 | 53 | 60 | .469 | 4th - AL Central | - | - | - | - |
| MIN | 1995 | 144 | 56 | 88 | .389 | 5th - AL Central | - | - | - | - |
| MIN | 1996 | 162 | 78 | 84 | .481 | 4th - AL Central | - | - | - | - |
| MIN | 1997 | 162 | 68 | 94 | .420 | 4th - AL Central | - | - | - | - |
| MIN | 1998 | 162 | 70 | 92 | .432 | 4th - AL Central | - | - | - | - |
| MIN | 1999 | 162 | 63 | 97 | .394 | 5th - AL Central | - | - | - | - |
| MIN | 2000 | 162 | 69 | 93 | .426 | 5th - AL Central | - | - | - | - |
| MIN | 2001 | 162 | 85 | 77 | .525 | 2nd - AL Central | - | - | - | - |
| Total | 2,386 | 1,140 | 1,244 | .478 | 16 | 8 | .667 | |||
[edit] References
- Tom Kelly Managerial Record. Baseball-reference.com.
| Preceded by Jeff Torborg |
American League Manager of the Year 1991 |
Succeeded by Tony La Russa |
| Preceded by Ray Miller |
Minnesota Twins Manager 1986-2001 |
Succeeded by Ron Gardenhire |
| Managers of the Washington Nationals/Senators and Minnesota Twins |
|---|
| Manning • Loftus • Kittridge • Donovan • Stahl • Cantillon • McAleer • Griffith • McBride • Milan • Bush • Harris • Johnson • Cronin • Bluege • Kuhel • Dressen • Lavagetto • Mele • Ermer • Martin • Rigney • Quilici • Mauch • Goryl • Gardner • Miller • Kelly • Gardenhire |
Categories: 1950 births | Living people | Major league players from Minnesota | Manager of the Year Award | Major league first basemen | Baseball managers | Minnesota Twins managers | Minnesota Twins players | People from Minnesota | Sports Hall of Fame of New Jersey | Major League Baseball general managers
