The 1977

Minnesota Twins The Minnesota Twins are an American professional baseball team based in Minneapolis. The Twins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The team is named afte ...

season was a season in American baseball. The team finished 84–77, fourth in the

American League West The American League West is one of Major League Baseball's six divisions. The division has five teams as of the 2013 season, but had four teams from 1994 to 2012, and had as many as seven teams before the 1994 realignment. Although its teams cu ...

Offseason

* March 18, 1977:

Geoff Zahn Geoffrey Clayton Zahn (born December 19, 1945) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He pitched thirteen seasons in Major League Baseball from 1973 to 1985. In his career, he had a Win–loss record of 111–109, an earned run ave ...

was signed as a free agent by the Twins.

Regular season

In a May 25 double-header at Boston's

Fenway Park Fenway Park is a ballpark located in Boston, Massachusetts, less than one mile from Kenmore Square. Since 1912, it has been the home field of Major League Baseball's (MLB) Boston Red Sox. While the stadium was built in 1912, it was substantia ...

, outfielder

Lyman Bostock Lyman Wesley Bostock Jr. (November 22, 1950 – September 24, 1978) was an American professional baseball player. He played Major League Baseball for four seasons, as an outfielder for the Minnesota Twins and California Angels (1978), with a l ...

tied a major league record with twelve

putout In baseball statistics, a putout (PO) is awarded to a defensive player who (generally while in secure possession of the ball) records an out by one of the following methods: * Tagging a runner with the ball when he is not touching a base (a tag ...

s in the first game. His total of seventeen putouts over both games set a new

American League The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is the younger of two sports leagues, leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western L ...

record. On June 26, a crowd of 46,463 turned up at

Metropolitan Stadium Metropolitan Stadium (often referred to as "the Met", "Met Stadium", or now "the Old Met" to distinguish from the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome, Metrodome) was an outdoor sports stadium in the West North Central states, north central United State ...

to watch

first baseman A first baseman, abbreviated 1B, is the player on a baseball or softball team who fields the area nearest first base, the first of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. The first baseman is responsible for the majori ...

Rod Carew Rodney Cline Carew (born October 1, 1945) is a Panamanian-American former professional baseball player and coach. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a second baseman, first baseman and designated hitter from 1967 to 1985 for the Minneso ...

's pursuit of a .400

batting average Batting average is a statistic in cricket, baseball, and softball that measures the performance of batters. The development of the baseball statistic was influenced by the cricket statistic. Cricket In cricket, a player's batting average is ...

. Carew didn't disappoint, going 4 for 5 with six RBI, raising his batting average seven points to .403. Lost in the commotion was

right fielder A right fielder, abbreviated RF, is the outfielder in baseball or softball who plays defense in right field. Right field is the area of the outfield to the right of a person standing at home plate and facing towards the pitcher's mound. In the ...

Glenn Adams' own 4-for-5 performance, as he drove in a Twins-record eight runs. The Twins beat the

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The club plays its ...

19–12. Rod Carew, outfielder

Larry Hisle Larry Eugene Hisle (; born May 5, 1947) is an American former professional baseball player and hitting coach. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as an outfielder for the Philadelphia Phillies (1968–71), Minnesota Twins (1973–77), and ...

and catcher

Butch Wynegar Harold Delano "Butch" Wynegar Jr. (born March 14, 1956) is an American former professional baseball catcher who played 13 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). He played for the Minnesota Twins, New York Yankees and California Angels, and was a ...

were named to the

All-Star Game An all-star game is an exhibition game that showcases the best players (the "stars") of a sports league. The exhibition is between two teams organized solely for the event, usually representing the league's teams based on region or division, bu ...

. Carew was the leading AL vote-getter, scoring 405 of 422 possible votes in the national balloting by sports writers and broadcasters. Carew was named

Most Valuable Player In team sports, a most valuable player (MVP) award is an honor typically bestowed upon an individual (or individuals, in the instance of a tie) whose individual performance is the greatest in an entire league, for a particular competition, or ...

. In winning his sixth AL batting title, Carew flirted with becoming the first batter since

Ted Williams Theodore Samuel Williams (August 30, 1918 – July 5, 2002) was an American professional baseball player and manager. He played his entire 19-year Major League Baseball (MLB) career, primarily as a left fielder, for the Boston Red Sox from 193 ...

in 1941 to hit .400, finishing at .388. He also had 239

hit Hit means to strike someone or something. Hit or HIT may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Fictional entities * Hit, a fictional character from ''Dragon Ball Super'' * Homicide International Trust or HIT, a fictional organization i ...

s, scored a league-leading 128 runs, hit 14

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the Baseball (ball), ball is hit in such a way that the batting (baseball), batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safe (baseball), safely in one play without any error ( ...

s and collected 100 RBI. Other offensive stars were Larry Hisle, who hit 28 HR and drove in a league-leading 119 runs, and Lyman Bostock, who hit .338 with 104 runs, 14 HR and 90 RBI. The Twins' ability to score runs was matched by their pitchers' ability to give up runs. Reliever Tom Johnson replaced Bill Campbell, racking up 16 relief wins along with 20 saves.

Dave Goltz David Allan Goltz (born June 23, 1949) is an American former professional baseball player who pitched in the Major Leagues from 1972 to 1983. Biography Dave Goltz attended high school in Rothsay, Minnesota where he was a multi-sport star athle ...

became a 20-game winner for the first time. 1,162,727 fans attended Twins games, the fourth lowest total in the

. It was, however, the first time since 1970 that the Twins attracted more than one million fans.

Season standings

Record vs. opponents

Notable transactions

* April 6, 1977: The Twins purchased the contract of Don Carrithers from the

Montreal Expos The Montreal Expos () were a Canadian professional baseball team based in Montreal. The Expos were the first Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise located outside the United States. They played in the National League (baseball), National League ...

. * May 2, 1977: Dave Johnson was purchased by the Twins from the

Seattle Mariners The Seattle Mariners are an American professional baseball team based in Seattle. The Mariners compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, West Division. The team joined the American ...

. * June 7, 1977:

Darrell Jackson Darrell Lamont Jackson (born December 6, 1978) is an American former professional football player who was a wide receiver for nine seasons in the National Football League (NFL) during the 2000s. Jackson played college football for the Florid ...

was drafted by the Twins in the 9th round of the

1977 Major League Baseball draft The 1977 Major League Baseball draft took place prior to the 1977 MLB season. The draft saw the Chicago White Sox select Harold Baines first overall. First round selections The following are the first round picks in the 1977 Major League Baseb ...

.Darrell Jackson
at ''Baseball Reference''

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''

Other batters

''Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in''

Pitching

Starting pitchers

''Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts''

Other pitchers

''Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts''

Relief pitchers

''Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts''

Awards and honors

, American League batting champion (.388) * Rod Carew,

Roberto Clemente Award The Roberto Clemente Award is given annually to the Major League Baseball (MLB) baseball positions, player who "best exemplifies the game of baseball, sportsmanship, community#Psychology, community involvement and the individual's contribution to ...

* Rod Carew,

American League MVP The Major League Baseball Most Valuable Player Award (MVP) is an annual Major League Baseball (MLB) award given to one outstanding player in the American League and one in the National League. The award has been presented by the Baseball Writers' ...

Farm system

Notes

References

Player stats from www.baseball-reference.comTeam info from www.baseball-almanac.com
* {{Minnesota Twins Minnesota Twins seasons Minnesota Twins season