# 1991 Minnesota Twins season

The 1991 Minnesota Twins season was the 31st season for the Minnesota Twins franchise in the Twin Cities of Minnesota, their 10th season at Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome and the 91st overall in the American League.
They won the World Series, the second time the Twins had won the World Series since moving to Minnesota in 1961. At the beginning of June in the 1991 regular season, the Twins had an MLB-leading 15-game win streak, which remains a club record. On June 17, 1991, the streak came to an end at the hands of the Baltimore Orioles (as seen in the movie A Few Good Men) but not before the Twins moved from fifth place to first, a lead they would not relinquish while finishing 95–67, first in the AL West. The Twins' winning streak of 1991 falls seven games short of the all-time American League record of 22 consecutive regular season wins set by the Cleveland Indians in 2017.
The Twins' division title was an unprecedented turnaround. In 1990, the team finished last in the division with a 74–88 record. They were the first team to go from a last-place finish to a World Series championship. They and the Atlanta Braves of the same season were the first teams to go from last place to a pennant. The Twins defeated the Braves in seven games in a Series which has been considered one of the best to have ever been played.
There was a considerable reshaping of the team in January and February, beginning when third baseman Gary Gaetti left as a free agent on January 25 and signed with the California Angels. Less than 12 hours after Gaetti's departure, the Twins signed free agent Mike Pagliarulo from the New York Yankees as a new third baseman. Two more key free agent signings followed with designated hitter Chili Davis on January 30 and St. Paul native Jack Morris on February 5. The July 1989 blockbuster trade that sent 1988 AL Cy Young Award winner Frank Viola to the New York Mets in exchange for relief pitchers Rick Aguilera and David West and starter Kevin Tapani proved to be pivotal to the 1991 season. There were only seven players still on the roster from the 1987 World Championship team, none of them pitchers: Randy Bush, Greg Gagne, Dan Gladden, Kent Hrbek, Gene Larkin, Al Newman, and future Hall of Famer Kirby Puckett. Into this framework, young stars were blended successfully, including Scott Leius to platoon with Pagliarulo at third, Shane Mack in right field, Scott Erickson, a 20-game winner with a 12-game winning streak, and A.L. Rookie of the Year second baseman Chuck Knoblauch.
2,293,842 fans attended Twins games, the eighth highest total in the American League.

## Offseason

* December 2, 1990: Roy Smith was released by the Twins.
* January 14, 1991: Tom Edens was signed by the Twins as a free agent.
* January 25, 1991: Mike Pagliarulo was signed as a free agent by the Twins.
* January 29, 1991: Chili Davis was signed as a free agent by the Twins.
* February 5, 1991: Jack Morris was signed as a free agent by the Twins.
The club moved spring training operations from Orlando's Tinker Field, where the franchise had trained since 1936, to the Lee County Sports Complex in Ft. Myers.

## Regular season

For the second time in his career, Kirby Puckett had a six-hit game on May 23. This was an eleven-inning game; the previous time in 1987 was in nine innings.
The highest paid player on the team was Jack Morris at $3,700,000; followed by Kirby Puckett at $3,166,667.

### Offense

Team Leaders :
| Statistic | Player | Quantity |
| HR | Chili Davis | 29 |
| RBI | Chili Davis | 93 |
| BA | Kirby Puckett | .319 |
| Runs | Kirby Puckett | 92 |

### Pitching

Jack Morris, Kevin Tapani, and Scott Erickson were a solid, 1-2-3 punch in the team's rotation. The fourth and fifth spots were less certain, with Allan Anderson, David West, and Mark Guthrie starting over 10 games. Rick Aguilera was a solid closer, earning 42 saves.
Team Leaders :
| Statistic | Player | Quantity |
| ERA | Kevin Tapani | 2.99 |
| Wins | Scott Erickson | 20* |
| Saves | Rick Aguilera | 42 |
| Strikeouts | Jack Morris | 163 |
    *League leader

### Defense

The regular lineup included Kent Hrbek at first base, rookie Chuck Knoblauch at second, Greg Gagne at shortstop, Brian Harper at catcher, and Kirby Puckett, Shane Mack, and Dan Gladden in the outfield. Mike Pagliarulo and Scott Leius platooned at third. Junior Ortiz was the backup catcher, and Al Newman was a reliable utility infielder.

### Season standings

vteAL West :
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
| Minnesota Twins | 95 | 67 | .586 | — | 51‍–‍30 | 44‍–‍37 |
| Chicago White Sox | 87 | 75 | .537 | 8 | 46‍–‍35 | 41‍–‍40 |
| Texas Rangers | 85 | 77 | .525 | 10 | 46‍–‍35 | 39‍–‍42 |
| Oakland Athletics | 84 | 78 | .519 | 11 | 47‍–‍34 | 37‍–‍44 |
| Seattle Mariners | 83 | 79 | .512 | 12 | 45‍–‍36 | 38‍–‍43 |
| Kansas City Royals | 82 | 80 | .506 | 13 | 40‍–‍41 | 42‍–‍39 |
| California Angels | 81 | 81 | .500 | 14 | 40‍–‍41 | 41‍–‍40 |

### Record vs. opponents

1991 American League recordvte Sources: :
| Team | BAL | BOS | CAL | CWS | CLE | DET | KC | MIL | MIN | NYY | OAK | SEA | TEX | TOR |
| Baltimore | — | 8–5 | 6–6 | 4–8 | 7–6 | 5–8 | 4–8 | 3–10 | 4–8 | 5–8 | 3–9 | 4–8 | 9–3 | 5–8 |
| Boston | 5–8 | — | 4–8 | 7–5 | 9–4 | 5–8 | 7–5 | 7–6 | 3–9 | 6–7 | 8–4 | 9–3 | 5–7 | 9–4 |
| California | 6–6 | 8–4 | — | 8–5 | 7–5 | 5–7 | 9–4 | 6–6 | 8–5 | 6–6 | 1–12 | 6–7 | 5–8 | 6–6 |
| Chicago | 8–4 | 5–7 | 5–8 | — | 6–6 | 4–8 | 7–6 | 7–5 | 8–5 | 8–4 | 7–6 | 7–6 | 8–5 | 7–5 |
| Cleveland | 6–7 | 4–9 | 5–7 | 6–6 | — | 7–6 | 4–8 | 5–8 | 2–10 | 6–7 | 5–7 | 2–10 | 4–8 | 1–12 |
| Detroit | 8–5 | 8–5 | 7–5 | 8–4 | 6–7 | — | 8–4 | 4–9 | 4–8 | 8–5 | 4–8 | 8–4 | 6–6 | 5–8 |
| Kansas City | 8–4 | 5–7 | 4–9 | 6–7 | 8–4 | 4–8 | — | 9–3 | 6–7 | 7–5 | 6–7 | 7–6 | 7–6 | 5–7 |
| Milwaukee | 10–3 | 6–7 | 6–6 | 5–7 | 8–5 | 9–4 | 3–9 | — | 6–6 | 6–7 | 8–4 | 3–9 | 7–5 | 6–7 |
| Minnesota | 8–4 | 9–3 | 5–8 | 5–8 | 10–2 | 8–4 | 7–6 | 6–6 | — | 10–2 | 8–5 | 9–4 | 6–7 | 4–8 |
| New York | 8–5 | 7–6 | 6–6 | 4–8 | 7–6 | 5–8 | 5–7 | 7–6 | 2–10 | — | 6–6 | 3–9 | 5–7 | 6–7 |
| Oakland | 9–3 | 4–8 | 12–1 | 6–7 | 7–5 | 8–4 | 7–6 | 4–8 | 5–8 | 6–6 | — | 6–7 | 4–9 | 6–6 |
| Seattle | 8–4 | 3–9 | 7–6 | 6–7 | 10–2 | 4–8 | 6–7 | 9–3 | 4–9 | 9–3 | 7–6 | — | 5–8 | 5–7 |
| Texas | 3–9 | 7–5 | 8–5 | 5–8 | 8–4 | 6–6 | 6–7 | 5–7 | 7–6 | 7–5 | 9–4 | 8–5 | — | 6–6 |
| Toronto | 8–5 | 4–9 | 6–6 | 5–7 | 12–1 | 8–5 | 7–5 | 7–6 | 8–4 | 7–6 | 6–6 | 7–5 | 6–6 | — |

### Game log

Legend :
| | Twins win |
| | Twins loss |
| | Postponement |
| Bold | Twins team member |
1991 game log: 95–67 (Home: 51–30; Away: 44–37) :
April: 9–11 (Home: 7–4; Away: 2–7)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecordStreak
1April 9@ Athletics2–7Stewart (1–0)Morris (0–1)44,3730–1L1
2April 10@ Athletics4–1Anderson (1–0)Welch (0–1)Aguilera (1)22,9581–1W1
3April 11@ Athletics0–3Slusarski (1–0)Erickson (0–1)Eckersley (1)22,1691–2L1
4April 12Angels6–0Tapani (1–0)J. Abbott (0–1)45,8662–2W1
5April 13Angels9–15Bailes (1–0)Guthrie (0–1)32,7822–3L1
6April 14Angels4–9Finley (2–0)Morris (0–2)22,5132–4L2
7April 15@ Mariners4–8Johnson (1–1)Anderson (1–1)15,1202–5L3
8April 16@ Mariners0–3Holman (1–1)Erickson (0–2)8,8372–6L4
9April 17@ Mariners3–4 (11)Jackson (1–1)Aguilera (0–1)9,6282–7L5
10April 19@ Angels0–2Finley (3–0)Morris (0–3)22,5832–8L6
11April 20@ Angels1–2McCaskill (2–1)Anderson (1–2)Harvey (3)34,7672–9L7
12April 21@ Angels4–3Erickson (1–2)Eichhorn (0–1)Aguilera (2)41,3373–9W1
13April 22Athletics3–2Bedrosian (1–0)Klink (0–1)Aguilera (3)12,9984–9W2
14April 23Athletics5–7Dressendorfer (2–1)Guthrie (0–2)Eckersley (5)12,5744–10L1
15April 24Athletics7–4Morris (1–3)Stewart (1–2)Aguilera (4)18,9505–10W1
16April 25Mariners4–3 (10)Bedrosian (2–0)Jackson (1–2)10,2306–10W2
17April 26Mariners6–0Erickson (2–2)Johnson (2–2)15,9657–10W3
18April 27Mariners7–2Tapani (2–0)Holman (2–2)16,2478–10W4
19April 28Mariners8–2Morris (2–3)Bankhead (1–2)18,0399–10W5
20April 30Red Sox5–7Gray (1–1)Bedrosian (2–1)Reardon (8)15,3439–11L1 :
May: 14–14 (Home: 6–8; Away: 8–6)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecordStreak
21May 1Red Sox1–0Erickson (3–2)Gray (1–2)14,44910–11W1
22May 2@ Brewers1–5Brown (2–0)Tapani (2–1)Crim (3)8,90210–12L1
23May 3@ Brewers5–6Navarro (2–0)Aguilera (0–2)Núñez (3)13,03310–13L2
24May 4@ Brewers7–4Guthrie (1–2)Bosio (3–3)Bedrosian (1)26,50311–13W1
25May 5@ Brewers5–2 (10)Aguilera (1–2)Núñez (1–1)11,18312–13W2
26May 7@ Red Sox9–3Erickson (4–2)Harris (1–3)23,81513–13W3
27May 8@ Red Sox3–8Clemens (6–0)Morris (2–4)25,13413–14L1
28May 9Tigers0–3Petry (1–1)Tapani (2–2)Gibson (3)10,76513–15L2
29May 10Tigers5–2Guthrie (2–2)Terrell (1–4)Aguilera (5)16,01214–15W1
30May 11Tigers5–4Willis (1–0)Henneman (3–1)Aguilera (6)23,06315–15W2
31May 12Tigers8–3Erickson (5–2)Gullickson (4–1)13,18916–15W3
32May 14Brewers5–1Morris (3–4)Navarro (2–2)13,39517–15W4
33May 15Brewers2–4Bosio (4–4)Tapani (2–3)Plesac (1)15,99217–16L1
34May 16Brewers3–6Wegman (1–1)Anderson (1–3)Holmes (1)15,18217–17L2
35May 17@ Tigers8–1Erickson (6–2)Gullickson (4–2)Bedrosian (2)13,67318–17W1
36May 18@ Tigers4–1Guthrie (3–2)Tanana (2–3)Aguilera (7)31,43219–17W2
37May 19@ Tigers3–8Petry (2–2)Morris (3–5)17,14819–18L1
38May 21Rangers5–6Witt (2–3)Tapani (2–4)Jeff Russell (9)12,42719–19L2
39May 22Rangers2–5 (12)Alexander (2–0)Willis (1–1)Jeff Russell (10)13,28319–20L3
40May 23Rangers6–10 (11)Jeff Russell (1–0)Bedrosian (2–2)16,03619–21L4
41May 24Royals3–2Morris (4–5)S. Davis (2–5)Aguilera (8)16,39420–21W1
42May 25Royals2–11Gubicza (1–2)Guthrie (3–3)19,94320–22L1
43May 26Royals1–5Saberhagen (5–3)Tapani (2–5)21,94120–23L2
44May 27@ Rangers4–11Brown (4–3)Anderson (1–4)31,30220–24L3
45May 28@ Rangers3–0Erickson (7–2)Guzmán (0–1)Aguilera (9)26,51821–24W1
46May 29@ Rangers9–1Morris (5–5)Ryan (3–4)31,34022–24W2
47May 30@ Royals4–2Guthrie (4–3)Gubicza (1–3)Aguilera (10)31,94023–24W3
48May 31@ Royals1–4Saberhagen (6–3)Tapani (2–6)26,32123–25L1 :
June: 22–6 (Home: 12–4; Away: 10–2)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecordStreak
49June 1@ Royals8–4Anderson (2–4)Appier (3–6)29,98524–25W1
50June 2@ Royals4–1Erickson (8–2)Gordon (4–3)Aguilera (11)25,39425–25W2
51June 3Orioles3–2Morris (6–5)Robinson (3–5)Aguilera (12)12,49726–25W3
52June 4Orioles4–3 (10)Willis (2–1)Olson (0–2)11,67227–25W4
53June 5Orioles4–3Tapani (3–6)Mesa (4–6)Aguilera (13)12,46428–25W5
54June 7Indians2–0Anderson (3–4)Candiotti (7–3)Aguilera (14)18,20029–25W6
55June 8Indians2–1Erickson (9–2)Nagy (2–6)Aguilera (15)25,31330–25W7
56June 9Indians9–2Morris (7–5)Nichols (0–5)20,67731–25W8
57June 10Indians8–5Abbott (1–0)King (4–5)Aguilera (16)14,17132–25W9
58June 11Yankees5–3Tapani (4–6)Habyan (4–2)Aguilera (17)18,23333–25W10
59June 12Yankees6–3Anderson (4–4)Johnson (0–2)Bedrosian (3)19,17834–25W11
60June 13Yankees10–3Erickson (10–2)Witt (0–1)29,86735–25W12
61June 14@ Indians7–0Morris (8–5)Shaw (0–1)55,15836–25W13
62June 15@ Indians11–7Abbott (2–0)Mutis (0–1)20,99737–25W14
63June 16@ Indians4–2 (10)Aguilera (2–2)Hillegas (2–1)20,72538–25W15
64June 17@ Orioles5–6Williamson (1–2)Aguilera (2–3)25,60038–26L1
65June 18@ Orioles9–2Erickson (11–2)Smith (3–1)Willis (1)26,40139–26W1
66June 19@ Orioles8–4Morris (9–5)Olson (0–3)44,74240–26W2
67June 21@ Yankees5–4Guthrie (5–3)Sanderson (7–3)Aguilera (18)32,20941–26W3
68June 22@ Yankees4–3Tapani (5–6)Taylor (2–2)Aguilera (19)25,35242–26W4
69June 23@ Yankees2–11Kamieniecki (2–0)Anderson (4–5)36,95242–27L1
70June 24@ Yankees5–0Erickson (12–2)Johnson (1–3)23,14243–27W1
71June 25Blue Jays8–6Morris (10–5)Stottlemyre (8–3)Aguilera (20)26,35044–27W2
72June 26Blue Jays2–5Wells (9–4)Guthrie (5–4)Henke (13)25,50344–28L1
73June 27Blue Jays0–1Guzmán (2–2)Tapani (5–7)Henke (14)35,59844–29L2
74June 28White Sox2–4Hough (5–3)Anderson (4–6)Thigpen (15)37,86544–30L3
75June 29White Sox4–8Hibbard (6–6)Erickson (12–3)50,52544–31L4
76June 30White Sox3–0Morris (11–5)McDowell (9–4)51,08545–31W1 :
July: 16–10 (Home: 7–3; Away: 9–7)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecordStreak
77July 1White Sox4–5 (10)Thigpen (5–2)Willis (2–2)26,42745–32L1
78July 2@ Blue Jays3–4D. Ward (2–3)Leach (0–1)48,67645–33L2
79July 3@ Blue Jays0–4Candiotti (8–7)Anderson (4–7)50,07145–34L3
80July 4@ Blue Jays1–0West (1–0)Key (10–4)Aguilera (21)50,29346–34W1
81July 5@ White Sox2–4McDowell (10–4)Morris (11–6)Thigpen (17)41,65746–35L1
82July 6@ White Sox5–4Willis (3–2)Radinsky (2–3)Aguilera (22)41,60647–35W1
83July 7@ White Sox3–4Patterson (3–0)Guthrie (5–5)Thigpen (18)41,90047–36L1
ASGJuly 9NL @ AL2–4Key (1–0)Martínez (0–1)Eckersley (1)52,383—N/A
84July 11Red Sox7–3Willis (4–2)Harris (5–8)31,40948–36W1
85July 12Red Sox5–4Abbott (3–0)Clemens (11–6)Aguilera (23)37,26249–36W2
86July 13Red Sox3–1Morris (12–6)Morton (1–1)Aguilera (24)42,80350–36W3
87July 14Red Sox3–5Hesketh (3–1)West (1–1)Reardon (22)38,06650–37L1
88July 15@ Brewers11–7Guthrie (6–5)Hunter (0–3)Bedrosian (4)16,20151–37W1
89July 16@ Brewers3–4Henry (1–0)Aguilera (2–4)15,95451–38L1
90July 18@ Red Sox11–3Morris (13–6)Morton (1–2)34,63052–38W1
91July 19@ Red Sox3–2 (11)Bedrosian (3–2)Harris (6–9)Aguilera (25)33,75853–38W2
92July 20@ Red Sox5–0Erickson (13–3)Gardiner (3–4)Guthrie (1)33,00554–38W3
93July 21@ Red Sox14–1Tapani (6–7)Bolton (7–7)32,84955–38W4
94July 23@ Tigers3–6Tanana (7–6)Anderson (4–8)Henneman (14)21,97655–39L1
95July 24@ Tigers3–6Gullickson (13–5)West (1–2)Henneman (15)18,39155–40L2
96July 25@ Tigers9–3Erickson (14–3)Aldred (0–1)Bedrosian (5)20,08756–40W1
97July 26Brewers6–3Tapani (7–7)Holmes (1–2)Aguilera (26)39,21157–40W2
98July 27Brewers7–4Willis (5–2)Wegman (6–5)47,63258–40W3
99July 28Brewers2–11Navarro (8–8)Morris (13–7)47,52458–41L1
100July 29Tigers6–3West (2–2)Gullickson (13–6)Aguilera (27)35,59959–41W1
101July 30Tigers9–7Willis (6–2)Cerutti (1–3)42,03560–41W2
102July 31@ Yankees12–3Tapani (8–7)Sanderson (10–7)24,30061–41W3 :
August: 17–12 (Home: 8–5; Away: 9–7)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecordStreak
103August 1@ Yankees3–8Cadaret (4–4)Abbott (3–1)25,71161–42L1
104August 2@ Athletics1–3Welch (9–6)Morris (13–8)44,16061–43L2
105August 3@ Athletics8–6Bedrosian (4–2)Klink (8–3)Aguilera (28)43,11962–43W1
106August 4@ Athletics6–2Erickson (15–3)Stewart (8–6)Willis (2)44,08863–43W2
107August 5@ Angels7–4Tapani (9–7)Grahe (1–2)Aguilera (29)25,43964–43W3
108August 6@ Angels7–4Banks (1–0)Finley (14–6)27,87265–43W4
109August 7@ Angels1–8J. Abbott (10–8)Morris (13–9)30,72665–44L1
110August 9@ Mariners5–2West (3–2)Johnson (10–8)Aguilera (30)31,11266–44W1
111August 10@ Mariners0–8Hanson (7–5)Erickson (15–4)29,54866–45L1
112August 11@ Mariners5–2Tapani (10–7)Krueger (9–5)31,00767–45W1
113August 12Angels4–3Morris (14–9)Beasley (0–1)Aguilera (31)31,78968–45W2
114August 13Angels3–8J. Abbott (11–8)Banks (1–1)Harvey (26)41,35468–46L1
115August 14Angels4–7McCaskill (9–15)West (3–3)Harvey (27)26,24268–47L2
116August 15Angels1–9Langston (15–6)Erickson (15–5)31,88068–48L3
117August 16Athletics5–4 (12)Aguilera (3–4)Nelson (1–4)50,01969–48W1
118August 17Athletics12–4Morris (15–9)Welch (10–8)52,08070–48W2
119August 18Athletics6–4Willis (7–2)Honeycutt (2–3)Aguilera (32)44,29571–48W3
120August 19Athletics7–8Klink (9–3)Bedrosian (4–3)Eckersley (34)45,54471–49L1
121August 20Mariners10–5Erickson (16–5)Hanson (7–6)Guthrie (2)32,09072–49W1
122August 21Mariners9–1Tapani (11–7)Krueger (10–6)30,63173–49W2
123August 22Mariners5–4 (10)Aguilera (4–4)Schooler (0–1)35,87474–49W3
124August 23@ Orioles4–5Olson (3–4)Willis (7–3)35,36574–50L1
125August 24@ Orioles5–2Bedrosian (5–3)Flanagan (2–5)Aguilera (33)37,95875–50W1
126August 25@ Orioles3–7Mussina (2–3)Erickson (16–6)Frohwirth (2)36,20275–51L1
127August 26@ Indians5–3Tapani (12–7)Otto (1–4)Aguilera (34)5,00376–51W1
128August 27@ Indians1–2Swindell (8–12)Morris (15–10)Olin (8)7,66476–52L1
129August 28@ Indians4–2West (4–3)King (5–8)Aguilera (35)5,31777–52W1
130August 30Orioles5–11Milacki (8–7)Edens (0–1)30,21477–53L1
131August 31Orioles5–2Tapani (13–7)Mussina (2–4)Aguilera (36)38,39578–53W1 :
September: 15–10 (Home: 10–4; Away: 5–6)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecordStreak
132September 1Orioles14–3Morris (16–10)Rhodes (0–2)31,43579–53W2
133September 2Indians9–3Erickson (17–6)King (5–9)Aguilera (37)28,26780–53W3
134September 4Indians4–8Blair (2–2)West (4–4)Hillegas (7)19,76080–54L1
135September 6Yankees3–1Tapani (14–7)Taylor (7–8)Aguilera (38)27,80481–54W1
136September 7Yankees3–2 (10)Willis (8–3)Guetterman (3–3)35,50482–54W2
137September 8Yankees6–5Erickson (18–6)Johnson (5–10)Bedrosian (6)27,28183–54W3
138September 9@ Royals10–4Edens (1–1)Boddicker (11–11)Wayne (1)22,18984–54W4
139September 10@ Royals7–2Anderson (5–8)Gubicza (8–9)Aguilera (39)19,92385–54W5
140September 11@ Royals1–4M. Davis (5–1)Tapani (14–8)Montgomery (28)18,29085–55L1
141September 12@ Rangers3–4Ryan (10–6)Morris (16–11)Jeff Russell (27)17,97485–56L2
142September 13@ Rangers7–3 (10)Leach (1–1)Rogers (9–10)24,38686–56W1
143September 14@ Rangers0–3Boyd (2–5)Edens (1–2)Rogers (5)40,71886–57L1
144September 15@ Rangers2–4Guzmán (12–5)Anderson (5–9)Jeff Russell (28)19,77886–58L2
145September 16Royals9–0Tapani (15–8)Gubicza (8–10)18,74587–58W1
146September 17Royals1–4Saberhagen (11–8)Morris (16–12)Montgomery (29)22,06787–59L1
147September 18Royals4–10Aquino (8–3)Erickson (18–7)21,72687–60L2
148September 20Rangers6–4Wayne (1–0)Rosenthal (1–3)Aguilera (40)29,50388–60W1
149September 21Rangers8–4Tapani (16–8)Guzmán (12–6)43,13889–60W2
150September 22Rangers9–4Morris (17–12)Fajardo (0–1)44,53990–60W3
151September 24White Sox9–2Erickson (19–7)McDowell (17–10)45,49691–60W4
152September 25White Sox1–6Fernandez (9–12)Anderson (5–10)43,45091–61L1
153September 27@ Blue Jays2–7Guzmán (9–2)Tapani (16–9)50,32691–62L2
154September 28@ Blue Jays5–0Morris (18–12)Candiotti (13–13)50,31992–62W1
155September 29@ Blue Jays1–2Stottlemyre (14–8)Erickson (19–8)D. Ward (20)50,31592–63L1
156September 30@ White Sox8–3Edens (2–2)Fernandez (9–13)37,74093–63W1 :
October: 2–4 (Home: 1–2; Away: 1–2)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecordStreak
157October 1@ White Sox3–2Guthrie (7–5)Pérez (8–7)Aguilera (41)32,18194–63W2
—October 2@ White SoxPostponed (rain); Makeup: October 3
158October 3@ White Sox2–3 (10)Radinsky (5–5)Aguilera (4–5)–94–64L1
159October 3@ White Sox12–13 (12)Drahman (3–2)Leach (1–2)31,02294–65L2
160October 4Blue Jays1–4Stottlemyre (15–8)Neagle (0–1)D. Ward (22)35,12494–66L3
161October 5Blue Jays3–1Erickson (20–8)Guzmán (10–3)Aguilera (42)51,05895–66W1
162October 6Blue Jays2–3 (10)Weathers (1–0)Anderson (5–11)D. Ward (23)37,79495–67L1 :

### Notable transactions

* April 2, 1991: Nelson Liriano was released by the Twins.
* May 10, 1991: Carmelo Castillo was released by the Minnesota Twins.
* June 3, 1991: 1991 Major League Baseball draft
** David McCarty was drafted by the Twins in the 1st round (3rd pick).
** Scott Stahoviak was drafted by the Twins in the 1st round (27th pick).
** LaTroy Hawkins was drafted by the Twins in the 7th round.
** Brad Radke was drafted by the Twins in the 8th round.
** Matt Lawton was drafted by the Twins in the 13th round.
* December 19, 1991: Brian Harper was signed as a free agent with the Minnesota Twins.

## 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 | Brian Harper | 123 | 441 | 137 | .311 | 10 | 69 |
| 1B | Kent Hrbek | 132 | 462 | 131 | .284 | 20 | 89 |
| 2B | Chuck Knoblauch | 151 | 565 | 159 | .281 | 1 | 50 |
| 3B | Mike Pagliarulo | 121 | 365 | 102 | .279 | 6 | 36 |
| SS | Greg Gagne | 139 | 408 | 108 | .265 | 8 | 42 |
| LF | Dan Gladden | 126 | 461 | 114 | .247 | 6 | 52 |
| CF | Kirby Puckett | 152 | 611 | 195 | .319 | 15 | 89 |
| RF | Shane Mack | 143 | 442 | 137 | .310 | 18 | 74 |
| DH | Chili Davis | 153 | 534 | 148 | .277 | 29 | 93 |

#### 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 |
| Gene Larkin | 98 | 255 | 73 | .286 | 2 | 19 |
| Al Newman | 118 | 246 | 47 | .191 | 0 | 19 |
| Scott Leius | 109 | 199 | 57 | .286 | 5 | 20 |
| Randy Bush | 93 | 165 | 50 | .303 | 6 | 23 |
| Pedro Muñoz | 51 | 138 | 39 | .283 | 7 | 26 |
| Junior Ortiz | 61 | 134 | 28 | .209 | 0 | 11 |
| Paul Sorrento | 26 | 47 | 12 | .255 | 4 | 13 |
| Jarvis Brown | 38 | 37 | 8 | .216 | 0 | 0 |
| Lenny Webster | 18 | 34 | 10 | .294 | 3 | 8 |
| Carmelo Castillo | 9 | 12 | 2 | .167 | 0 | 0 |

### 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 |
| Jack Morris | 34 | 246.2 | 18 | 12 | 3.43 | 163 |
| Kevin Tapani | 35 | 244.2 | 16 | 9 | 2.99 | 135 |
| Scott Erickson | 32 | 204.0 | 20 | 8 | 3.18 | 108 |
| Allan Anderson | 29 | 134.1 | 5 | 11 | 4.96 | 51 |
| David West | 15 | 71.1 | 4 | 4 | 4.54 | 52 |

#### 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 |
| Paul Abbott | 15 | 47.1 | 3 | 1 | 4.75 | 43 |
| Tom Edens | 8 | 33.0 | 2 | 2 | 4.09 | 19 |
| Denny Neagle | 7 | 20.0 | 0 | 1 | 4.05 | 14 |
| Larry Casian | 15 | 18.1 | 0 | 0 | 7.36 | 6 |
| Willie Banks | 5 | 17.1 | 1 | 1 | 5.71 | 16 |
| Gary Wayne | 8 | 12.1 | 1 | 0 | 5.11 | 7 |

#### 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 |
| Rick Aguilera | 63 | 4 | 5 | 42 | 2.35 | 61 |
| Mark Guthrie | 41 | 7 | 5 | 2 | 4.32 | 72 |
| Carl Willis | 40 | 8 | 3 | 2 | 2.63 | 53 |
| Steve Bedrosian | 56 | 5 | 3 | 6 | 4.42 | 44 |
| Terry Leach | 50 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 3.61 | 32 |

## Postseason

Seven players and five of the coaching staff from the 1987 World Champions repeated as 1991 World Champions.
Only one man has been a part of each of the three Minnesota Twins World Series teams: Tony Oliva. An outfielder in 1965, he was the hitting coach on the 1987 team and bench coach in 1991.

## Awards and honors

* Kent Hrbek, Lou Gehrig Award
* Jack Morris, Babe Ruth Award
* Jack Morris, World Series Most Valuable Player
* Kirby Puckett, ALCS Most Valuable Player
* Chuck Knoblauch, 1991 AL Rookie of the Year
All-Star Game
* The Twins had three All-Stars in the 1991 All-Star Game: closer Rick Aguilera, pitcher Jack Morris, and center fielder Kirby Puckett. Scott Erickson would have started the all-star game had he not been injured in a start at home against the Chicago White Sox in June.

## Other post-season awards

* Calvin R. Griffith Award (Most Valuable Twin) – Jack Morris
* Joseph W. Haynes Award (Twins Pitcher of the Year) – Jack Morris
* Bill Boni Award (Twins Outstanding Rookie) – Chuck Knoblauch
* Charles O. Johnson Award (Most Improved Twin) – Shane Mack
* Dick Siebert Award (Upper Midwest Player of the Year) – Jack Morris
** The above awards are voted on by the Twin Cities chapter of the BBWAA
* Sherry Robertson Award (Twins Outstanding Farm System Player) – Pat Mahomes

## Farm system

| Level | Team | League | Manager |
| AAA | Portland Beavers | Pacific Coast League | Russ Nixon |
| AA | Orlando Sun Rays | Southern League | Scott Ullger |
| A | Visalia Oaks | California League | Steve Liddle |
| A | Kenosha Twins | Midwest League | Joel Lepel |
| Rookie | Elizabethton Twins | Appalachian League | Ray Smith |
| Rookie | GCL Twins | Gulf Coast League | Dan Rohn |
LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Orlando