Ache #5: Willie Hernandez wins the 1984 AL MVP

When you look at the retired numbers near the Budweiser Roof Deck at Target Field, there are a lot of individual accomplishments between Harmon Killebrew, Tony Oliva, Rod Carew, Bert Blyleven, and Kirby Puckett. There are MVPs, Gold Gloves, Rookie of the Year awards, Batting Titles, Hall of Fame Plaques and 51 combined All Star Game appearances between the 5 legends. But there is one number hanging that lacks the individual accolades, and some argue should have added one in 1984.

The Minnesota Twins weren't on anybody's radar in 1984. Most of Calvin Griffith's young core of Tom Brunansky, Gary Gaetti, Frank Viola, Tim Laudner and Kent Hrbek were entering their third major league season, and had seen a lot of growing pains on the way.

1982 wasn't a total loss for the Terrible

Twins. Gary Ward finished 32nd in the

AL MVP voting

Through his first two seasons, future Cy Young winner Frank Viola had gone 11-25 with a 5.38 ERA. The Twins bullpen was a mess (Twins closer Ron Davis lost 17 games between 1982 and 1983). The bright spot was the Class of '82 Twins, specifically Kent Hrbek. 

Hrbek was an All Star and finished second in AL Rookie of the Year voting (behind Cal Ripken Jr) in 1982. Hrbek had signed with the Twins out of high school in 1978 and made the jump from Single-A to the majors in August of 1981. In 1982, he hit .311 with 23 home runs in 140 games. Even though the future Hall of Famer Ripken played in 20 more games than Hrbek, their stats were comparable:

The one big difference? Hrbek's Twins lost 102 games. Ripken's Orioles won 94.

National media recognized the talent of

rookie Kent Hrbek in 1982, even though his team

lost 102 games.

The Twins were "better" in 1983, finishing the season with a 70-92 record. But 1984 is when it seemed it was all coming together.

The rotation was solid. Frank Viola broke out, winning 18 games. Mike Smithson and John Butcher, both acquired from Texas in a trade for Gary Ward, combined to win 28 more. 

And Hrbek was lights out. He hit .311 with 28 home runs and 107 RBI (the only 100+ RBI season of his career). The Twins were leading the AL West by 5.5 games on August 22nd and were still leading the division on September 23rd with 8 games to play. But the Twins would lose the last six games of the season, including two blown saves in the last four games by Ron Davis (who would tie an AL record with 14 blown saves in 1984). After blowing a 10-0 lead in Cleveland down the stretch, Gaetti was questioned about a crucial throwing error in the game and replied "It's tough to throw to first base with both hands around your neck." The Twins finished 81-81 and 3 games behind the Kansas City Royals in the AL West. 

During those last six games, Hrbek was 4-22 (.182) with no home runs and three RBI. Had the Twins finished over .500 and won the division, Hrbek likely would have been the MVP, taking the Twins from fifth place in 1983 to a division title in 1984.

Regardless, people gave Hrbek a lot of credit for the turn-around and he was considered a legitimate MVP candidate.

Unfortunately, there was a problem. Well, two of them.

There were two dominant relievers in the American League in 1984: Willie Hernandez of the Detroit Tigers (9-3, 1.92 ERA, 32 SV, 112 K) and Dan Quisenberry of the Kansas City Royals (6-3, 2.64 ERA, 41 SV). Hernandez and Quisenberry would finish 1 and 2 in the AL Cy Young voting, and baseball writers were going to cast their votes for the relievers for the league MVP as well.

Looking back at 1984, there were a lot of players that put up better numbers than Hrbek. Was he the most dominant first baseman that season? Eddie Murray (.306, 29 HR, 110 RBI, 7.1 WAR), Don Mattingly (.343, 23 HR, 110 RBI, 6.3 WAR) and Rookie of the Year Alvin Davis (.284, 27 HR, 116 RBI, 5.9 WAR) all had equal or better statistical seasons. Cal Ripken had the highest WAR (10.0) out of any player that season. What made Hrbek such an interesting candidate for MVP was the fact that he had led his team from 102 losses in 1982 to the doorstep of an AL West title two years later.

But was it enough?

"Numbers-wise it was my best year. I hit .311 with 27 homers and 107 RBI. But you know how a lot of people don't believe a pitcher should be considered an MVP candidate, being that they have their own award - the Cy Young? Well, they gave the MVP award to Detroit reliever Willie Hernandez. My rookie season, when I hit .301 and drove in 92 runs, I finished second to Cal Ripken for Rookie of the Year. I guess I'm just a second-place kind of guy when it comes to awards. But I never finished second in the World Series, did I?" -Kent Hrbek from Tales from the Minnesota Twins Dugout

He didn't.

The overall vote was pretty split. Hernandez received 16 first place votes, while Hrbek, Quisenberry, and Eddie Murray split the other 12. Hernandez also won the 1984 AL Cy Young, getting 12 first place votes. Quisenberry finished second, receiving 9 first place votes.

Oddly enough, Quisenberry won the Rolaids Relief Man of the Year, not Hernandez. Rolaids award is decided by a point system, not a writers vote. So Hernandez, a reliever that won the Cy Young Award and the MVP, wasn't named the league's best reliever in 1984.

Making a Case for Kent

Hrbek had a point. Since the inception of the Cy Young Award in 1956 to the season prior to Hrbek's should-have-been-MVP season, the AL MVP had been given to a pitcher only three times: Denny McLain in 1968 (31-6, 1.82 ERA) ,Vida Blue in 1971 (24-8, 1.82 ERA) and Rollie Fingers in 1981 (6-3, 1.04 ERA, 28 SV). Roger Clemens also won one in 1986 and Justin Verlander was the AL MVP in 2014. Prior to the Cy Young Award, Lefty Grove, Spud Chandler, Hal Newhouser (Newhouser won two) and Bobby Shantz also won MVP awards.

The first question to ask is who is eligible to win the MVP. This is, according to the BBWAA, the definition of league MVP.

Dear Voter:There is no clear-cut definition of what Most Valuable means. It is up to the individual voter to decide who was the Most Valuable Player in each league to his team. The MVP need not come from a division winner or other playoff qualifier.
The rules of the voting remain the same as they were written on the first ballot in 1931:
1.  Actual value of a player to his team, that is, strength of offense and defense.
2.  Number of games played.
3.  General character, disposition, loyalty and effort.
4.  Former winners are eligible.
5.  Members of the committee may vote for more than one member of a team.
You are also urged to give serious consideration to all your selections, from 1 to 10. A 10th-place vote can influence the outcome of an election. You must fill in all 10 places on your ballot. Only regular-season performances are to be taken into consideration.
Keep in mind that all players are eligible for MVP, including pitchers and designated hitters.

Even the BBWAA says there is no clear-cut definition of what Most Valuable means. Number 1: Value of a player to his team...both offense and defense. Hrbek's offensive numbers speak for themselves, but what people often overlook is his defensive ability. People often discounted Hrbek's defense because he was a bigger guy. During Hrbek's 14 year career, the AL Gold Glove at first base was awarded to either Eddie Murray or Don Mattingly 13 times. Hrbek does have a Gold Glove in his basement however...one of Gary Gaetti's. Gaetti gave him his 1988 Gold Glove because if it weren't for Hrbek making great plays at first, Gaetti may not have ever won any.

Also, look at number two: games played. In 1984, Willie Hernandez appeared in 80 games. He threw 140 innings (averaging 1.2 IP per appearance). Kent Hrbek played 149 games, 13 of those were extra inning games and only left five games early due to injury or a pinch hitter. You often hear the argument that, despite playing in fewer games, pitchers face as many batters in a season as offensive players get plate appearances. Willie Hernandez faced 548 hitters in 1984, meaning hitters had 548 chances to score off of him.

Hrbek had 635 plate appearances that season.

Should Pitchers Be Eligible for MVP?

The landscape of baseball was changing in the mid 1970s. Pitchers weren't making 40+ starts or throwing 300+ innings anymore. Teams had begun using relief specialists. The 'save' became an official stat in 1969 and the Baseball Writers were putting too much stock into it.  It was around the same time that people started getting the idea that baseball inside domed stadiums was a good idea.

Pitchers should have their award, and hitter should have their award. As it stands right now, pitchers have the Cy Young award (est 1956), and hitters have the Hank Aaron award (est 1999). There is also the Silver Sluggers, which are given to the best power hitter from each position, NL pitchers and AL DHs included.

And while winning the Cy Young establishes the recipient as the best (and most valuable) pitcher, the Hank Aaron award doesn't do that. Subtracting the years that Justin Verlander (2011) and Clayton Kershaw (2014) won the MVP award in their respective leagues,  the same player has won both the MVP and Hank Aaron Award in the same season 15 times (15/34)...only 44% of the time. (In 2014, Giancarlo Stanton finished second in the NL MVP voting behind Kershaw and won the NL Hank Aaron award and in 2011 Jacoby Elsbury finished second in the AL MVP voting, but Jose Bautista won the AL Hank Aaron.) And of those 15, Barry Bonds has 3, and Alex Rodriguez and Miguel Cabrera each have 2.

The award itself is very inconsistent. When it was first awarded in 1999, it was given to Manny Ramirez and Sammy Sosa based on a point system that factored in Hits, Home Runs and RBI. From 2000-02, a three-name, point system ballot was given to MLB broadcasters.In 2003, an online fan ballot was added. From 2004-06, fans voted for each team's top hitter in August, then an MLB panel chose the top six, then fans voted for the best of the final six.

From 2007-08, five finalists from each league were voted on by the fans from 30 nominees from that MLB panel, then fans voted for the winner. Since 2009, fans vote for both the finalists and overall winners of the award.

There are Silver Slugger awards (given to the best hitter at each position), Batting Titles (awarded to the highest batting average), and overall Statistical Champions (RBI champion, Home Run Leader, doubles champion, etc). Here's a solution: Rename the each MVP in honor of Hank Aaron and let the writers decide. Keep the Cy Young Award (named after one of the best pitchers of all time) exclusive to pitchers, keep the MVP (aka the Hank Aaron Award) exclusive to hitters, give the top reliever the Rolaids Relief Man of the Year and let the fans vote on the All Star Game.

Should Relievers be eligible for Cy Young or MVP?

And down the rabbit hole we go.

If you know anything about Cy Young, you'd know he was anything but a three-innings-a-game pitcher. While he did have make 91 relief appearances and save 17 games (60 years before the 'save' even existed) over his 22 year career, Young threw 759 complete games and over 7300 innings

From 1977 to 1992, a reliever won the Cy Young 7 times: Sparky Lyle in 1977, Bruce Sutter in 1979, Rollie Fingers in 1981, Hernandez in 1984, Steve Bedrosian in 1987, Mark Davis in 1989 and Dennis Eckersley in 1992. 

Since 1992? Only one...Eric Gagne in 2003. You can either attribute that to offensive players's literally juicing their stats to become a more sexy pick for MVP (40 home runs looks better on the back of a baseball card than 40 saves), or writers and media coming to the realization that the "save" isn't that impressive of a stat.

In 2008, Bradford Doolittle of the Kansas City Star wrote that since the best relievers were pitching fewer innings in the 1980s being reduced from two or three innings to one while less efficient pitchers were pitching those innings in their place. This, however, was not the case for Hernandez in 1984. Out of his 80 relief appearances in 1984, 45 required him to record four or more outs. In those 45 games, the Tigers were 37-8. Hernandez was 8-2 with a 1.67 ERA and 20 saves in those 45 games.

But what about the rest of the 1984 field?

Bert Blyleven, pitching for the Cleveland Indians, finished third. Bert was 19-7 with a 2.86 ERA in 1984. Bert faced twice as many batters as Hernandez, threw 105 more innings, and had a 7.2 WAR for a 75-win Indians club. Bert's third place finish and 45 vote points was the closest the Hall of Famer ever came to a Cy Young Award. Prior to 1984, the Cy Young Award had been awarded to a pitcher on a losing team only once: Gaylord Perry in 1972 who, ironically, also pitched for a 70-win Cleveland club.

It's a shame that when you think of great first basemen of the 1980s, Kent Hrbek isn't one of the first names to come to mind. He was an All-Star only once in his career. Even with the Twins leading the AL West in 1987, Kirby Puckett was the lone representative for the Twins...as a reserve. Adding an MVP to his resume would have been a great springboard for what was to come for the Twins in the next couple years, would have put the national spotlight on Minneapolis and would have added another MVP to the resume of retired numbers at Target Field.

It just sucks that Hrbie not only lost to a pitcher for MVP...he lost to a reliever.

Ache #4: The 1992 NBA Draft

In 1991, the Minnesota Timberwolves were still in their infancy. Only three years in the league, the baby NBA franchise had only won 66 of their first 246 games, including a 15-67 (.183) season in 1991. Following the 1991-92 season, the team was ready for as fresh a start as a third-year franchise can get by dealing Tony Campbell to the New York Knicks and Pooh Richardson and Sam Mitchell to the Indiana Pacers.

The Timberwolves finished with the worst record in the NBA and, prior to the 1991-92 season, only three teams had finished with fewer wins in NBA History: The 1972-73 Philadelphia 76ers (9), the 1986-87 LA Clippers (12), and the 1982-83 Houston Rockets (14).

Two of those teams had the top picks in the upcoming drafts. In 1973, the 76ers took Doug Collins (who, with Julius Erving, would eventually lead Philadelphia to the NBA Finals in 1977) and in 1983, the Houston Rockets, one year removed from the NBA Finals, had the first of back-to-back first overall picks (They took the Twin Towers; Ralph Sampson in '83 and Hakeem Olojowan in '84).

The Timberwolves were ready for their turnaround.

The Timberwolves were the only team to win fewer 

than 20 games in the 1991-92 NBA Season.

Back to the Houston Rockets for a second, because the Rockets have a huge impact on the Wolves draft position woes.

The Houston Rockets and the Tanking Scandals

The Houston Rockets were in the NBA Finals for the first time in franchise history in 1981, matching up against Larry Bird, Kevin McHale, Cedric Maxwell, Robert Parrish and the legendary Celtics. The Celtics had been a thorn in the side of the Rockets forever. A year after relocating from San Diego in 1971, Houston moved from the Western Conference to the East, and the Celtics had knocked them out of the playoffs in two of their four appearances (1975 and 1980). Prior to the 1981 NBA season, Houston had moved back to the Western Conference and, despite a 40-42 regular season record, found themselves matched up against the familiar Celtics in the NBA Finals.

Larry Bird and the Celtics were too much for Houston

in the 1981 NBA Finals

The Celtics won the series in 6 games for their 14th NBA championship.

The Rockets won 46 games in 1981 behind an MVP season from Moses Malone, but they lost to Seattle in the first round of the playoffs. 

That is when the floor drops out.

Malone signed a six-year deal with the Philadelphia 76ers, who had just lost the NBA Finals to the Los Angeles Lakers. Houston went from a 46 win team in 1982 to a 14 win team in 1983. Some attribute the -32 win differential to Moses Malone going ring-chasing in Philadelphia. Some attribute it to a 7' 4" prospect out of Virginia.

Ralph Sampson, a three-time Naismith Award winner and two-time Wooden Award winner, declared for the draft after graduating from Virginia in 1983. He considered declaring after his junior season, but the top overall pick came down to a coin flip between the LA Lakers and the San Diego Clippers. Rather than risk playing for the Clippers (the Lakers won the top pick and selected James Worthy. The Clippers took journeyman Terry Cummings second), Sampson returned for his senior season.

After being selected #1 overall by Houston in 1983, Sampson averaged 21 points and 11 rebounds. Houston started the season 20-29...not great but respectable considering they had 14 total wins a season prior. But the real red flag that stands out is their 9-27 record the last 36 games.

The reason? The Rockets decided to "evaluate other talent on the team". I guess practice wasn't enough time to evaluate the guys on the bench. What they were really had their eye on was the 1984 Draft Class.

Introduction of the Lottery

"The lottery was created to eliminate the perceived incentive to lose games. Obviously, the Rockets became the team on which most people focused. Even if teams were not losing on purpose to better their position, the perception did exist." -David Stern, NBA Commissioner

In 1983, the top pick was determined by a coin flip between the worst two teams in each conference. So, if you had the worst record you had a 50/50 shot of getting the top pick in the draft. 

That is when league officials began setting new rules in motion to dissuade "tanking".

Tanking is when a team intentionally loses games to have better draft position, and the Rockets were obviously doing it. It was a no-brainer with some of the top talent of the decade ready to come into the NBA: John Stockton from Gonzaga, Charles Barkley from Auburn, Alvin Robertson from Arkansas, Hakeen Olajuwon from Houston and Michael Jordan from North Carolina.

Together, Ralph Sampson and Hakeem Olajuwan won

back-to-back NBA Championships in the mid-90s.

The Rockets had their pick out of everybody. The Rockets decided to pass on the top guard in the draft (Michael Jordan) and double-down on the big man, selecting Hakeem Olojuwan from the University of Houston.

The reloaded Rockets would return to the NBA Finals in 1986, only to lose again to the Boston Celtics.

After the 1984 NBA Draft, the NBA had had enough of the tanking rumors clouding the game and affecting the quality of their product. Beginning in 1985, the league went to a Lottery system,where teams with the worst record still had the best chance to land the top overall pick, but weren't guaranteed anything.

However, the first NBA Draft Lottery is surrounded in a dark cloud as well. Many people believed that the NBA and David Stern rigged the 1985 NBA Draft in favor of the large-market New York Knicks, who had the third-best odds of being awarded the top pick. New York selected coveted big man Patrick Ewing out of Georgetown.

The 1985 NBA Draft is a whole 'nother topic, but

you can judge for yourself if the NBA used the lottery

to rig where players went.

Over the next six seasons, only two of the worst teams earned the top pick:

The 1992 NBA Draft

Now, we catch up to the 1992 NBA Draft. The Timberwolves had the best chance to land the top overall pick, and there was a can't miss player at the top.

Shaquille O'Neal was a monster like the NBA hadn't seen before. The powerful 7'1" 325 lb center from LSU had NBA teams salivating, including Timberwolves head coach Jimmy Rodgers.

The consolation prize was the second pick and the opportunity to draft another big man to build around, Georgetown's Alonzo Mourning.

Orlando (21-61) won the top pick and drafted Hall of Famer Shaquille O'Neal. Charlotte (31-51) won the second pick and drafted Hall of Famer Alonzo Mourning. The Wolves (15-67) were awarded the third pick in the draft and selected...

...Duke star Christian Laettner.

Despite being the the third overall pick in the draft, Laettner is still defined by his college days and is remember for his game-winning shot against Kentucky in the 1992 NCAA Tournament. He would put up decent numbers during his time in Minnesota (17 points per game), but the Wolves only won 60 games over the next three seasons with Laettner on the team. He developed a reputation as a locker room distraction on losing teams (the guy had never played on a losing team before coming to Minnesota) and was eventually traded to Atlanta for Andrew Lang and an old Spud Webb.

Shaq would win 4 championships over his career and established himself as the premier center of the 21st century. 'Zo was an elite defender and would win a ring (with Shaq) in Miami in 2006.

But don't forget: Christian Laettner was on the

1992 Dream Team.

Ache #3: The John Wooden Snowstorm

In 1948, the University of Minnesota was looking for a new Men's Basketball Coach. Dave MacMillan had just retired for a second time, citing health reasons and the University was looking for a long-term answer for their Men's Basketball program. 

The Gophers reached out to a rising coach from Indiana State Teacher's College (now Indiana State University) named John Wooden. Wooden had led ISTC to the Indiana Intercollegiate Conference title and had received an invitation to the NAIB Tournament (which he declined, citing the tournament's ban on African-American players).

There was, however, another program looking for a new basketball coach, as well: UCLA. Wooden reportedly favored Minnesota, since he and his wife preferred to stay in the Midwest.

John Wooden: One of the biggest "What Ifs" in

Minnesota sports history

John lined up a phone call with each institution; first Minnesota, then UCLA an hour later. John waiting by the phone when the Gophers were supposed to call. He waited...and waited...and waited. Eventuall, the phone did ring. 

It was UCLA.

Thinking that the Gophers had lost interested in him, he accepted the UCLA job.

Minutes after accepting the Bruins job, the phone rang again. It was Minnesota. There had been a snowstorm in Minneapolis and the athletic director had been stuck in the middle of it, preventing him from making the phone call. He offered Wooden the job on the spot, Wooden declined the offer because he had already given his word to UCLA.

Wooden had immediate success at UCLA and instantly turning around a faltering program. Prior to his arrival at UCLA, the Bruins had won only two conference championships in the previous 18 years. By 1965, UCLA was a national powerhouse recruiting the likes of Bill Walton and arguably the best high school prospect of all time Lou Alcindor. 

Wooden led UCLA to 10 national championships (including seven straight from 1967 - 1973) and has transformed UCLA as one of the most successful college basketball programs in history.

The Gophers, on the other hand, hired away Michigan head coach O.C Cowles. 

Ozzie Cowles was 416-189 as a basketball coach

including 146-93 as the head coach at Minnesota

Cowles was named the Big Ten Coach of the year with the Wolverines in 1947. Cowles saw immediate success with the Gophers too, finishing with an 18-3 record and ranked #6 in the AP Poll. He would coach the Gophers until 1959. Although he didn't have the same national success as he did at previous coaching jobs like Darthmouth (8 Ivy League titles, three NCAA Tournament appearances, NCAA runner-up in 1943) and Michigan, the OC Cowles era of Gopher Basketball is often referred to as the "Golden Era" of the program.

The two big differences in the coaches (other than the 10 banners hanging in Pauley Pavilion right now) are the coaching philosophies. Cowles was an "old-style" coach. In February 1949, the Long Beach Press Telegram ran a lengthy story on Cowles negatively impacting an evolving game:

"Ossie Cowles has put the brakes on basketball in the Western Conference, and speculation is rife over whether the hardwood sport has seen the limit, for the time being at least, of the 'fire department' style which sent scores soaring and left fans, players and coaches breathless. Coach Cowles finds himself in a storm center."

Cowles was also opposed to the shot-clock, stating that "it forces players to take shots they wouldn't normally take" and was an outspoken opponent of a rule added in 1950 limiting a player to one free throw if fouled in the act of shooting (in a game of Michigan State, he elected for a jump ball instead of shooting free throws).

Cowles had losing seasons in his final two seasons at Minnesota while the league adapted to the rule changes, and he resigned in 1959 amidst anti-Cowles talks among Gophers fans and officials.

Wooden, however, revolutionized the game on his journey to becoming the 'Wizard of Westwood'. Wooden had (at the time) a unique offensive system that included run-and-jump, 1-3-1 trapping, box-and-one, and switching man-to-man defense...a lot of strategy that the modern day coaches are still using.

However, if it's any consolation to Gopher fans, despite all of his early success, Wooden didn't initially enjoy his position. He saw the early success of the Gophers under Cowles, plus his wife didn't enjoy Los Angeles (Happy Wife, Happy Life). Two years into his coaching career at UCLA, the coaching job at Purdue University opened up. Wooden really wanted to return to Indiana with his wife and take the coaching job there, but UCLA officials dissuaded him when they reminded him that he had verbally committed to them for three years.

And after all, Gopher fans, John Wooden IS a man of his word.