Many of you here enjoy the work of BOTH writer Joe Posnanski and the Minnesota Twins. On the subject of the 1987 Twins, this might be the point where the rubber meets the road. You have to choose Posnanski OR Twins. Because he rated them the worst World Series winner since World War II. Here it is: 1. 1987 Minnesota Twins
If you were trying to build a World Series champ, you would likely do the opposite of what the 1987 Twins did. They built a mediocre offense but an even worse pitching staff. Their bullpen was mostly awful, and the hitters couldn't get on base. They were on pace to be a 104-loss team on the road — 29-52 for the season, if you can believe that — and a Metrodome official admitted that he adjusted the ventilation system to help the Twins hit better at home.
Did it work? Well, the Twins did average more runs at home. But surprisingly the big difference was in pitching, where the Twins gave up a run and a half less per game in the Dome. Frank Viola was almost unbeatable in the Dome (11-3, 2.69 ERA) and reliever Juan Berenguer, who is like the Forest Gump of baseball in that he's pretty much everywhere ('84 Tigers? Yep. '87 Twins? Yep. '91 Braves? Yep) was 5-0 with a 2.31 ERA at home.
Yes, something about about the Dome brought out the magic in those Twins. I mean — not a lot of magic. The Twins only won 85 games, which would have put them fifth in the American League East. But the American League West was dreadful. They beat the Tigers in five, actually clinching the thing in Detroit.
And then in the World Series, they lost all three games in St. Louis and scored a total of five runs. But at home they clubbed six home runs (by six different players, one of those by the 411-year-old Don Baylor) and won all four games. In 100-plus years of baseball, you inevitably will have those teams that have everything go right. The '87 Twins are the most charmed team in baseball history. And with the ventilation system, yeah, they probably cheated too — you know, sometimes charm is not enough.
Most Twins fans would probably concede the 87 Twins had some luck on their side. But worst WS winner? Your thoughts on that in the comments.
