Acquired from the Yankees in a 1982 deal for Roy
Smalley, Greg Gagne won Minnesota's shortstop job
in 1985.
He hit two inside-the-park homers in the Metrodome
on October 4, 1986. His first was in the second inning
off Chicago's Floyd Bannister. In his next at bat,
there are two runners on when he repeats, again off
Bannister, to tie the American League record. Greg
almost sets a 20th-century record with a third IPHR,
but settles for a triple.
Though he led AL shortstops with 26 errors in 1986,
in 1987 he turned it around. Playing a more precise
game, he set a club shortstop record with 47 straight
errorless games, and helped the Twins to their first
World Championship. Despite knocking just 10 home
runs in 137 regular-season game, Greg Gagne hit solo
homers in games three and four of the LCS and in game
four of the World Series vs. St. Louis. He also singled
in the go-ahead run in game seven.
In general, Greg Gagne's glove did more talking than
his bat, though he did belt a career-high 14 round
trippers in 1988. He never hit above .272 for the
Twins, but with stars like Kirby Puckett, Gary Gaetti
and Kent Hrbek around to carry the offense, Greg Gagne's
steady work in the field was a key to Minnesota's
six-year run from 1987 through 1992 which saw the
club claim two World Championships and win at least
90 games in two separate seasons.
On October 19, 1991 Greg Gagne helped the Twins defeat
the Braves 5-2 in game one of the World Series. Greg's
3-run home run off Charlie Leibrandt in the 5th inning
helped support the strong effort of winning pitcher
Jack Morris. The 91 World Series is generally regarded
as the greatest World Series ever played. Greg Gagne
was one of only five players to play on both Twins
world championship teams along with Kent Hrbek, Kirby
Puckett, Gene Larkin, Randy Bush and Dan Gladden.
His departure via free agency after the 1992 season
coincided with the start of a rapid slide into perennial
ineptitude for the Twins franchise.
After his tenure with the Twins, Greg Gagne spent
three seasons with Kansas City. He put together his
best season for the Royals in 1993, setting career-best
with a .280 batting average and 57 RBIs while leading
the league with a .986 fielding percentage. On July
22, 1993 Greg Gagne had the privilege of setting a
record in Tiger Stadium. He hit a home run off Detroit's
Mark Leiter in the Royals' 12-6 victory. The home
run was the 10,000th hit in the long history of Tiger
Stadium, making it the 1st ballpark to reach that
figure. In 1994, he prevented Oakland pitcher Bobby
Witt from a perfect game when Oakland defeated Kansas
City 4-0. Umpire Gary Cederstrom calls Greg Gagne
safe on a close play at 1st in the 6th inning, for
the Royals only hit, but TV replays show that Greg
Gagne was out.
He signed another free-agent deal with the Dodgers
in November 1995, and finished his career with two
seasons in Los Angeles.
Part of an elite group of players that won both World
Series championships for the Twins, Greg Gagne is
forever a Minnesota “great.”
