Twins Fix

It goes without saying that Minnesota needs a third baseman. The Mike Lamb gamble hasn’t paid off yet, as he is only hitting .224/.263/.302 through Friday’s game.

18 years ago, Minnesota was in a similar situation.

After the 1989 season Minnesota Twin’s closer Jeff Reardon left the team and signed with the Boston Red Sox. There was a gaping hole in one of the most important positions, with no one to fill it. One could argue that Juan Berenguer or Gary Wayne would have made nice closers in 1990. A case could even be made for Mike Cook, a closer from the Portland Beavers (Minnesota’s AAA affiliate at the time).

For the first few weeks of the season Minnesota got by with both Gary Wayne and John Canelaria in the closer spots. Before long, however, it was evident that something needed to change.

Minnesota assembled a blockbuster trade the year before with the New York Mets. The Twins sent Frankie Viola to the Bombers for Rick Aguilera and four other pitchers, most notibly David West. Aguilera, the best player the Twins received, was originally planned to join the rotation. He was moved to the closer role in 1990 when it was discovered that Minnesota needed a reliable closer.

Aguilera welcomed the change from starting pitcher to closer. As he says in the Star Tribune:

“I enjoyed being a closer because I came to the park every day knowing I had the opportunity to pitch. So with that came a little more discipline, making sure I wasn’t out late at night, taking care of my body and resting.“

Reliable was one of the best words to describe Aguilera. He quickly earned two saves in his first two opportunies, but blew one by allowing a home run to the California Angels in the twelfth inning.

He bounced back mightily, saving the next nine games he appeared in. Aguilera finished the 1990 season with 32 saves, a 2.76 ERA, and a WHIP of 1.133.

In 1991, Aguilera was essential to the World Series champion Minnesota Twins. He finished the season with 43 saves, many coming in the playoffs. During the World Series, however, Aguilera had his share of “downs”. In Game Three Aguilera became the first pitcher since 1965 to pinch-hit in the World Series, but flew out with the bases loaded and two outs. He came back to the mound only to surrender the game-winning hit for the Atlanta Braves.

After that World Series victory, Minnesota found themselves falling out of contention in the AL Central. Aguilera was traded to the Boston Red Sox in 1995 for Frank Rodriguez and a minor league outfielder.

After completing the 1995 season with the Red Sox, Aguilera found himself a free agent. Where else to sign than the Minnesota Twins?

Aguilera became a Twin again in 1996. He was switched to a starter by skipper Tom Kelly, and toughed out the season with a final record of 8-6 with a 5.42 ERA. Aguilera hadn’t been a starter since 1989.

That year the team struggled to find a reliable closer, and Minnesota had seven pitchers record a save in 1996.

With fans calling for Aguilera to return to the ‘pen, Kelly ended the experiment and conceded the star closer back to his adopted position. From there he continued to dominate opposing batters and recorded saves like some pitchers record strikeouts. Aguilera recorded a total of 254 saves while in a Twin’s uniform.

During the 1999 season, Aguilera was getting older. Nearing 38 years of age, Minnesota elected to get as much value from him as they could. The Chicago Cubs traded future Twin star Kyle Lohse and Jason Ryan to the Twins for Aguilera and Scott Downs.

Aguilera continued his storied success with the Cubs in 2000; his last year as a professional baseball player. He had played 18 years and was 38 years old. It was time to call it quits.

Nowadays, you can find Aguilera coaching high school baseball for Santa Fe Christian in a suberb of San Diego.

Aguilera was one of the best pitchers ever to grace the mound and will forever be remembered as a great Minnesota Twin.

He was inducted into the Twins Baseball Hall of Fame on Saturday, June 21st before Minnesota’s win over the Arizona Diamondbacks in interleague play.