Tom Kelly (baseball)
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{{Infobox MLB retired
|bgcolor1=#af0039
|bgcolor2=#0f437c
|textcolor1=white
|textcolor2=white
|name=Tom Kelly
|position=[[First Base]], [[Manager (baseball)|Manager]]
| birthdate ={{birth date and age|1950|8|15}}
|bats=Left
|throws=Left
|debutdate=[[May 11]]
|debutyear={{by|1975}}
|debutteam=[[Minnesota Twins]]
|finaldate=[[July 11]]
|finalyear={{by|1975}}
|finalteam=[[Minnesota Twins]]
|stat1label=[[Batting average|AVG]]
|stat1value=.181
|stat2label=[[Home run|HR]]
|stat2value=1
|stat3label=[[Run batted in|RBI]]
|stat3value=11
|teams=<nowiki></nowiki><!--This forces MediaWiki to recognize the first bullet. Kind of a workaround to a bug.-->
'''As Player'''
*[[Minnesota Twins]] (1975)
'''As Manager'''
*[[Minnesota Twins]] (1986-2001)
|highlights=<nowiki></nowiki>
*[[American League]] [[Manager of the Year]] (1991)}}
{{otherpeople|Tom Kelly}}
'''Jay Thomas Kelly''' (born [[August 15]], [[1950]] in [[Graceville, Minnesota]]), also referred to as '''TK''', is the former [[Manager (baseball)|manager]] of the [[Minnesota Twins]] baseball team from {{by|1986}} to {{by|2001}}. Currently, he serves as a Special Assistant to the General Manager for the Twins.
==Managerial career==
He was the 11th manager of the team and his tenure as manager was the longest in team history. Under his tenure, the Twins won two [[World Series]] crowns in the span of five years ([[1987 World Series|1987]] and [[1991 World Series|1991]]); however, from {{by|1994}} to {{by|1997}} a long sequence of retirements and injuries (including superstars [[Kent Hrbek]] and [[Kirby Puckett]]) hurt the team badly, and Kelly spent the remainder of his managerial career rebuilding the Twins.
In {{by|1998}}, management cleared out the team of all of its players earning over 1 million dollars (except for pitcher [[Brad Radke]]) and rebuilt from the ground up; the team went 70-92 and in fourth place in the AL Central, 19 games behind the [[Cleveland Indians]] and five games ahead of the [[Detroit Tigers]]. A run of eight consecutive losing seasons ended in 2001, when the Twins led the division for much of the year before fading, finishing at 85-77, second to Cleveland. He then resigned at age 51, citing [[burnout (psychology)|burnout]]. His rebuilding efforts paid off the year after he retired from the Twins, with a threepeat of divisional championships in [[2002 Minnesota Twins|2002]], [[2003 Minnesota Twins|2003]], and [[2004 Minnesota Twins|2004]]. Kelly was succeeded as manager of the Twins by [[Ron Gardenhire]]. Kelly also played for the Twins during the {{by|1975}} season, his only season in the majors.
==Managerial style==
Kelly's managerial style has been described as "even-keel," emphasizing consistent performance over the span of a season rather than flashy individual game performance. Under his and successor Gardenhire's leadership, the Twins have been widely known for playing the kind of fundamental baseball that wins ball games consistently, rather than having individual superstar players, although a number of well-known stars have emerged from the Twins organization under their leadership (most notably [[Kirby Puckett]]).
==1987 World Series==
A year after taking over the reins of the Twins from [[Ray Miller (baseball)|Ray Miller]], Kelly took the team that he had helped build through his role as one of the top people in the Twins' [[minor league]] organization and led it to a World Series championship. Though the [[1987 in baseball|'87]] Twins were criticized for being the top team in a [[American League West|weak division]] (amassing only a .525 record in regular season play, which was the worst winning percentage for an eventual World Champion until surpassed by the [[St Louis Cardinals]] in 2006), they easily handled the Detroit Tigers in five games, losing only Game 3 of the [[1987 American League Championship Series|American League Championship Series]] to a heartbreaking 8th-inning two-run home run.
The [[1987 World Series|World Series]] was a well-fought contest between the Twins and the [[National League]] champion [[St. Louis Cardinals]], each team winning all of its home games. Games 1, 2, 4 and 6 were decidedly lopsided contests (10-1 Twins, 8-4 Twins, 7-2 Cards, 11-5 Twins), with games 3, 5 and 7 being much closer contests, each being decided by only two runs (3-1 Cards, 4-2 Cards and 4-2 Twins).
After a 63-year drought, Tom Kelly's leadership helped propel the Twins to their second World Championship (the first coming in [[1924 World Series|1924]] as the [[Minnesota Twins|Washington Senators]]).
==1991 World Series==
After finishing the 1990 season in last place, the Twins dominated the [[AL West]] in 1991, finishing 8 games ahead of the second-place [[Chicago White Sox]] with a record of 95-67. In the [[1991 American League Championship Series|AL Championship]], the Twins easily defeated the [[Toronto Blue Jays]] in 5 games, winning the right to face the [[Atlanta Braves]] in the [[1991 World Series|World Series]]. Marked by a series of close contests filled with dramatic plays and extra-innings, the 1991 World Series would later be ranked as the greatest World Series ever <ref>[http://espn.go.com/swf/mlb/anniversary/worldseries100.html ESPN: WORLD SERIES 100th ANNIVERSARY<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>.
Following two closely contested victories at home, the Twins traveled to Atlanta where they suffered three straight defeats. Tom Kelly, prior to the Series' move to Atlanta, infamously suggested that managing without the designated hitter was "right up there with rocket science" <ref>[http://www.sportingnews.com/archives/worldseries/1991.html Sporting News: Baseball History of the World Series<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>. Although he was being facetious, the grueling Game 3 proved Kelly prescient as a series of double switches and substitutions emptied the Twins' bench and both teams' bullpens. Kelly was forced to pinch hit [[Rick Aguilera]] in the top of the twelfth and was prepared to send outfielder [[Dan Gladden]] to the mound if necessary; however, the Braves won in the bottom of the twelfth when [[David Justice]] narrowly beat a throw to the plate. After a similarly close Game 4 and a dominating 14-5 Braves victory in Game 5, the Twins had to win the final two games at home.
Game 6 featured two climactic plays by Kirby Puckett who, in the top of the 3rd, made a sensational leaping catch against the center field [[acrylic glass]] to prevent a Braves' run. The Twins won 4-3 in the bottom of the 11th when Puckett blasted a home run off [[Charlie Liebrandt]]. Game 7 proved to be one of the greatest games in baseball history, as the game remained scoreless for 9 innings and included a number of decisive and memorable plays. Twins starter [[Jack Morris]] argued repeatedly with Kelly to allow him to stay in the game and pitched 10 scoreless innings before the Twins won in the bottom of the 10th, giving Minnesota its second World Series victory in five years.
==Managerial record==
{| class="wikitable" style="font-size: 95%; text-align:center;"
|-
! rowspan="2"|Team !! rowspan="2"|Year !! colspan="5"|Regular Season !! colspan="4"|Post Season
|-
! Games !! Won !! Lost !! Win % !! Finish !! Won !! Lost !! Win % !! Result
|-
! [[1986 Minnesota Twins|MIN]] ||{{by|1986}}
| 23 ||12 ||11 ||.522 ||6<sup>th</sup> - [[American League West Division|AL West]] ||- ||- ||- ||-
|-
! [[1987 Minnesota Twins|MIN]] ||{{by|1987}}
| 162 ||85 ||77 ||.525 ||1<sup>th</sup> - [[American League West Division|AL West]] ||8 ||4 ||.667 ||Won [[1987 American League Championship Series|ALCS]] vs. [[Detroit Tigers|Detroit]]<br>'''Won [[1987 World Series|World Series]] vs. [[St. Louis Cardinals|St. Louis]]'''
|-
! [[1988 Minnesota Twins|MIN]] ||{{by|1988}}
| 162 ||91 ||71 ||.562 ||2<sup>nd</sup> - [[American League West Division|AL West]] ||- ||- ||- ||-
|-
! [[1989 Minnesota Twins|MIN]] ||[[1991 in baseball|1989]]
| 162 ||80 ||82 ||.494 ||5<sup>th</sup> - [[American League West Division|AL West]] ||- ||- ||- ||-
|-
! [[1990 Minnesota Twins|MIN]] ||{{by|1990}}
| 162 ||74 ||88 ||.457 ||7<sup>th</sup> - [[American League West Division|AL West]] ||- ||- ||- ||-
|-
! [[1991 Minnesota Twins|MIN]] ||{{by|1991}}
| 162 ||95 ||67 ||.586 ||1<sup>st</sup> - [[American League West Division|AL West]] ||8 ||4 ||.667 ||Won [[1991 American League Championship Series|ALCS]] vs. [[Toronto Blue Jays|Toronto]]<br>'''Won [[1991 World Series|World Series]] vs. [[Atlanta Braves|Atlanta]]'''
|-
! [[1992 Minnesota Twins|MIN]] ||{{by|1992}}
| 162 ||90 ||72 ||.556 ||2<sup>nd</sup> - [[American League West Division|AL West]] ||- ||- ||- ||-
|-
! [[1993 Minnesota Twins|MIN]] ||{{by|1993}}
| 162 ||71 ||91 ||.438 ||6<sup>th</sup> - [[American League West Division|AL West]] ||- ||- ||- ||-
|-
! [[1994 Minnesota Twins|MIN]] ||{{by|1994}}
| 113 ||53 ||60 ||.469 ||4<sup>th</sup> - [[American League Central Division|AL Central]] ||- ||- ||- ||-
|-
! [[1995 Minnesota Twins|MIN]] ||{{by|1995}}
| 144 ||56 ||88 ||.389 ||5<sup>th</sup> - [[American League Central Division|AL Central]] ||- ||- ||- ||-
|-
! [[1996 Minnesota Twins|MIN]] ||{{by|1996}}
| 162 ||78 ||84 ||.481 ||4<sup>th</sup> - [[American League Central Division|AL Central]] ||- ||- ||- ||-
|-
! [[1997 Minnesota Twins|MIN]] ||{{by|1997}}
| 162 ||68 ||94 ||.420 ||4<sup>th</sup> - [[American League Central Division|AL Central]] ||- ||- ||- ||-
|-
! [[1998 Minnesota Twins|MIN]] ||{{by|1998}}
| 162 ||70 ||92 ||.432 ||4<sup>th</sup> - [[American League Central Division|AL Central]] ||- ||- ||- ||-
|-
! [[1999 Minnesota Twins|MIN]] ||{{by|1999}}
| 162 ||63 ||97 ||.394 ||5<sup>th</sup> - [[American League Central Division|AL Central]] ||- ||- ||- ||-
|-
! [[2000 Minnesota Twins|MIN]] ||{{by|2000}}
| 162 ||69 ||93 ||.426 ||5<sup>th</sup> - [[American League Central Division|AL Central]] ||- ||- ||- ||-
|-
! [[2001 Minnesota Twins|MIN]] ||{{by|2001}}
| 162 ||85 ||77 ||.525 ||2<sup>nd</sup> - [[American League Central Division|AL Central]] ||- ||- ||- ||-
|-
! colspan="2"|Total ||2,386 ||1,140 ||1,244 ||.478 || ||16 ||8 ||.667 ||
|}
==References==
{{Reflist}}
* [http://www.baseball-reference.com/managers/kellyto01.shtml Tom Kelly Managerial Record.] Baseball-reference.com.
{{start box}}
{{succession box | title=[[Manager of the Year|American League Manager of the Year]] | before=[[Jeff Torborg]] | years=1991| after= [[Tony La Russa]]
}}
{{succession box | title=[[Minnesota Twins/Managers and ownership|Minnesota Twins Manager]] | before=[[Ray Miller (baseball)|Ray Miller]] | years=1986-2001| after= [[Ron Gardenhire]]
}}
{{end box}}
{{TwinsManagers}}
{{1987 Minnesota Twins}}
{{1991 Minnesota Twins}}
{{AL Managers of the Year}}
[[Category:1950 births|Kelly, Tom (baseball)]]
[[Category:Living people|Kelly, Tom (baseball)]]
[[Category:Major league players from Minnesota|Kelly, Tom (baseball)]]
[[Category:Manager of the Year Award|Kelly, Tom (baseball)]]
[[Category:Major league first basemen|Kelly, Tom (baseball)]]
[[Category:Baseball managers|Kelly, Tom (baseball)]]
[[Category:Minnesota Twins managers|Kelly, Tom (baseball)]]
[[Category:Minnesota Twins players|Kelly, Tom (baseball)]]
[[Category:People from Minnesota|Kelly, Tom (baseball)]]
[[Category:Sports Hall of Fame of New Jersey|Kelly, Tom (baseball)]]
[[Category:Major League Baseball general managers|Kelly, Tom (baseball]]