Editing Tom Kelly (baseball)

{{short description|American baseball player}}
{{Other people|Tom Kelly}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2024}}
{{Infobox baseball biography
|name=Tom Kelly
|image=Tom Kelly 1987.jpg
|caption=Kelly in 1987
|position=[[First baseman]] / [[Manager (baseball)|Manager]]
|birth_date={{Birth date and age|1950|8|15}}
|birth_place=[[Graceville, Minnesota]], U.S.
|bats=Left
|throws=Left
|debutleague = MLB
|debutdate=May 11
|debutyear=1975
|debutteam=Minnesota Twins
|finalleague = MLB
|finaldate=July 11
|finalyear=1975
|finalteam=Minnesota Twins
|statleague = MLB
|stat1label=[[Batting average (baseball)|Batting average]]
|stat1value=.181 
|stat2label=[[Home run]]s
|stat2value=1
|stat3label=[[Runs batted in]]
|stat3value=11
|stat4label=Managerial record
|stat4value=1,140–1,244
|stat5label=Winning %
|stat5value=.478
|teams=
'''As player'''
*[[Minnesota Twins]] ({{mlby|1975}})
'''As manager'''
*[[Minnesota Twins]] ({{mlby|1986}}–{{mlby|2001}})
'''As coach'''
*[[Minnesota Twins]] ({{mlby|1983}}–{{mlby|1986}})
|highlights=
*2× [[World Series champion]] ({{wsy|1987}}, {{wsy|1991}})
*[[AL Manager of the Year]] (1991)
*[[Minnesota Twins#Retired numbers|Minnesota Twins No. 10]] retired
* [[Minnesota Twins Hall of Fame]]
}}
'''Jay Thomas Kelly''' (born August 15, 1950) is an American former professional [[baseball]] player, [[coach (baseball)|coach]] and [[Manager (baseball)|manager]]. As the manager of the [[Minnesota Twins]] of [[Major League Baseball]] (MLB) over 16 seasons from mid-September {{Baseball year|1986}} through {{Baseball year|2001}}, he won two [[World Series]] championships. Currently, he serves as a special assistant to the [[general manager (baseball)|general manager]] for the Twins.

Kelly was born in [[Graceville, Minnesota]], and grew up in [[Sayreville, New Jersey]], attending [[Cardinal McCarrick High School|St. Mary's High School]] in nearby [[South Amboy, New Jersey|South Amboy]].<ref>Staff. [http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=PD&s_site=twincities&p_multi=SP&p_theme=realcities&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0F0C092A698E11EB&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM "EXPERTS: TWINS WILL PLAY IN 2002, BUT. . ."], ''[[St. Paul Pioneer Press]]'', December 27, 2001. Accessed February 14, 2011. "Former Twins manager Tom Kelly, who is from Sayreville, NJ, and attended St. Mary's High School in South Amboy, NJ, will be honoroed{{sic}}..."</ref>

==Playing career==
A [[first baseman]] and [[outfielder]], Kelly threw and batted left-handed and was listed as {{convert|5|ft|11|in}} tall and {{convert|188|lb}}. He was drafted by the [[Seattle Pilots]] in the eighth round of the [[1968 Major League Baseball draft]]. After three years in the Pilots/[[Milwaukee Brewers]] organization, he was given his unconditional release on April 6, 1971.

On April 28, 1971, Kelly was signed as a minor league free agent by the Twins and sent to the [[Double-A (baseball)|Double-A]] [[Charlotte Hornets (baseball)|Charlotte Hornets]] in the [[Southern League (1964–2020)|Southern League]]. From 1972 through 1975, Kelly would spend most of his playing time with the [[Triple-A (baseball)|Triple-A]] [[Tacoma Twins]] of the [[Pacific Coast League]], splitting time between first base and the corner outfield positions.

After starting the {{mlby|1975}} season again in Tacoma, Kelly was called up to the parent Twins and made his major league debut on May 11, 1975. Kelly would play in 49 games with the Twins over the 1975 season, getting into 43 games at first base and two in the outfield. In 147 [[plate appearance]]s, he collected 15 [[bases on balls]] and 23 [[hit (baseball)|hits]], with five [[double (baseball)|doubles]] and one [[home run]] (a solo blast off [[Vern Ruhle]] at [[Tiger Stadium (Detroit)|Tiger Stadium]] on 26 May),<ref>[[Retrosheet]] [https://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1975/B05260DET1975.htm box score: 1975-05-26]</ref> [[batting average (baseball)|hitting]] a poor .181 with 11 [[runs batted in]]. Prior to the start of the {{mlby|1976}} season, Kelly was purchased by the [[Baltimore Orioles]] and assigned to the Triple-A [[Rochester Red Wings]]; he would not return to the major leagues as an active player. In 1977, he returned to the Twins organization and Tacoma – spending part of the year as a [[player-manager]]. In 1978, Kelly appeared in 119 games for the Twins new Triple-A affiliate, the [[Toledo Mud Hens]]. It was his last year as a full-time player.

==Managerial career==
Following the 1978 season, Kelly was sent down to manage the Twins' [[Class A (baseball)|Class A]] affiliate, the [[Visalia Oaks]] in the [[California League]], staying there through the 1980 season. He then spent 1981 and 1982 as skipper of the Double-A [[Orlando Twins]], winning the 1981 Southern League championship.<ref>{{Cite book| editor1-last=Johnson| editor1-first=Lloyd| editor2-last=Wolff| editor2-first=Miles| title=The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball| edition=2nd| location=Durham, North Carolina| publisher=Baseball America| year=1997| isbn=978-0-9637189-8-3}}</ref>

In {{mlby|1983}}, Kelly was appointed third-base coach on Minnesota manager [[Billy Gardner]]'s big-league coaching staff. He retained the post when [[Ray Miller (baseball manager)|Ray Miller]] became skipper, and succeeded Miller as a manager on September 12, 1986. Kelly was the 11th pilot of the Twins since they moved to [[Minneapolis–Saint Paul]] from [[Washington, D.C.|Washington]] in 1961, and his 15-plus-year-stint as manager is the longest consecutive-season managerial term in the [[Washington Senators (1901–60)|team's history]], which began with the founding of the [[American League]] in {{mlby|1901}}.<ref>[[Retrosheet]]: [https://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/M/FR_MIN.htm Minnesota Twins team history (1901–)]</ref> During 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 {{Baseball year|1994}} to {{Baseball year|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.

===1987 World Series===
A year after taking over the reins of the Twins from 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 Minnesota Twins season|'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 [[2006 St. Louis Cardinals season|St. Louis Cardinals]] in 2006), they easily handled the [[1987 Detroit Tigers season|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 (baseball)|National League]] champion [[1987 St. Louis Cardinals season|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, and first since their 1961 relocation to [[Minneapolis]].

===1991 World Series===
After finishing the [[1990 Minnesota Twins season|1990 season]] in last place with a 74-88 record, the [[1991 Minnesota Twins season|Twins]] dominated the [[AL West]] in 1991, finishing 8 games ahead of the second-place [[1991 Chicago White Sox season|Chicago White Sox]] with a 95–67 record.  During this season, the Twins set the club record of 15 consecutive wins, but this winning streak propelled them into first place. In the [[1991 American League Championship Series|AL Championship]], the Twins easily beat the [[1991 Toronto Blue Jays season|Toronto Blue Jays]] in 5 games, winning the right to face the [[1991 Atlanta Braves season|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 was later ranked by [[ESPN]] as the greatest World Series ever.<ref>[https://www.espn.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 said 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 -->] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090602052538/http://www.sportingnews.com/archives/worldseries/1991.html |date=2009-06-02 }}</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 12th and was prepared to send outfielder [[Dan Gladden]] to the mound if necessary; however, the Braves won in the bottom of the 12th 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 Leibrandt]]. Game 7 proved to be one of the greatest games in baseball history, as the game was scoreless for 9 innings and included a number of decisive and memorable plays. Kelly planned to take Twins starter [[Jack Morris]] out after the ninth inning ended. Morris argued repeatedly with Kelly to allow him to stay in the game. Kelly finally gave in. "What the hell," Kelly said. "It's only a ballgame."<ref>{{Cite news |last=Caple |first=Jim |title=1991 World Series had it all |url=http://www.espn.com/classic/s/1991_series_caple.html}}</ref> Morris ended up pitching 10 scoreless innings as the Twins won 1–0 in the bottom of the 10th, giving Minnesota its second World Series victory in five years.

===Final years===
{{MLBBioRet
|Image  = TomKellyTwins.png
|Name   = Tom Kelly
|Number = 10
|Team   = Minnesota Twins
|Year   = 2012
}}
In {{Baseball year|1998}}, management cleared all players earning over $1 million (except for pitcher [[Brad Radke]]) and rebuilt from the ground up; the [[1998 Minnesota Twins season|team]] went 70–92 and in fourth place in the AL Central, 19 games behind the [[1998 Cleveland Indians season|Cleveland Indians]] and five games ahead of the [[Detroit Tigers]]. On May 7, 2000, he won his 1,000th game as manager (having managed 2,092 games), doing so with a 4-0 victory over the [[Detroit Tigers]] at the [[Metrodome]] to become the 46th manager of the 1,000 wins club.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2000/05/08/sports/american-league-roundup-tom-kelly-has-1000-victories.html|title=AMERICAN LEAGUE: ROUNDUP; Tom Kelly Has 1,000 Victories|newspaper=The New York Times|date=8 May 2000}}</ref>

A run of eight straight losing seasons ended in 2001, when the [[2001 Minnesota Twins season|Twins]] led the division for much of the year before fading, finishing at 85–77, second to [[2001 Cleveland Indians season|Cleveland]]. He then resigned at age 51, citing [[burnout (psychology)|burnout]], and the threat of contraction.  Kelly was succeeded as manager of the Twins by [[Ron Gardenhire]], and his rebuilding efforts paid off the year after he retired from the Twins, with a repeat of divisional championships in [[2002 Minnesota Twins season|2002]], [[2003 Minnesota Twins season|2003]], and [[2004 Minnesota Twins season|2004]].

The Twins retired Kelly's jersey number, #10, on September 8, 2012.<ref name="jsyretire">[https://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news?slug=ap-twins-kellyuniform "Twins to retire ex-manager Tom Kelly's No. 10"]</ref>

A bronze statue of Kelly was unveiled outside [[Target Field]] on July 21, 2017.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Twins unveil Kelly statue outside Target Field |url=https://www.mlb.com/news/twins-unveil-tom-kelly-statue-outside-ballpark-c243579222 |access-date=2024-09-27 |website=MLB.com |language=en}}</ref>

==Managerial record==
{| class="wikitable" style="font-size: 95%; text-align:center;"
|-
! rowspan="2"|Team !! rowspan="2"|Year !! colspan="5"|Regular season !! colspan="4"|Postseason
|-
!Games!!Won!!Lost!!Win %!!Finish!! Won !! Lost !! Win % !! Result
|- 
![[1986 Minnesota Twins season|MIN]]||[[1986 MLB season|1986]]
||23||12||11|| .522|| 6th in AL West || – || – || – ||
|-style="background:#fde910"
![[1987 Minnesota Twins season|MIN]]||[[1987 MLB season|1987]]
||162||85||77|| .525|| '''1st in AL West''' || 8 || 4 || .667 ||'''Won [[1987 World Series|World Series]] ([[1987 St. Louis Cardinals season|STL]])'''
|-
![[1988 Minnesota Twins season|MIN]]||[[1988 MLB season|1988]]
||162||91||71|| .562|| 2nd in AL West || – || – || – ||
|-
![[1989 Minnesota Twins season|MIN]]||[[1989 MLB season|1989]]
||162||80||82|| .494|| 5th in AL West || – || – || – ||
|-
![[1990 Minnesota Twins season|MIN]]||[[1990 MLB season|1990]]
||162||74||88|| .457|| 7th in AL West || – || – || – ||
|-style="background:#fde910"
![[1991 Minnesota Twins season|MIN]]||[[1991 MLB season|1991]]
||162||95||67|| .586|| '''1st in AL West''' || 8 || 4 || .667 ||'''Won [[1991 World Series|World Series]] ([[1991 Atlanta Braves season|ATL]])'''
|-
![[1992 Minnesota Twins season|MIN]]||[[1992 MLB season|1992]]
||162||90||72|| .556|| 2nd in AL West || – || – || – ||
|-
![[1993 Minnesota Twins season|MIN]]||[[1993 MLB season|1993]]
||162||71||91|| .438 || 6th in AL West || – || – || – ||
|-
![[1994 Minnesota Twins season|MIN]]||[[1994 MLB season|1994]]
||113||53||60|| .469 || 4th in AL Central || – || – || – ||
|-
![[1995 Minnesota Twins season|MIN]]||[[1995 MLB season|1995]]
||144||78||84|| .389 || 5th in AL Central || – || – || – ||
|-
![[1996 Minnesota Twins season|MIN]]||[[1996 MLB season|1996]]
||162||78||84|| .481 || 4th in AL Central || – || – || – ||
|-
![[1997 Minnesota Twins season|MIN]]||[[1997 MLB season|1997]]
||162||68||94|| .420 ||4th in AL Central || – || – || – ||
|-
![[1998 Minnesota Twins season|MIN]]||[[1998 MLB season|1998]]
||162||70||92|| .432 || 4th in AL Central || – || – || – ||
|-
![[1999 Minnesota Twins season|MIN]]||[[1999 MLB season|1999]]
||161||63||97|| .394 || 5th in AL Central || – || – || – ||
|-
![[2000 Minnesota Twins season|MIN]]||[[2000 MLB season|2000]]
||162||69||93|| .426|| 5th in AL Central || – || – || – ||
|-
![[2001 Minnesota Twins season|MIN]]||[[2001 MLB season|2001]]
||162||85||73|| .525|| 2nd in AL Central || – || – || – ||
|-
! colspan="2"|MIN total<ref>{{Cite web |title=Tom Kelly Managerial Record |url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/managers/kellyto01.shtml |access-date=2024-10-02 |website=Baseball-Reference.com |publisher=Sports Reference |language=en}}</ref> ||2,385{{efn|Kelly also managed in a game on October 3, 1999 that ended in a tie.}}||1,140||1,244|| {{Winning percentage|1140|1244}}|| || 16 || 8  || .667 ||
|}

==See also==
* [[List of Major League Baseball managers with most career wins]]
* [[List of Knights of Columbus members]]

==References==
{{Reflist|colwidth=30em}}

==Notes==
{{notelist}}

==External links==
{{baseballstats |mlb=116946 |espn=23660 |br=k/kellyto01 |fangraphs=1006817 |brm=kelly-001jay |retro=K/Pkellt101}}
{{baseball-reference manager|kellyto01}}
:

{{s-start}}
{{succession box|title=[[Orlando Twins]] [[manager (baseball)|manager]]|years=1981–1982|before=[[Roy McMillan]]|after=[[Phil Roof]]}}
{{succession box|title=[[Minnesota Twins]] [[coach (baseball)|third-base coach]]|years=1983–1986|before=[[Karl Kuehl]]|after=[[Rick Renick]]}}
{{s-end}}

{{TwinsManagers}}
{{1987 Minnesota Twins}}
{{1991 Minnesota Twins}}
{{Minnesota Twins retired numbers}}
{{Minnesota Twins Hall of Fame}}
{{AL Managers of the Year}}
{{Sporting News Manager of the Year Award}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kelly, Tom}}
[[Category:1950 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:American sportsmen]]
[[Category:Baseball coaches from Minnesota]]
[[Category:Baseball managers]]
[[Category:Baseball players from Minnesota]]
[[Category:Cardinal McCarrick High School alumni]]
[[Category:Charlotte Hornets (baseball) players]]
[[Category:Clinton Pilots players]]
[[Category:Jacksonville Suns players]]
[[Category:Major League Baseball first basemen]]
[[Category:Major League Baseball managers with retired numbers]]
[[Category:Major League Baseball Manager of the Year Award winners]]
[[Category:Minnesota Twins coaches]]
[[Category:Minnesota Twins managers]]
[[Category:Minnesota Twins players]]
[[Category:Minor league baseball managers]]
[[Category:Newark Co-Pilots players]]
[[Category:People from Graceville, Minnesota]]
[[Category:People from Sayreville, New Jersey]]
[[Category:Rochester Red Wings players]]
[[Category:Tacoma Twins players]]
[[Category:Toledo Mud Hens players]]
[[Category:Visalia Oaks players]]
[[Category:World Series–winning managers]]
[[Category:20th-century American sportsmen]]