AFTER YEARS OF DEPRESSION : Inflation on Horizon in Minnesota

Those who pass through the turnstiles of the Metrodome this summer can’t help looking at their 1987 Minnesota Twins the same way they look at the roof of their wild amusement park.

When will the collapse happen again?

In 1984, the youthful Twins teased the Twin Cities by leading the American League West into September, inflating hopes and then deflating them by squandering a five-game lead down the stretch. The Twins eventually finished three games behind the Kansas City Royals.

Less than two years later--proving that collapses aren’t necessarily limited to the field--the laws of nature sprung into reverse one April night, striving to return outdoor baseball to Minnesota. A heavy rainstorm caused the roof to sag, and it eventually tore above the upper-deck seats in right-center field. Fans headed for the nearest tunnel, and players ran off the field.

When play resumed several minutes later, just after the roof nearly caved in, the Twins’ pitching staff followed, going one step further, as it let a 6-1 lead turn into a 7-6 loss to the Angels.

It was the perfect summation of the franchise’s long-standing problem. Critics called Minnesota the Boston Red Sox of the AL West . . . a team with very good hitters destined to lose a lot of 7-6 games because of some very poor pitchers.

Now, a year later, the comparisons to the Red Sox still make sense. In 1986, Boston obtained Tom Seaver, Dave Henderson and Spike Owen in various deals to help shore up pitching, center field and the infield, respectively, on its way to a pennant.

In a sudden flurry before and during spring training, the Twins have followed the same path, making moves to bolster the outfield, the infield and the pitching staff.

In left field, there’s ex-Giant Dan Gladden, now hitting a season-high .290 with 5 home runs and 25 RBIs. The Twins obtained utility infielder Al Newman from the Montreal Expos last February, and with holdovers Steve Lombardozzi and Greg Gagne, Minnesota has become reasonably solid at second base and shortstop.

But, more than anything, it’s pitching depth--including newcomers Jeff Reardon, Juan Berenguer, Joe Niekro and Dan Schatzeder--that is responsible for Minnesota’s two-game lead in the AL West and major leagues-leading 29-13 home record.

Minnesota General Manager Andy MacPhail recently pondered the Boston comparison and, after a moment, found it to his liking.

“I hadn’t really thought about it,” he said. “But I hope it’s an accurate one, seeing that they made the World Series. It would be a nice one to follow.”

The Twins’ last serious attempt at making postseason play was in 1984, but it was hampered by a beleaguered relief pitcher, Ron Davis, a paper-thin bullpen and a paltry bench. And finally, it was youth--six rookies, nine second-year players and five third-year men--which proved to be unworthy once the stakes increased and the pressure was magnified.

As first baseman Kent Hrbek puts it: “We didn’t know how to act.”

Said pitcher Frank Viola: “In ‘84, we didn’t know what we were doing. We were just a bunch of young guys out there playing. Now, we’ve solved the problems. We have Dan Gladden, a legitimate leadoff hitter and someone like Jeff Reardon in the bullpen. We have a stronger bench. In ’84 we were just having fun. Now we know we have the ability when we look around the field.”

Oddly enough, the man in charge of putting the remaining pieces together is younger than his manager and two of his starting pitchers. Andy MacPhail, 34, might easily be mistaken for singer John Denver from afar. Up close, some think public relations director Tom Mee looks more like the executive vice president and MacPhail looks like the public relations guy.

Yet MacPhail is a third-generation baseball executive--his father, Lee, was general manager of the Yankees and American League president, and grandfather, Larry, was a general manager and club owner. While growing up, Andy and his older brother preferred to play games in their father’s office rather than on the field. They would wander into Lee MacPhail’s office--one brother pretended to be general manager and the other posed as a player--so they could argue about salaries.

Hey, Andy, let’s play arbitration.

That will come a bit later for MacPhail. For now, he’s winding his way through his first full season as executive vice president, scouring professional baseball for pitching, pitching and more pitching.

“I probably came in with mixed feelings,” he said. “I saw it as a real opportunity, a team that had more talent than it had wins. It was a pretty good situation to come from rather than trying to start from scratch.

“The negative aspect was pitching, and more specifically, relief pitching. It’s a tough commodity to come up with overnight. Those were the concerns.”

MacPhail’s initiation as decision-maker wasn’t easy. When the Twins told free agent pitcher Jack Morris thanks but no thanks, MacPhail took his share of the heat. Who is this kid?

But when it came down to it, once the Twins started winning, fans didn’t care whether MacPhail was 34 or 54.

MacPhail knows the glare would have been much more intense, maybe too intense, in larger markets such as New York, Chicago or Los Angeles. Even someone such as the Angels’ 41-year-old general manager Mike Port is considered a callow youth, by baseball standards.

A typical response, if you were to ask 36-year-old Tom Kelly about being the youngest manager in the majors:

“I don’t pay too much attention to that.”

However, Kelly’s contributions to the 1987 Twins are worth paying attention to. He parlayed his 23-game term as interim manager in 1986 to full-time status, having survived an embarrassing seven-week stretch in which the Twins searched for a man with more experience.

As far as many of the players were concerned, the effort was a waste of time. Certainly Kelly was a known commodity and could provide a measure of stability. He had joined Minnesota as a third base coach in 1983 and five current team members played for Kelly in the minor leagues in Orlando, Fla.

“I don’t think there was any question he was (the players’ choice),” Viola said. “I know we were all hoping he’d be the guy.

“He’s made the difference in the whole team. He knows how to get the most out of each player. Tom Kelly can get along with his players and he can let you have it. (Former manager) Billy Gardner basically just let the team play. Tom Kelly will tell you how he feels, and he listens to other people.”

Third baseman Gary Gaetti is more blunt about what Kelly has meant to the 1987 Twins.

“Everything. . . . He’s just the right man for this team. I was getting really anxious for him. If it didn’t happen, if he wasn’t hired, it was seriously going to affect my future here.”

More than anything, the problem with the 1986 Twins, a team that finished 20 games below .500, was one of motivation. Ray Miller, who replaced Gardner in 1985, was not the cure. Some felt he was the problem. Anyway, when Kelly took over with 23 games remaining last fall, he already knew that pitching wasn’t the Twins’ only problem.

“I decided things have to be different,” Kelly said. “The job wasn’t getting done. Changing the attitude of the ballclub was the biggest thing. We worked on that the last three weeks of the season. We felt they didn’t want to come to the ballpark. We wanted to try to make things more fun.”

Hrbek concurs, saying the attitude problem was no mirage.

“You want to come to the park now,” he said. “Before you would just dread it on the drive in. Once you stepped on the field, between the lines, you’d have it. It’s just the attitude. Joe Niekro was saying how much more relaxed it is here.”

These days, Twins starting pitchers find it much easier to relax, especially with the presence of former National League All-Star Reardon in the bullpen. Reardon, who led the majors in saves in 1985, was acquired from the Montreal Expos last winter in a six-player deal.

After some initial difficulty, Reardon has adjusted to the American League. He recorded his 17th save Thursday night. In his last 13 appearances, Reardon has gone 3-0 with seven saves in 18 innings, posting a 1.50 earned-run average.

“It’s a big plus to have someone that’s proven,” MacPhail said. “There are no excuses at the end, and he isn’t going to back down from anything. When someone’s been burnt for whatever reason, you’d much rather have a guy go out there and challenge people.”

As far as Viola is concerned, Reardon’s arrival has changed the way he approaches each start as opposed to when Davis sat in the bullpen.

“I don’t think there’s any question it’s different,” said Viola, who is 7-6 and leads the Twins with a 3.09 ERA. “Before, I used to pace myself so I could go longer. Now, with him (Reardon), we can throw as hard as we can as long as we can. He’s been doing everything we’ve asked of him. I think, because of that, I’ve thrown more complete games. The complete games come when you’re not trying to get them.”

Berenguer, like Reardon, has been equal to the task and then some. He has served as a spot starter and in relief, compiling a 5-0 record with a 3.71 ERA, which was 2.70 before his three most recent outings.

Back at the plate, the team that was built for the Metrodome is on schedule. Hrbek, his All-Star snub notwithstanding, is on the way to perhaps his best season with 23 home runs and 55 RBIs. Puckett is merely hitting .340 with 14 home runs and 53 RBIs.

Gold Glove winner Gary Gaetti is hitting .251 with 15 home runs and 50 RBIs, and Tom Brunansky, like Hrbek, is far ahead of last year (.260, 18, 47).

So, what, possibly could go awry now. Surely, the Dome won’t try to turn itself into an outdoor stadium again. MacPhail has done his best to ensure against a possible pitching collapse.

But even now, the ghost of Davis, not-so-lovingly called R.D., seems to lurk in the Dome, having succeeded in attaining a secure place in Minnesota folklore. On that violent April night a year ago, Davis, the final pitcher to collapse against the Angels, was the perfect symbol of a troubled franchise.

So maybe it’s because of past history that the Twins are approaching this race differently. The exuberance of contending in 1984 has been replaced by a one-game-at-a-time credo in 1987.

“It’s still early,” Puckett said. “I keep looking at the scoreboard and Oakland keeps winning. Maybe in September and October, then we’ll stop saying it. But then, you won’t need to ask the question.”

Puckett was there for the fall in 1984 as the Twins lost their final six games, including an 11-10 decision to the Cleveland Indians after they held a 10-0 lead. That’s why any enthusiasm in the Twins’ clubhouse is tempered with a good dose of hesitancy.

When Minnesota held a five-game lead in late June, a local sports columnist polled several fans and didn’t exactly find pennant fever . . . it was more like, can we find a temperature?

The local sentiment: They’ve choked before, they can always do it again.

And so, it isn’t surprising to occasionally hear the name, Ron Davis, symbol of futility invoked, even when the Twins are winning. During a blowout of the Indians last month, his name came up when the latest in a long parade of Cleveland pitchers entered the game.

“Even R.D. might be able to help this team,” shouted a sportswriter.

But Ron Davis doesn’t live here anymore.