1991 WORLD SERIES : ATLANTA BRAVES VS. MINNESOTA TWINS : BASEBALL : They Didn’t Need to Buy Happiness

Is there more rhyme than reason to this worst-to-first business?

Or is the 1991 World Series, matching the only two teams to have gone from last to first in consecutive seasons, simply the latest and most graphic example of baseball’s era of parity, sometimes spelled with o-d-y at the end?

What does it mean? What, if anything, is the reason for the rhyme?

General managers Andy MacPhail of the Minnesota Twins and John Schuerholz of the Atlanta Braves, in line for executive-of-the-year awards as architects of this unlikely meeting, weighed the issues Friday and agreed that:

--Their comebacks should stimulate colleagues, proving a quick turnaround is possible.

--It is unlikely that any team, even those in big markets, can sustain a dynasty because of the payroll, meaning that worst to first becomes more feasible.

--It would be a mistake to look at the success of the Twins and Braves and conclude that it stemmed from free-agent signings.

“That would definitely be the wrong lesson,” MacPhail said. “Neither of us would be here if it wasn’t for free agency, but it’s not a panacea nor the foundation of either team.

“The farm systems and scouting departments were a more significant factor than even the great additions of a Terry Pendleton to Atlanta or a Jack Morris and Chili Davis to the Twins.

“The similarity here is that both teams made additions through trade and free agency after the foundation was in place. And the other lesson is that neither team simply upgraded areas that were already strong. The additions were in areas where we could get a big bang for our bucks.”

Said Schuerholz: “Without that pipeline of talent coming through the system, you can’t do what we’ve done, what Minnesota has done.

“Two years ago (as general manager of the Kansas City Royals), I signed two free agents--Storm Davis from the A’s and Mark Davis from the San Diego Padres. They were the starter and closer everyone thought we needed, including myself. . . . Then it blew up in our face and I took a lot of the heat for it, as I should have.”

The Royals already had a powerful rotation and a proven closer in Jeff Montgomery. Schuerholz tried to build on a strong suit, even though that tactic had failed elsewhere.

“Having the resources to buy free agents and strictly pursue that route has never really succeeded,” he said. “The Yankees, the Angels tried and failed. More cash doesn’t mean you have a better idea than the other guy or a better system.

“And since the industry has gone from a $3-million player to the $5-million player, the need to develop from within has only increased and accelerated.”

Schuerholz inherited a team that had finished last for three consecutive seasons, losing 300 games in the process, but the foundation had been rebuilt by Bobby Cox, then the general manager and now the field manager, through his emphasis on pitching in the June draft.

Schuerholz rebuilt the infield by signing Sid Bream, Rafael Belliard and Pendleton as free agents, traded for a catalytic leadoff hitter in Otis Nixon and much later traded for Alejandro Pena to replace his injured closer, Juan Berenguer.

“Defense,” Schuerholz said of his free-agent acquisitions. “Both Terry and Sid could catch it at the corners and were coming from championship environments with the Cardinals and Pirates. If that rubbed off and they could save a couple runs a week for our young pitchers, it would be worth it.

“I mean, it gets back to foundation. We could sign a Pendleton and Bream because we had a Steve Avery and Tom Glavine who were worth protecting, and we could focus on defense because we had a Ron Gant and David Justice, who were also out of the system, to help provide offense.”

The Twins, in rebuilding the 1987 team that won the American League West championship with only 85 victories before upsetting the Detroit Tigers in the playoff and the St. Louis Cardinals in the World Series, have:

--Nine players acquired in trade.

--Nine developed in the system.

--One acquired for $50,000 in the December draft--Shane Mack.

--Three who were signed as minor league or released free agents--Brian Harper, Carl Willis and Terry Leach.

--And three signed last winter as free agents, new-look and otherwise: Morris, Davis and Mike Pagliarulo.

Of the 10 pitchers on the postseason roster, not one was with the team in ’87. The turnaround has been a textbook lesson in small-market economics.

“Of the 24 players who were on our postseason roster in ‘87, 10 are out of baseball and the other 14 had salaries of $25 million this year,” MacPhail said. “We can’t sustain 25 players making $25 million, let alone only 14.

“It’s not a popular thing to retool, to trade a Frank Viola or Tom Brunansky or lose a Jeff Reardon and Gary Gaetti to free agency, but financially and competitively we had to do it. We weren’t misled when we won the division with 85 wins.”

The Twins were 74-88 last season, a season given to the development of the young pitchers, separating the prospects from the rest, MacPhail said.

Morris was signed as a rotation leader and workhorse. Pagliarulo replaced Gaetti at third base. Davis was signed to bolster the offense as the designated hitter. Chuck Knoblauch came out of the system to fill a vacancy at second base and became the probable rookie of the year. Scott Erickson, another farm product, continued his progress of last year by winning 20 games. Kevin Tapani and Rick Aguilera, both acquired in the economically motivated Viola trade of ‘89, won 16 games and saved 42, respectively.

The Minnesota payroll is a modest $22 million. MacPhail smiled and said:

“I don’t think any of us expected to win the best division in baseball by eight games, but we saw we had enough to be competitive. We liked what we saw and thought we only had to add a few things here and there.

“For the fans and the community, we’ll never be able to recapture the energy and enthusiasm of ‘87, when we won for the first time. But for the front office, this is a very gratifying affirmation of the fact that we knew what we had to do and were able to do it quickly and efficiently.

“In the inevitable bad times, we’ll be able to draw on it.”

For the next week, there will be only good times for the improbable Twins and Braves.

“Two teams that finished last the previous year playing in the World Series?” Schuerholz said. “One of the all-time remarkable stories in athletics. . . . I can’t think of anything like it, ever.”