Second Baseman,
Minnesota Twins
Age: 23 (July 7)
Bats – Right,
Throws – Right
Height: 5’9” Weight: 175
Prior to 1991:
A native Texan,
Knoblauch was the son of a successful baseball coach at Bellaire High School in
Houston and developed a passion for the game from a young age. Small but highly
competitive, he was shortstop on his father’s team in high school until a
broken leg cost him his senior year of play. Moving on to Texas A & M Knoblauch
was a two-time All-Southwest Conference shortstop. Selected by the Twins in the
first round of the 1989 amateur draft, he signed for
$120,000. With two Class A teams in ’89 he batted .308 in 69 games. Moving up
to the Orlando Suns of the Class AA Southern League, where he was shifted from
shortstop to second base in 1990, Knoblauch hit .289, scored 74 runs and stole
23 bases. A non-roster invitee to spring training with the Twins in 1991, he beat
out veteran Nelson Liriano for the starting job at second base.
1991 Season Summary
Appeared in 151
games
2B – 148, SS – 2,
PH – 3, PR – 3
[Bracketed
numbers indicate AL rank in Top 20]
Batting
Plate
Appearances – 636
At Bats – 565
Runs – 78
Hits – 159
Doubles – 24
Triples – 6 [12,
tied with seven others]
Home Runs – 1
RBI – 50
Bases on Balls
– 59
Int. BB – 0
Strikeouts – 40
Stolen Bases – 25
[15]
Caught Stealing
– 5
Average - .281
OBP - .351
Slugging Pct. -
.350
Total Bases – 198
GDP – 8
Hit by Pitches
– 4
Sac Hits – 1
Sac Flies – 5
Midseason
snapshot: HR – 0, RBI – 23, AVG - .279, OBP - .350
---
Most hits, game
– 4 (in 5 AB) vs. Detroit 5/12, (in 6 AB) vs. Oakland 8/16 – 12 innings
Longest hitting
streak – 20 games
Most HR, game –
1 (in 3 AB) vs. Baltimore 8/31
HR at home – 1
HR on road – 0
Multi-HR games
– 0
Most RBIs, game
– 3 vs. Oakland 4/24, vs. Chicago White Sox 9/24
Pinch-hitting/running
– 2 of 3 (.667) with 2 R & 1 SB
Fielding
Chances – 727
Put Outs – 249
Assists – 460
Errors – 18
DP - 94
Pct. - .975
Postseason
Batting: 12 G (ALCS vs. Toronto – 5 G; World Series vs. Atlanta – 7 G)
PA – 55, AB – 46,
R – 8, H – 15, 2B – 3,3B – 0, HR – 0, RBI – 5, BB – 7, IBB – 0, SO – 5, SB – 6,
CS – 1, AVG - .326, OBP - .407, SLG - .391, TB – 18, GDP – 0, HBP – 0, SH – 1,
SF – 1
Awards & Honors:
AL Rookie of
the Year: BBWAA
NL ROY Voting
(Top 5):
Chuck
Knoblauch, Min.: 136 pts. – 26 of 28 first place votes, 97% share
Juan Guzman,
Tor.: 68 pts. – 1 first place vote, 49% share
Milt Cuyler,
Det.: 22 pts. – 1 first place vote, 16% share
Ivan Rodriguez,
Tex.: 10 pts. – 7% share
Rich DeLucia,
Sea.: 7 pts. – 5% share
---
Twins went 95-67
to finish first in the AL Western Division by 8 games over the Chicago White
Sox, while leading the league in hits (1557), batting (.280) & on-base
percentage (.344). A last-place team the previous year, a 15-game June winning
streak propelled the Twins into first place, a position that they rarely
relinquished the rest of the way. Won ALCS over the Toronto Blue Jays, 4 games
to 1. Won World Series over the Atlanta Braves, 4 games to 3. The highly
competitive Series came down to a dramatic seventh game pitching performance by
Minnesota RHP Jack Morris, who outlasted John Smoltz and two relievers to win
in 10 innings.
Aftermath of ‘91:
Knoblauch
followed up on his fine rookie season by batting .297 in 1992 with 104 runs
scored and 34 stolen bases and received his first All-Star selection. Dogged by
two slumps in 1993, Knoblauch hit .277 and scored 82 runs while performing well
defensively. In the strike-shortened 1994 season, he led the AL with 45 doubles
while batting .312 and continuing to play well in the field. Knoblauch further established
himself as a top second baseman and leadoff hitter in 1995 by hitting .333 with
34 doubles, 8 triples, 11 home runs, 63 RBIs, and 197 runs scored, placing
seventeenth in league MVP voting. In 1996 he led the AL with 14 triples while
batting .341 and scoring 140 runs. During the season he signed a five-year, $30
million contract extension. Knoblauch received his only Gold Glove following a
1997 season in which he also batted .291 with 26 doubles, 10 triples, 9 home
runs, 58 RBIs, 62 stolen bases, and 117 runs scored. With the Twins performing
badly, he requested a trade to a contender in the offseason and was dealt to
the New York Yankees for four prospects and cash. Known for his fundamentally
sound style of play and high on-base percentage, with the Yankees in 1998 he
hit .265 with 17 home runs and 64 RBIs. He began to encounter problems in the
field due to errant throws to first base. Nevertheless, he was a contributor to
a championship team, including a .375 batting average in the World Series win
against San Diego. Knoblauch remained with the Yankees through 2001, thanks
primarily to the productivity of his bat, while his fielding woes worsened to
the point that he was shifted to left field in his last year with the club. He
moved on to the Kansas City Royals as a free agent in 2002, where he remained
in left field, but his hitting dropped off significantly in his final major
league season. Overall for his major league career, Knoblauch batted .289 with
1839 hits that included 322 doubles, 64 triples, and 98 home runs. He further
scored 1132 runs, stole 407 bases, and had a .378 on-base percentage. His
totals with the Twins were a .304 batting average with 1197 hits, 713 runs
scored, 210 doubles, 51 triples, 43 home runs, 391 RBIs, and 276 stolen bases.
A four-time All-Star (all with the Twins) Knoblauch was awarded two Silver
Sluggers and a Gold Glove. In 66 postseason games he batted .258 with two home
runs and 20 RBIs. In 2008 he admitted to using performance-enhancing drugs
during his career.
--
Rookie of the Year Profiles feature players who were recipients of
the Rookie of the Year Award by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America
(1947 to present). The award was presented to a single major league winner from
its inception through 1948 and from 1949 on to one recipient from each major
league.
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