The Minnesota Twins will honor former GM Andy MacPhail by inducting him to the Twins Hall of Fame this weekend
In 1984, Minnesota Twins‘ new owner Carl Pohlad hired a 32-year-old out of the Houston Astros front office. That 32-year-old was Andy MacPhail and that hire lives on as one of the most important hires in the history of the Twins.
MacPhail was initially hired as the Twins Vice President of Player Development but was quickly promoted to General Manager in 1985. He held that position until 1994 when he was hired away to become the President and CEO of the Chicago Cubs, a team he was with early on in his baseball career.
Andy MacPhail was at the helm of the Twins for both 1987 and 1991 World Series championships. That makes it fitting that as the Twins celebrate the 30-year anniversary of the 1987 championship, MacPhail would also be inducted into the Minnesota Twins’ Hall of Fame this coming weekend.
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The current Philadelphia Phillies president has had quite a career in professional baseball. Along with his time with the Twins (1985-1994), Cubs (1994-2006), and Phillies (2015-present) MacPhail was also the Baltimore Orioles President of Baseball Operations. Through those stops, MacPhail has been pinpointed as a guy who can move a team through a successful rebuild.
That started with the work he did with the Twins. His hire signaled a change from the ways that former owner Calvin Griffin had run the team. It started with taking a chance on hiring manager Tom Kelly in 1986. It continued with moves to acquire players such as Jeff Reardon, Dan Gladden, Joe Niekro and Dan Schatzeder.
As the Twins celebrate that 1987 team, this is what MacPhail had to say in regards to what stood about that team in a recent interview with Sid Hartman:
"“That was just a team of great character,” he said. “You learn after you have been in this game a long time that certain people rise to the occasion, and we were blessed to have many ballplayers and athletes who really shined at their very brightest when the stage was at the very brightest as well.”"
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What a great moment it will be to see Andy MacPhail honored in this way. It is hard to not start drawing comparisons between him and current Twins’ front office leader Derek Falvey. Maybe the two will be able to have some great conversations about the past rebuild of the 1980’s Twins and the current rebuilds both are in the middle of. If only we could be a fly on the wall for those conversations.