Welcome to part three of this series, in which we look at the all-decade teams comprised of only guys selected to an All-Star team in that decade. You can refer to part 1 for the full methodology. Without further ado, let’s dig into the 1980s. Can they overthrow the 1960s all-decade team?

The 1980s Twins Teams

Oh, the 80s. We saw the introductions of franchise greats like Kirby Puckett, Kent Hrbek, and others. In 1988, the Twins set a league record for making the fewest errors in a season. They also won the World Series in ’87. Aside from those few bright spots, it was not the Twins’ finest decade. We saw the opening of the Metrodome, in all it’s astroturf and bathroom trough glory. 1984 saw the Pohlads attempt to take advantage of an attendance clause in their lease that said if they didn’t draw enough fans, they could vacate the lease and move the team. Sound like the plot of Major League? Yeah, I thought so too. The decade also featured several pretty bad seasons.

How did the all-decade team stack up? To this point, the 1960s all-decade team is pacing every other decade’s team. Can the few 80s superstars get it done? Let’s dig in.

Starting Pitchers

SP1 - Frank Viola - 1988. He was the ace. Fresh off his epic 1987 World Series run, Sweet Music went 24-7 en route to his only All-Star selection as a member of the Twins. He had a 2.64 ERA and a 154 ERA+, a 1.1 WHIP, and a minuscule 1.8 BB/9. He won the Cy Young for his efforts. In the midst of a four-year peak, he won more games as a lefty than anyone else in baseball, and the third most overall behind Doc Gooden and Jack Morris. Over that stretch, he won 19 straight home games. Not too shabby. He had a contract dispute and was traded midway through the season in a blockbuster with the Mets that brought three players, includingRick Aguilera and Kevin Tapani, who would go on to be members of the '91 World Series team.

Unfortunately, after Viola, there were no other SP selected for an All-Star nod. The ace stands alone.

Relief Pitchers

CL - Jeff Reardon - 1988. The ‘80s did bring a bullpen ace into the mix as The Terminator found his way into 63 games, pitching to a 2.47 ERA. He was 65% better than league average, and received down-ballot MVP votes as a reliever. He had an 80-54 SO/BB ratio. That year, he was featured on the cover of Street & Smith’s annual Baseball Yearbook. A few years later, he would eventually become the all-time saves leader, although he didn’t remain on top for long. In 1988, he was also the first pitcher to record 40-save seasons in both leagues.

Lineup

Here we saw a number of mainstays that were also on the ’91 WS team.

C - Tim Laudner - 1988. This was his only All-Star nod, and even in this season, he was just sort of mediocre. Despite only accumulating 3.2 career WAR and just 1.1 in his All-Star year, he’s the only catcher selected to an AS team that decade. He was a league-average hitter, but performed poorly when it mattered, finishing the season with a -1.2 WPA. There was nothing notable about this season, or about him as a player. Sorry Tim. He was fine on broadcasts and did go to my High School, so there’s that.

1B - Kent Hrbek - 1982 in his lone selection. Notably, he told MLB not to pick him moving forward. However, in 1982, along with finishing 2nd in the Rookie of the Year voting, he was an All-Star. As a 22-year-old, he hit 28% better than league average, hitting .301 on the year. He also swiped three bags.

3B - Gary Gaetti, “The Rat” - 1988. A member of the ’87 World Series team, he won a Gold Glove in the 1988 season, the third consecutive season in which he accomplished that. He also had a .905 OPS, hit over .300 for the only season in his career, and clubbed 28 homers. He was known for being the energy-bringer to the clubhouse. After the season, Sports Illustrated ran an article in which they surveyed all AL Managers who they thought the best third baseman in the league was, and 10 of them said Gaetti. Fun fact, he recording his final major league hit off of Johan Santana.

OF - Kirby Pickett - 1988, his third time making the team. It was a great season for him as he led the league in hits (234), total bases (358), hit .356 (the best RH batting average since Joe DiMaggio in 1941), hit 24 home runs, and won the Gold Glove in centerfield. He also won the Silver Slugger, and finished 3rd in MVP balloting in his 7.8 WAR campaign. He notched his 1000th hit in ’88, in just his 5th season. He was the 4th player in history to reach that accomplishment. And, maybe most importantly, I ran into Kirby in 1988 at a Red Owl grocery store. That was the highlight of my 5-year-old life to that point, as I got his autograph on a napkin. He was a lot of fun to watch, and to meet. As Twins fans know all-too-well, he was yet another Twins superstar whose career was cut short by injuries.

OF - Gary Ward - 1983. While he didn’t put up any standout metrics, he was solid across the board offensively and defensively, above average everywhere you look. With Puckett’s emergence, Ward was traded after the season for a couple of starting pitchers that didn’t do much other than eat innings.

OF - Tom Brunansky - 1985. Similar to Laudner, Bruno didn’t really deserve to be an All-Star. His lone AS season featured slightly above average hitting with decent power at a 104 OPS+, but well-below-average defense. He finished with 1.4 WAR, below the threshold of being an everyday player. He did participate in the first-ever Home Run Derby, finishing sexond. He had two claims to fame, but neither fell in this All-Star season. First, he was a part of the ’87 World Series team. Second, he once hit an inside-the-park grand slam.

On the whole, the 1980s all-decade team finished with just 32.5 WAR, with half of that belonging to Puckett and Viola. With the 52 replacement-level wins, the all-decade team finished at 84.5 wins, just above .500. Advantage: 1960s.

Before looking at the remaining decades, do you think the 80s all-decade team was the worst? Comment below, and stay tuned for tomorrow’s look at the 1990s.