Scott Erickson

[William Malone]

Scott Gavin Erickson was born on February 2, 1968 in Long Beach, California.

His 18 wins for the University of Arizona in 1989 is still a single season program record, and it led to the Minnesota Twins using a fourth round pick on Erickson in the draft that June. He rose through the minor league system rather quickly, making his Major League debut early on in the 1990 campaign. Erickson was a bright spot for a last place Twins team during his rookie year, owning a 2.87 ERA across 17 starts.

A strong off-season saw Minnesota bring in veterans Chili Davis and Jack Morris, helping spark one of the greatest year-to-year turnarounds in baseball history. They went on to win the World Series, defeating an Atlanta Braves team who had also finished in last place a year earlier. While Morris famously put the team on his back during the 1991 playoffs, you could argue that Erickson was the staff ace during the regular season. He led the American League with 20 wins, and finished second in the Cy Young voting behind Roger Clemens of the Boston Red Sox. Erickson was particularly dominant in the first half, posting a 1.39 ERA over his first 15 starts.

He didn't record any decisions in his three starts during the 1991 postseason, where he had a 4.91 ERA. His best start during the Twins title run came in game six of the World Series, where he tossed six innings and allowed three runs. Minnesota would famously win in 11 innings, thanks to a walk-off home run from Kirby Puckett.

Morris left the Twins after just one year with the club, and Tom Kelly gave the ball to Erickson on Opening Day in 1992. At just 24-years old with a World Series ring and a second place Cy Young finish already on his resume, it seemed like he was destined to be the Twins next true ace. But things just didn't work out that way. Erickson went 13-12 with a 3.40 ERA in 1992, and things only got worse from there. His 19 losses in 1993 led the American League, and that came with a 5.19 ERA. The ERA went up to 5.44 in 1994, and it reached 5.95 through 15 starts in 1995. That's when Minnesota finally decided to move on, trading Erickson to the Baltimore Orioles for Scott Klingenbeck and Kimera Bartee around the 1995 deadline.

Erickson continued to struggle with the Orioles, and he also began to battle some injuries. He had a 4.73 ERA during his nine years in Baltimore, not throwing a single pitch in two of those seasons. Erickson did have a little postseason success with the Orioles, helping them reach the ALCS in 1996 and 1997. His most memorable performance in Baltimore was when he hurled eight shutout innings against the Cleveland Indians in game one of the 1997 ALCS. Baltimore would wind up losing in six games.

The New York Mets signed Erickson ahead of the 2004 season, and spent most of the first half continuing to rehab a torn labrum that he suffered in 2003. He made his Mets debut on July 19th, tossing six innings and allowing just two runs in a loss against the Florida Marlins. The Texas Rangers, who were competing for a playoff spot, acquired Erickson a week later at the deadline. He made just four starts in Texas before landing on the disabled list again, ending his season.

Erickson made eight starts for the Dodgers in 2005, and eight relief appearances for the Yankees in 2006. He retired just before spring training in 2007 after going unsigned during the off-season.

Retirement has kept Erickson busy. He spent a few years as a minor league pitching coach for the Indians, working at various levels of their system. Erickson later transitioned to broadcasting, working as a color commentator for college baseball broadcasts on the Pac-12 Network.

He was charged with reckless driving in the aftermath of a 2020 car accident that killed two people. The charges were later dropped after he issued a public service announcement regarding the importance of safe driving.

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[laloesch]

Jack Morris ditching the Twins immediately after signing with them and winning the World Series in 91 still stings to this day.  Arguably if he had stuck with the Twins for one more season 92 and they still could have grabbed Smiley as well and signed both to extensions they could have won in 92 and possibly 93 instead of the BlueJays.  Scott Erickson was a bit of a flash in the pan.

[William Malone]

On 4/14/2025 at 11:03 AM, laloesch said:

Jack Morris ditching the Twins immediately after signing with them and winning the World Series in 91 still stings to this day.  Arguably if he had stuck with the Twins for one more season 92 and they still could have grabbed Smiley as well and signed both to extensions they could have won in 92 and possibly 93 instead of the BlueJays.  Scott Erickson was a bit of a flash in the pan.

It’s all relative. For as great as Morris was in 1991 playoffs, he was awful in 1992 playoffs (0-3, 7.43 ERA in four starts). Blue Jays were able to skate around it. I don’t know if Twins could have. They also wouldn’t have home field in 1992, which was clearly important in both 1987 and 1991. It wasn’t record based. It alternated. AL East champ had home field in 1992, regardless of record. NL champ had home field in World Series, regardless of record.