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  • Scott Erickson

    Birth Date: 02/01/1968

    Scott Erickson Autograph

    Scott Erickson's Autograph

    Scott Erickson Bio

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    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.

    Notable Events & Trivia

    • 1991 World Series champion
    • 1991 All-Star
    • 1991 AL wins leader (20)
    • 1993 AL loss leader (19)
    • Pitched a no-hitter on April 27, 1994
      • The third of five no-hitters in Twins history
        • Jack Kralick (1962), Dean Chance (1967), Scott Erickson (1994), Eric Milton (1999), Francisco Liriano (2011)

    Scott Erickson Statistics

    Standard Pitching Table
    Season Age Team Lg WAR W L W-L% ERA G GS GF CG SHO SV IP H R ER HR BB IBB SO HBP BK WP BF ERA+ FIP WHIP H9 HR9 BB9 SO9 SO/BB Awards
    1990 22 MIN AL 2.6 8 4 .667 2.87 19 17 1 1 0 0 113.0 108 49 36 9 51 4 53 5 0 3 485 145 4.39 1.407 8.6 0.7 4.1 4.2 1.04  
    1991 23 MIN AL 4.4 20 8 .714 3.18 32 32 0 5 3 0 204.0 189 80 72 13 71 3 108 6 0 4 851 135 3.76 1.275 8.3 0.6 3.1 4.8 1.52 CYA-2,MVP-17
    1992 24 MIN AL 3.7 13 12 .520 3.40 32 32 0 5 3 0 212.0 197 86 80 18 83 3 101 8 1 6 888 119 4.22 1.321 8.4 0.8 3.5 4.3 1.22  
    1993 25 MIN AL 1.4 8 19 .296 5.19 34 34 0 1 0 0 218.2 266 138 126 17 71 1 116 10 0 5 976 84 4.05 1.541 10.9 0.7 2.9 4.8 1.63  
    1994 26 MIN AL 0.5 8 11 .421 5.44 23 23 0 2 1 0 144.0 173 95 87 15 59 0 104 9 0 10 654 89 4.46 1.611 10.8 0.9 3.7 6.5 1.76  
    1995 27 2TM AL 2.6 13 10 .565 4.81 32 31 1 7 2 0 196.1 213 108 105 18 67 0 106 5 2 3 836 100 4.32 1.426 9.8 0.8 3.1 4.9 1.58  
    1995 27 MIN AL 0.1 4 6 .400 5.95 15 15 0 0 0 0 87.2 102 61 58 11 32 0 45 4 0 1 390 81 4.94 1.529 10.5 1.1 3.3 4.6 1.41  
    1995 27 BAL AL 2.5 9 4 .692 3.89 17 16 1 7 2 0 108.2 111 47 47 7 35 0 61 1 2 2 446 123 3.81 1.344 9.2 0.6 2.9 5.1 1.74  
    1996 28 BAL AL 2.2 13 12 .520 5.02 34 34 0 6 0 0 222.1 262 137 124 21 66 4 100 11 0 1 968 99 4.54 1.475 10.6 0.9 2.7 4.0 1.52  
    1997 29 BAL AL 4.0 16 7 .696 3.69 34 33 0 3 2 0 221.2 218 100 91 16 61 5 131 5 0 11 922 119 3.76 1.259 8.9 0.6 2.5 5.3 2.15  
    1998 30 BAL AL 4.3 16 13 .552 4.01 36 36 0 11 2 0 251.1 284 125 112 23 69 4 186 13 0 4 1102 113 3.83 1.405 10.2 0.8 2.5 6.7 2.70  
    1999 31 BAL AL 2.1 15 12 .556 4.81 34 34 0 6 3 0 230.1 244 127 123 27 99 4 106 11 0 10 995 96 5.17 1.489 9.5 1.1 3.9 4.1 1.07  
    2000 32 BAL AL -1.2 5 8 .385 7.87 16 16 0 1 0 0 92.2 127 81 81 14 48 0 41 5 0 3 446 60 5.93 1.888 12.3 1.4 4.7 4.0 0.85  
    2001 Did not play - Injured
    2002 34 BAL AL -0.8 5 12 .294 5.55 29 28 0 3 1 0 160.2 192 109 99 20 68 2 74 8 0 5 719 77 5.08 1.618 10.8 1.1 3.8 4.1 1.09  
    2003 Did not play - Injured
    2004 36 2TM 2LG -0.1 1 4 .200 6.67 6 6 0 0 0 0 27.0 38 22 20 3 20 0 9 0 0 2 136 74 6.05 2.148 12.7 1.0 6.7 3.0 0.45  
    2004 36 NYM NL -0.3 0 1 .000 7.88 2 2 0 0 0 0 8.0 15 9 7 1 4 0 3 0 0 1 42 57 5.42 2.375 16.9 1.1 4.5 3.4 0.75  
    2004 36 TEX AL 0.2 1 3 .250 6.16 4 4 0 0 0 0 19.0 23 13 13 2 16 0 6 0 0 1 94 83 6.31 2.053 10.9 0.9 7.6 2.8 0.38  
    2005 37 LAD NL -0.5 1 4 .200 6.02 19 8 6 0 0 0 55.1 62 37 37 12 25 0 15 4 0 1 249 69 6.87 1.572 10.1 2.0 4.1 2.4 0.60  
    2006 38 NYY AL -0.4 0 0   7.94 9 0 2 0 0 0 11.1 13 12 10 2 7 2 2 3 0 0 57 59 7.74 1.765 10.3 1.6 5.6 1.6 0.29  
      WAR W L W-L% ERA G GS GF CG SHO SV IP H R ER HR BB IBB SO HBP BK WP BF ERA+ FIP WHIP H9 HR9 BB9 SO9 SO/BB Awards
    15 Yrs 24.8 142 136 .511 4.59 389 364 10 51 17 0 2360.2 2586 1306 1203 228 865 32 1252 103 3 68 10284 98 4.46 1.462 9.9 0.9 3.3 4.8 1.45  
    162 Game Avg 2.2 13 12 .511 4.59 35 33 1 5 2 0 213 234 118 109 21 78 3 113 9 0 6 929 98 4.46 1.462 9.9 0.9 3.3 4.8 1.45  
                                                                     
    BAL (7 Yrs) 13.1 79 68 .537 4.73 200 197 1 37 10 0 1287.2 1438 726 677 128 446 19 699 54 2 36 5598 97 4.48 1.463 10.1 0.9 3.1 4.9 1.57  
    MIN (6 Yrs) 12.7 61 60 .504 4.22 155 153 1 14 7 0 979.1 1035 509 459 83 367 11 527 42 1 29 4244 103 4.21 1.432 9.5 0.8 3.4 4.8 1.44  
    LAD (1 Yr) -0.5 1 4 .200 6.02 19 8 6 0 0 0 55.1 62 37 37 12 25 0 15 4 0 1 249 69 6.87 1.572 10.1 2.0 4.1 2.4 0.60  
    NYY (1 Yr) -0.4 0 0   7.94 9 0 2 0 0 0 11.1 13 12 10 2 7 2 2 3 0 0 57 59 7.74 1.765 10.3 1.6 5.6 1.6 0.29  
    TEX (1 Yr) 0.2 1 3 .250 6.16 4 4 0 0 0 0 19.0 23 13 13 2 16 0 6 0 0 1 94 83 6.31 2.053 10.9 0.9 7.6 2.8 0.38  
    NYM (1 Yr) -0.3 0 1 .000 7.88 2 2 0 0 0 0 8.0 15 9 7 1 4 0 3 0 0 1 42 57 5.42 2.375 16.9 1.1 4.5 3.4 0.75  
                                                                     
    AL (14 Yrs) 25.6 141 131 .518 4.54 368 354 4 51 17 0 2297.1 2509 1260 1159 215 836 32 1234 99 3 66 9993 99 4.40 1.456 9.8 0.8 3.3 4.8 1.48  
    NL (2 Yrs) -0.8 1 5 .167 6.25 21 10 6 0 0 0 63.1 77 46 44 13 29 0 18 4 0 2 291 67 6.69 1.674 10.9 1.8 4.1 2.6 0.62  
    Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table
    Generated 3/22/2025.

    See all » Scott Erickson Articles

    Twins Almanac: The Johan Santana Trade

    This weekend's installment of the Twins Almanac features Rich Becker, Scott Erickson, Johan Santana, Carlos Gómez, and Brainerd native Wayne Caughey. 

    Your Vote Counts: Choose the 2025 Twins Hall of Fame Pitchers

    The Minnesota Twins recently announced their Hall of Fame ballot for the 2025 class, and fans have until December 17th at 11:59 pm CDT to vote for up to five of the candidates. Let’s take a look at the pitching candidates on the ballot to help in your decision making!

    Kevin Tapani, Under-Appreciated Starter For The 1991 Twins

    The Twins had three remarkably good starting pitchers on their 1991 World Series-winning team, each with exceptional seasons. The veteran leader, Jack Morris, came home and had one spectacular season capped by a tremendous 4-0 postseason and the infamous Game Seven 10-inning shutout. The rising youngster, Scott Erickson, debuted with little fanfare in 1990 for the last-place club but followed that by winning 20 games in 1991. I feel the third guy who led that team in ERA was perhaps a little overshadowed. Let’s take a closer look at Kevin Tapani.

    See all » Scott Erickson Videos

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    Page Creator:

    William Malone

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    laloesch

    laloesch 1,855

  • Verified Member

    • Posted

    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.

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    William Malone

    William Malone 120

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    • Posted

    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.

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