Tom Brunansky

Thomas Andrew Brunansky was born August 20, 1960, in West Covina, California. The Angels organization drafted Brunansky out of high school in the first round of the 1978 Amateur Draft.

Brunansky worked his way up through the Angels minor league system and in his fourth season made the big-league squad on Opening Day 1981 as a 20-year-old. Shortly thereafter, he hit his first two home runs, finishing that game with four RBI. Unfortunately, he soon tore ligaments in his thumb and played no more Major League games in 1981.

By the start of the 1982 season, the Angels were loaded with proven outfielders. Fred Lynn and Brian Downing played for the Angels in 1981. Over that winter they signed Hall of Famer Reggie Jackson as a free agent which made Brunansky expendable.

On May 12, 1982, Brunansky was traded to Minnesota along with pitcher Mike Walters for veteran relief pitcher and former All-Star Doug Corbett and starting second baseman Rob Wilfong. I would say the Twins won that trade. In short order, Brunansky proved to be a valuable addition.

Bruno played each and every game of the 1982 season after being acquired by the Twins. He finished with 20 home runs and hit .272/.377/.471. In fact, he would go on to hit at least 20 home runs in each of his six seasons with the Twins. His batting numbers during his Twins tenure were .250/.330/.452 with 163 home runs and 469 RBI. He was a very good middle of the order hitter and a decent right fielder. Brunansky also proved to be super durable playing at least 150 games in each season in Twins uniform.

1985 was one of Brunansky’s best seasons and his first half, specifically, was excellent. Before the All-Star break, he batted .265/.358/.508 for an OPS of .867. He had 19 home runs and 56 RBI before the break. He was selected to the American League’s All-Star team and had the honor to play at home in the Metrodome. As part of the festivities, Brunansky participated in the first home run contest. I actually attended that 1985 event. My recollection is that inside the park they promoted the home run contest as an AL vs NL battle. So, while Dave Parker hit the most home runs, the AL won the event behind Brunansky hitting his dingers as the last participant, like the bottom of the ninth, except I think they played two "innings" with each player batting twice and getting ten swings per round or “inning.” In the actual All-Star Game the next day, Brunansky went in to play right field in the seventh inning. He got up to bat once in the bottom of the eighth inning against future Twins closer Jeff Reardon of the Montreal Expos. Brunansky grounded out to shortstop.

Tom Brunansky contributed greatly to the upset over the Detroit Tigers in the American League Championship Series by hitting .412 with two home runs and nine RBI in the five-game series. Brunansky finished second to teammate Garry Gaetti for ALCS MVP. In Game One he had two doubles and three RBI in an 8-5 Twins win. In Game Two Brunansky doubled in a run and scored a run in the bottom of the second to help the Twins get even after an early two-run deficit. He walked and scored in the fourth. The Twins won again 6-3. He had a two-run home run in the Game Three loss. Bruno had a couple walks in the Twins Game Four 5-3 victory. In the Game Five clincher in Detroit, the Twins jumped out to a 4-run lead in the second inning during which Brunansky had a two-run double. He also had a home run in the three-run ninth inning when the Twins put the game away.

Brunansky’s performance in the World Series victory over the St. Louis Cardinals was less remarkable as he hit only .200 with two RBI. He contributed to the big Game Six win which tied the series. He had a single and scored in the bottom of the fifth which tied the score after an early deficit and drove in a run with a groundout in the eighth inning. The Twins would win 11-5 to tie the series, then of course won Game Seven for the first championship in Minnesota Twins history.

While the 1987 championship was fantastic, the Twins came down from that high with a poor start in 1988. After starting 4-10, Andy MacPhail did the unthinkable – he traded one of the core team members, one of that group of six from 1982. Tom Brunansky was traded to St. Louis for Tom Herr which can only be described as a disaster.

The Twins not only got rid of an immensely popular, heart-and-soul player, but Herr apparently never wanted to be here. In a 2021 post on STLRedbirds.com, Tom Herr explained the trade and his reaction to it. “The shock of the trade bothered me more than anything…It really hit me out of the blue. I can remember getting on the plane to fly to Minneapolis and crying like a baby. It was hard to go through. Looking back on it, I didn’t handle it very well. I kept looking back instead of forward. I was looking at it more that the Cardinals didn’t want me than that the Twins wanted me. If I had put a more positive spin on it, I would have reacted better.”

Brunansky played well for St. Louis, basically continuing his consistent 20 home run, 80 RBI production. However, by 1990, the Cardinals felt they needed an elite relief pitcher so Brunansky was traded for future Hall of Famer, Lee Smith, in a one-for-one deal that sent him to Boston where he played most of three seasons and continued putting up similar numbers. He later played 1993 and part of 1994 for Milwaukee, but that time in Milwaukee was not up to his usual standards. The Brewers traded him back to the Red Sox in June of 1994 where he finished the season which would be his last. That last half season with the Red Sox was much better than his time in Milwaukee. I’m sure he was proud to finish out his career with a respectable OPS+ of 98 with Boston (with the Brewers he had posted a low OPS+ 58 in 1993, then a paltry 34 OPS+ in the first part of 1994).

Brunansky’s career numbers were .245/.327/.434. His batting average was a little low for his era, but he did walk a good amount. His career OPS+ was 106 so a little better than average. He had 919 career RBI. He hit 271 home runs, including being in the top ten of his league three times, all with the Twins (28 in 1983, 32 in 1984, 32 in 1987). His 271 career home runs are 208th all-time.

• Participant in the first Home Run Derby (1985)
• One-time All-Star (1985)
• One of the worst trades in Twins history
• Not in the Twins Hall of Fame, but probably should be