Minneapolis/St. Paul, MN - The Minnesota Twins announced tonight at TwinsFest that former Twins Manager Tom Kelly will have a statue unveiled in his honor outside of Target Field during the upcoming 2017 major league season. The specific installation date and location will be announced shortly.
"The Minnesota Twins are excited to have this opportunity to further celebrate and recognize the incredible career of the one-and-only Tom Kelly," Twins President & CEO Dave St. Peter said. "Tom's contributions to the Twins organization and Upper Midwest baseball community are quite significant. This statue will help memorialize Tom's greatness and ensure future generations are aware of the T.K. story."
Kelly had a managerial record of 1140-1244, which places him first on the Twins all-time list in wins and games managed. "TK" took over the managerial duties for the Twins on September 12, 1986. In his first full season (1987) as the skipper, he led the Twins to their first World Series Championship. He led the club to their second ever World Series victory in 1991, which marked the first time in major league history that a team went from last place one season to World Champions the next.
At the time of his retirement after the 2001 season, Kelly was the longest tenured manager/coach in all of major sports. His number 10 was formally retired by the Twins September 8, 2012, becoming the first Twins Manager to have his number retired. Kelly was inducted into the Twins Hall of Fame in 2002. He was also selected Manager on the Twins 40th Season Anniversary All-Time Team in 2000 and one of the "50 Greatest Twins" in 2010.
Kelly's will become the eighth Twins legends statue at Target Field, joining Rod Carew (April of 2010), Harmon Killebrew (April of 2010), Kirby Puckett (April of 2010), Calvin Griffith (September of 2010), Carl and Eloise Pohlad (October of 2010), Tony Oliva (April of 2011) and Kent Hrbek (April of 2012). All Twins legend statues at Target Field are the work of Minnesota-based artist Bill Mack.