Erickson was born in Long Beach, California. He was highly involved in sports during high school while he attended Homestead High School in Cupertino, California. He played baseball, soccer, football, and basketball. He was CCS Junior of the Year in baseball. After completing his secondary education, he graduated from San Jose City College in 1988 with an AA Degree in Business. He was a Junior College 1st Team All American at San Jose. He then majored in Accounting with a minor in Psychology at the University of Arizona. Erickson was inducted into the Arizona Wildcat Hall of Fame after just one year of pitching at Arizona.[citation needed] Erickson set a school record for wins with an 18-3 record, as he led the country in wins (18), innings pitched (175), and complete games (14). Those impressive numbers earned him a unanimous First Team All-American honor. His teammates at Arizona included Trevor Hoffman, Kevin Long, and J. T. Snow.\n', '

Erickson began his professional career after being selected in the major league draft four times. He was drafted by the New York Mets in 1986 out of Homestead High School; the Houston Astros in 1987 and Toronto Blue Jays in 1988 out of San Jose City College; and in 1989 he was drafted by the Minnesota Twins in the 4th round of the amateur draft out of the University of Arizona. He finally signed his first pro contract with MInnesota. After 27 minor league starts, Erickson rose to the major leagues in his second season of professional baseball with the Class AA Orlando Sun Rays. He was on a five-game win streak with a record of 8-3 in the first half as an All Star in the Southern League.\n', '

Erickson finished 1990 with a combined record of 16-7; going 5-0 in September and tying Dave Stewart for American League Pitcher of the Month. After posting a record of 12-2 with a 1.39 ERA in the first half of the 1991 season, including being awarded the American League Pitcher of the Month for May and June, Erickson was the first pitcher since 1954 to win 20 games in his first year in the Majors. Erickson finished second to Roger Clemens for the American League Cy Young Award. During the Twins 1991 World Series winning season, Erickson was also voted into the Top 10 for American League Most Valuable Player Award.\n', '

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