Gary Gaetti
Gary Gaetti | ||
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Runs batted in | 1,341 | |
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Career highlights and awards | ||
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Gary Joseph Gaetti (
Gaetti won a
Playing career
Gaetti played collegiate baseball for Lake Land College in Mattoon, Illinois, and Northwest Missouri State University. Gaetti was drafted three times before finally signing with the Twins — first by the St. Louis Cardinals in the fourth round of the 1978 Major League Baseball draft (then held annually in January) and again in 1978 by the Chicago White Sox in the third round of the June secondary draft before he was drafted by the Twins in the first round of the June secondary portion of the 1979 draft. Gaetti signed on June 21, 1979.[2]
Gaetti then spent the next three years in the Twins' minor league system, playing for the rookie level
In 1986, Gaetti batted .287 with 34 home runs and 108 runs batted in. Gaetti won four consecutive Gold Glove Awards for fielding excellence from 1986 through 1989. Gaetti helped propel the Twins to the 1987 post-season and their first World Series championship, hitting .257 with 31 home runs and 109 RBI. He also hit himself into the record books, with home runs in his first two career postseason plate appearances[3] in the American League Championship Series to help the Twins upset the Detroit Tigers.
Gaetti was selected as an All-Star in 1988 and 1989. Playing against the Boston Red Sox on July 17, 1990, Gaetti helped the Twins become the only team in baseball history to turn two triple plays in the same game. Despite their defensive heroics, the Twins lost the game 1–0.[4][5]
His production at the plate would decline[6] and after hitting only .229 in 1990, Gaetti left the Twins for the Angels as a free agent. His production continued to drop off with the Angels and midway through the third year of his four-year contract, he was released, in June 1993. He was almost immediately signed by the Royals, who had lost their projected regular third baseman, Keith Miller, to injury and had been playing rookie Phil Hiatt at third. Gaetti hit 26 home runs for the Royals in 665 at-bats between 1993 and 1994, splitting time at third with Miller, David Howard, and Terry Shumpert. In 1995, Gaetti played in 137 games and at the age of 36, he hit .261 with 35 home runs and 96 RBI, winning his only Silver Slugger,[6] setting a career high in home runs and missing the Royals' team record for most home runs in a season by one.
Following the 1995 season, Gaetti signed as a free agent with the Cardinals, where he enjoyed two more productive seasons before being released again in August 1998 after the Cardinals' acquisition of Fernando Tatís. Gaetti immediately signed with the Cubs, where he hit .320/8/27 as the Cubs won the National League wild card. The following season, Gaetti played only semi-regularly and was released at the end of the season after hitting .204 with nine home runs. He wound up his career the following season in Boston, appearing in five games in April 2000 at the age of 41.
Bill James noted Gaetti's baseball-related aging process as being unusual for two reasons. Unlike most other league veterans, his walk rate never improved and his rate of productivity decline was "exceptionally" slow.[7] Gaetti was used as an emergency relief pitcher by both the Cardinals and the Cubs, retiring with an ERA of 7.71 and one strikeout in three appearances.
Gaetti finished in the top 25 voting for American League Most Valuable Player four times in his career, three times with the Minnesota Twins (1986–1988), and once with the Kansas City Royals (1995). He finished fifth in American League Rookie of the Year voting (1982). He was a four-time Golden Glove Award winner (1986-1989).[6] His 2,280 total base hits rank him 161st in the history of Major League Baseball.[8]
Retirement
Gaetti was inducted into the NWMSU athletic hall of fame, the "M-Club", in October 2003. He coached in the
The independent team began play in 2012. During his six seasons as manager, he led them to a 448-391 overall record. In 2013, his team set the ALPB record in games won (95) and winning percentage (.679) in a season. He took them to two championship series (2014 and 2016) winning Sugar Land's first championship in 2016. The Skeeters retired his number on August 21, 2021.On August 19, 2007, Gaetti's 49th birthday, the Minnesota Twins inducted him into the team's Hall of Fame, while the club simultaneously released a commemorative bobblehead in his honor.
Gaetti's son Joe played collegiate baseball for
Personal life
Gaetti became a
In 2020, Gaetti opened the Gaetti Sports Academy to support practice and instruction for softball and baseball for area youth.[13]
See also
- List of Major League Baseball career home run leaders
- List of Major League Baseball career hits leaders
- List of Major League Baseball career doubles leaders
- List of Major League Baseball career runs scored leaders
- List of Major League Baseball career runs batted in leaders
- List of Major League Baseball players with a home run in their first major league at bat
References
- ^ a b "Sugar Land Skeeters choose former Astros hitting coach, 20-year veteran Gary Gaetti as first manager". 8 August 2011.
- ^ "Gary Gaetti Statistics and History". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved 2011-03-28.
- ^ "Retrosheet Boxscore: Minnesota Twins 8, Detroit Tigers 5". www.retrosheet.org.
- ^ "Baseball's Triple Plays – Trivia & Miscellanea". Tripleplays.sabr.org. Archived from the original on 2011-02-21. Retrieved 2011-03-28.
- ^ "Retrosheet Boxscore: Boston Red Sox 1, Minnesota Twins 0". Retrosheet.org. 1990-07-17. Retrieved 2011-03-28.
- ^ a b c "Gary Gaetti Stats - Baseball-Reference.com". Baseball-Reference.com.
- ISBN 0743227220.
- ^ "Career Leaders & Records for Hits". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved January 2, 2024.
- ^ "Gary Gaetti to manage Sugar Land team". fbindependent.com.
- ^ "Baseball USA". Baseball USA. Retrieved 2011-03-28.
- ^ "Joe Gaetti - The Baseball Cube". www.thebaseballcube.com.
- ^ Hersch, Hank (August 21, 1989). "The Gospel and GAETTI". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved 16 April 2022.
- ^ Ridge, Castle. "About | Gaetti Sports Academy". gaettisports.com. Retrieved 2022-04-04.
External links
- Career statistics and player information from MLB, or Baseball Reference, or Fangraphs, or Baseball Reference (Minors)
- GaryGaetti.com
Awards and achievements | ||
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Preceded by | Oldest Player in the National League 1999 |
Succeeded by |