In 1987, Gary Gaetti became the first player ever to hit home runs in his first two postseason plate appearances.
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25 Facts About Gary Gaetti
3.
Legend has it that Gary Gaetti holds the record for the longest home run in NWMSU baseball history, an estimated 505-foot home run.
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4.
Gary 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 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.
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5.
Gary Gaetti then spent the next three years in the Twins' minor league system, playing for the rookie level Elizabethton Twins in the Appalachian League in 1979, the A-level Wisconsin Rapids Twins in the Midwest League in 1980, and the AA-level Orlando Twins in the Southern League in 1981.
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6.
In 1982, Gary Gaetti would become a permanent fixture at third base for the Twins and would man third base in Minnesota for the next nine seasons.
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7.
Gary Gaetti won four consecutive Gold Glove Awards for fielding excellence from 1986 through 1989.
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8.
Gary Gaetti helped propel the Twins to the 1987 post-season and their first World Series championship, hitting.
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9.
Gary Gaetti hit himself into the record books, with home runs in his first two career postseason plate appearances in the American League Championship Series to help the Twins upset the Detroit Tigers.
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10.
Gary Gaetti's 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.
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11.
Gary Gaetti 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.
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12.
Gary 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.
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13.
The following season, Gary Gaetti played only semi-regularly and was released at the end of the season after hitting.
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14.
Bill James noted Gary Gaetti's baseball-related aging process as being unusual for two reasons.
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15.
Gary Gaetti retired as the all-time home run king of players who homered in their first Major League at bat.
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16.
Gary Gaetti was used as an emergency relief pitcher by both the Cardinals and the Cubs, retiring with an ERA of 7.
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17.
Gary Gaetti finished in the top 25 voting for American League Most Valuable Player four times in his career, three times with the Minnesota Twins, and once with the Kansas City Royals.
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18.
Gary Gaetti finished fifth in American League Rookie of the Year voting.
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19.
Gary Gaetti was a four-time Golden Glove Award winner.
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20.
Gary Gaetti was inducted into the NWMSU athletic hall of fame, the "M-Club", in October 2003.
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21.
Gary Gaetti was promoted to hitting coach for the Astros on July 14,2004 when the team dismissed manager Jimy Williams, hitting coach Harry Spilman, and pitching coach Burt Hooton.
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22.
Gary Gaetti remained in this position until July 12,2006, when he was fired by the Astros.
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23.
Gary Gaetti took them to two championship series winning Sugar Land's first championship in 2016.
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24.
Gary Gaetti became a born-again Christian while recovering from season-ending knee surgery he underwent late in the 1988 season.
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25.
In 2020, Gary Gaetti opened the Gary Gaetti Sports Academy to support practice and instruction for softball and baseball for area youth.
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