| Gary Gaetti | |
|---|---|
 Gaetti with theSugar Land Skeeters in 2014 | |
| Third baseman | |
| Born: (1958-08-19)August 19, 1958 (age 67) Centralia, Illinois, U.S. | |
Batted: Right Threw: Right | |
| MLB debut | |
| September 20, 1981, for the Minnesota Twins | |
| Last MLB appearance | |
| April 12, 2000, for the Boston Red Sox | |
| MLB statistics | |
| Batting average | .255 |
| Hits | 2,280 |
| Home runs | 360 |
| Runs batted in | 1,341 |
Stats atBaseball Reference  | |
| Teams | |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
Gary Joseph Gaetti (/ˈɡaɪ.ɛtɪ/,GY-eh-tee; born August 19, 1958), is an American former professionalbaseballthird baseman. He played inMajor League Baseball (MLB) for theMinnesota Twins (1981–1990),California Angels (1991–1993),Kansas City Royals (1993–1995),St. Louis Cardinals (1996–1998),Chicago Cubs (1998–1999) andBoston Red Sox (2000).
Gaetti won aWorld Series with Minnesota in1987 and was the MVP of that year'sAmerican League Championship Series against theDetroit Tigers. In 1987, Gaetti became the first player ever to hit home runs in his first two postseason plate appearances. Gaetti also managed the independent leagueSugar Land Skeeters from 2012 to 2017.[1]
Gaetti played collegiate baseball forLake Land College inMattoon, Illinois, andNorthwest Missouri State University. Gaetti was drafted three times before finally signing with theTwins — first by theSt. Louis Cardinals in the fourth round of the1978 Major League Baseball draft (then held annually in January) and again in 1978 by theChicago 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 the1979 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 levelElizabethton Twins in theAppalachian League in 1979, the A-levelWisconsin Rapids Twins in theMidwest League in 1980, and the AA-levelOrlando Twins in theSouthern League in 1981. Gaetti then made his major league debut in nine September games and he hit a home run off ofCharlie Hough in his first major league at-bat. In 1982, Gaetti would become a permanent fixture at third base for the Twins and would man third base in Minnesota for the next nine seasons.
In 1986, Gaetti batted .287 with 34 home runs and 108 runs batted in. Gaetti won four consecutiveGold Glove Awards for fielding excellence from 1986 through 1989. Gaetti helped propel the Twins to the1987 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 theAmerican League Championship Series to help the Twins upset theDetroit Tigers.
Gaetti was selected as anAll-Star in 1988 and 1989. Playing against theBoston 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 in1990, Gaetti left the Twins for the Angels as afree 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 June1993. He was almost immediately signed by the Royals, who had lost their projected regular third baseman,Keith Miller, to injury and had been playing rookiePhil 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, andTerry Shumpert. In1995, 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 August1998 after the Cardinals' acquisition ofFernando 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 April2000 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]
Gaetti was inducted into the NWMSU athletic hall of fame, the "M-Club", in October 2003. He coached in theHouston Astros minor league system as a hitting coach with the AAANew Orleans Zephyrs from 2002 to 2004.[citation needed] Gaetti was promoted to hitting coach for the Astros on July 14, 2004, when the team dismissed managerJimy Williams, hitting coachHarry Spilman, and pitching coachBurt Hooton. Gaetti remained in this position until July 12,2006, when he was fired by the Astros. Following the season, he was hired as the hitting coach forTampa Bay's AAA affiliate, theDurham Bulls — a position he would hold through the 2008 season.[9] After working at Baseball USA inHouston, Texas, in 2011,[10] Gaetti was named the first manager of the Sugar Land Skeeters.[1] 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 forNorth Carolina State and played in the minor leagues in five different farm systems, including two separate stints with the Twins AA-level club, theNew Britain Rock Cats. After failing to advance beyond the AAA level in the minor leagues, Joe ended his career in 2010 playing for theLancaster Barnstormers of the independentAtlantic League.[11]
Gaetti became aborn-again Christian while recovering from season-ending knee surgery he underwent late in the 1988 season.[12]
In 2020, Gaetti opened the Gaetti Sports Academy to support practice and instruction for softball and baseball for area youth.[13]
· Baseball Almanac| Awards and achievements | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Oldest Player in the National League 1999 | Succeeded by |
