Where are they now: Gary Gaetti
Twins career: Gary Gaetti was drafted in the first round of the 1979 draft by Minnesota and broke into the majors in 1981 with the Twins. During his first full season, he batted .230 with 25 home runs and 84 RBI in 145 games in 1982 and finished fifth in the Rookie of the Year voting.
Over the next five years, Gaetti was a model of consistency and durability at third base, playing in 150 or more games for five straight seasons. He hit a career-high 34 home runs in 1986 and drove in 108 runs that season.
One year later was the highlight of Gaetti's career, as he and the Twins won the World Series against the St. Louis Cardinals.
"I just feel like once we got into a playoff situation, we felt fairly relaxed and had the home-field advantage for the World Series," Gaetti said. "We just stayed hot. (Kent) Hrbek's grand slam in Game 6 and (Dan) Gladden's grand slam, those types of things. The last out was absolutely incredible. The noise, the fans, the Homer Hankies, it was pretty unique, really."
Gaetti was a two-time All-Star (1988 and '89) with the Twins and won a Gold Glove four straight years from 1986-89. His last season in Minnesota came in 1990, one year before the Twins would win their second World Series. In his 10 years with Minnesota, Gaetti batted .256 with 201 home runs, 758 RBI and 74 stolen bases.
After Minnesota: Gaetti went on to play for five more teams after leaving Minnesota in 1990. He signed as a free agent with the California Angels, where he played for three seasons.
But leaving behind the team he grew up playing for was tough for Gaetti.
"There were a lot of things that went into that decision," Gaetti said of leaving Minnesota. "It was real hard leaving there. I went through a tough time leaving and then coming back and having to play against the Twins. That was no fun, getting booed out of the stadium, but that's all part of it.
"Looking back on it, would I have made the same decision? Probably not."
In three years with the Angels, Gaetti batted .234 with 30 homers and 118 RBI. But California released him in early June of the 1993 season, and he signed with the Kansas City Royals a few weeks later. Gaetti stayed with the Royals for three seasons and batted .267 with 61 homers.
From there, Gaetti changed leagues and played for the St. Louis Cardinals beginning in 1996. After growing up a Cardinals fan, playing for them was a dream come true, Gaetti said.
"Just like every kid that plays baseball in Minnesota grows up and wants to play for the Twins," he said. "It's just kind of neat to be standing at third base, playing the game and remember the smells and the sounds of the ballpark from growing up when I was a younger kid. … That was definitely a dream there."
Gaetti spent two seasons with the Chicago Cubs and finished his career in 2000 with the Boston Red Sox, although he played just five games in April before calling it quits.
After retirement: Since retiring in 2000, Gaetti has stayed close to the game of baseball. He began his coaching career with the Triple-A New Orleans Zephyrs in 2002 and went on to work as a coach with the Houston Astros for several years and with Triple-A Durham, Tampa Bay's minor league affiliate, from 2007-08.
Gaetti then was giving private hitting lessons in the Houston area before being named the manager of the Sugar Land (Tex.) Skeeters, an expansion team in the independent Atlantic League.
"I like to teach, and I feel there's somewhat of a need there," Gaetti said. "This is a new thing for me as far as managing. I'm enjoying it. It can be very stressful, but I like teaching the game and just baseball in general because it's a great sport. It's something that I know and something that I love."
So far, so good for Gaetti and the Skeeters, but it's been a much different experience than his previous coaching gigs.
"You have to wear a whole bunch of different hats," Gaetti said of managing. "You've got to be a psychologist and you have to be a cheerleader and you have to be a disciplinarian. … I'm kind of learning on the fly a little bit here."
As a fan: "I follow the people a little bit that I know, not as much the teams. I always check to see how the Twins are doing, and the Cardinals, and I live in Houston, so the Astros. That's really about it. I check the box scores daily and the transactions and all that stuff, but I don't really have one particular team that I really root for."
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