gary gaetti day

gary gaetti (pr. guy-yetti) was inducted into the twins' hall of fame today, throwing out the first "pitch" from third base to his old first baseman, kent hrbek. nice to see a rapprochement between the two old running buddies, as the two grew apart over religious differences in 1988.

the g-man or rat was a gold glove fielder, an inspiring team leader, and the crusher of 360 major league home runs, not counting five post-season bombs. two of those came in game 1 of the 1987 american league championship series, helping to propel the twins over a more talented detroit tiger team.

i wasn't the only one moved by mr. gaetti, as he inspired a college-boy cult of sorts -- one that appears to endure to this day. caption for the picture above: the most important man in America and Bill Clinton.