Dan Gladden, César Tovar inducted into Twins Hall of Fame

Betsy Helfand, Pioneer Press
·4 min read
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Dan Gladden was out in Arizona this winter when he saw vice president of communications and content Dustin Morse’s name pop up on his phone.

“Usually when Dustin Morse calls me, he wants something,” Gladden quipped.

This time, Morse had a special guest on the phone — Rod Carew — who had some information to deliver to the two-time World Series champion: He had been elected to the Twins Hall of Fame and would be inducted over the summer.

Carew made that call multiple times this offseason, also speaking with the family of the late César Tovar as well as former Twins manager Ron Gardenhire. Gladden and Tovar were inducted into the Twins Hall of Fame on Sunday afternoon, a day after Gardenhire.

“That’s special to get a call from Rod Carew,” Gladden said in his speech. “Even though I talk to him all the time in spring training, around the ballpark, to get that phone call … that phone call was special.”

The trio are now part of a fraternity that includes just 37 people, many of whom were attendance over the weekend to welcome the newest members.

The pregame ceremony, which was emceed by Cory Provus, Gladden’s longtime radio partner, highlighted the former outfielder’s contributions to the organization both on the field — Gladden scored the game-winning run in Game 7 of the 1991 World Series — and in the radio booth.

After both Provus and former Twins general manager Andy MacPhail got in a couple of jokes at Gladden’s expense, Gladden gave a colorful 23-minute speech and then caught ceremonial first pitches from his children and grandchildren.

Tovar, who passed away at age 54 in 1994, played for the Twins for eight seasons from 1965-72 and was represented Sunday by members of his family. A super-utilityman, he ranks in the team’s top-15 for at-bats, games played, hits, runs, doubles, triples and stolen bases.

His son, César Tovar Jr., gave a brief speech after a video tribute and his daughter, Nancy Jones, described her emotions as “immense happiness,” afterwards.

“I think the biggest thing is it’s just a sense of relief,” Jones said. “We just felt like it was coming, that it should come. It was just a sense of relief and gratitude that he just could be finally recognized for his contributions to the Twins organization.”

INJURY UPDATES

Monday will mark an important day for catcher Ryan Jeffers, who will have an X-ray on his surgically-repaired thumb to see if the bone has fully healed. If all goes well, he’s expected to have a call with his surgeon and then could potentially be cleared to start gripping with his right hand.

Jeffers had surgery in mid-July, and should everything progress as planned, he expects to travel down to the Twins’ facility in Fort Myers, Fla., either late this month or early next to continue his rehab process. Still, his return is far from imminent. Jeffers targeted the last homestand of the season, which is about a month away, as a potential return date.

“I just want to try and get back as quick as I possibly can to help this team as soon as I can. Whenever that might be depends on how my thumb reacts,” Jeffers said. “If I start swinging and it feels great, then maybe we can move a little quicker. And if it doesn’t then I’ll still stay on track for that 10-week mark. That’s kind of where we’re eyeing right now if everything goes well, if everything goes per plan.”

Outfielder Kyle Garlick, on the injured list after fracturing the cartilage in his ribcage, has started ramping up his baseball activity over the past few days, and manager Rocco Baldelli said he was being set up to taking live at-bats and then eventually going on a rehab assignment, though the Twins don’t yet have a date for that.

Down in Fort Myers, Kenta Maeda (elbow) has been throwing 30-pitch bullpens and is expected to see the doctor who performed his Tommy John surgery this week to be cleared to start throwing live batting practice next week. Bailey Ober (groin) has been throwing bullpens and is scheduled to throw live batting practice on Monday, and Trevor Larnach (core muscle) has been taking live batting practice and sprinting at full effort.

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