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Big congratulations are in order for former Twins player and current Twins broadcaster Danny Gladden! That’s because Dazzle recently welcomed his first grandchild to the world.
Congrats to Dan Gladden on the birth of his first grandchild: Luca James Gaetti.
— Phil Miller (@MillerStrib) March 1, 2017
Yes—Luca James Gaetti.
And yes, as in that Gaetti.
In case you forgot or just never knew, the two 1987 World Series Champion teammates are actually family these days. Danny Gladden’s daughter, Ashley Gladden, and Gary Gaetti’s son, Joe Gaetti, were married back in December 2012 (photo) (ironically, the same weekend as Joe and Maddie Mauer’s wedding). Fellow Twins teammates Jack Morris, Kent Hrbek, Tim Laudner and Randy Bush even attended the ceremony, which was held in Arizona and I hope had an open bar.
After the wedding, Gladden told the Pioneer Press, “The last time Gary and I cried together was when the team came home from Detroit (pennant victory over Tigers) and all those people were there at the Metrodome.... We cried all night (of the wedding).”
Gladden and Gaetti were teammates on the Twins for four seasons, including the 1987 championship year. They were not teammates on the 1991 team, of course, because Gaetti was traded to the Cardinals the prior off season. There was some speculation that the two had a falling out when Gaetti became a born again Christian, but it appears that’s not exactly the case now.
In any case, congrats to all!