Wardrobe Malfunction: 3 Twins Legends Who Wore Uniforms that Looked Strange

The regional Twins games broadcast on TV in my teen years were heavy on Dave Goltz pitching in his road blues so seeing him in Dodger white on national TV was as if he had ascended to a higher realm.

I would add Justin on the White Sox. 

PS Harmon on the Royals looks all sorts of wrong, but it allows for one of my favorite trivia questions: What team did Killebrew hit his last HR against? The Twins. 

Brunansky in the Cardinal red. Also goes down as one of the worst trades in Twins history.

Johan Santana on the Mets. Knoblauch on the Yankees. Glad that Hrbek and Puckett were only ever on the Twins.

I don't think anyone looked right in the Pirates uniforms in those days.

David Ortiz in a Red Sox Jersey?

Killebrew is 39 years old in that picture?

You could have told me that he's in his 50's, and I wouldn't have asked questions.

I would add Justin on the White Sox. 

 

PS Harmon on the Royals looks all sorts of wrong, but it allows for one of my favorite trivia questions: What team did Killebrew hit his last HR against? The Twins. 

I looked it up. Not only was it against the Twins but it was at Met Stadium. 9/18/1975 off Eddie Bane in the top of the second. I'm sure Bane gave him a good pitch to hit, at least he damn well better have.

I don't think anyone looked right in the Pirates uniforms in those days.

It was very strange to me when I learned Bert was the workhorse of a champion team BEFORE he came back to the Twins.

It was very strange to me when I learned Bert was the workhorse of a champion team BEFORE he came back to the Twins.

I can't comment on Harmon or Bert as even at 54yo, and a Twins fan since about 5yo, I simply don't have the recollection of those guys being TWINS. And while I was aware, as a youngster, of various Twins traded or lost to new-found FA, it didn't really register in my brain back then.

Tori hurt a LOT! And I recall writing a piece here on TD a couple years ago how his loss was a domino effect that really hurt the Twins in various ways from rushed promotions to even being part of the Santana trade, etc. Wish theee was an easy way to find it. I remember thinking it was semi-smart, LOL.

Smalley being traded hurt as he was one of my favorites as a kid. Butch hurt too.

Mourneau and Cuddy were also very painful.

Kubel in Arizona gear? That was tough because my family knew his family and had followed him throughout his minor/major league career.

At least Burt got to stick his tongue out at National League batters for two seasons ...

At the risk of this devolving into a list of players I loved who got traded, it was really weird when Gary Gaetti was a Cardinal.

P.S. Gary Gaetti was one heck of a baseball player. Was he, in the end, the last member of the 1987 team to retire? I know this is an answerable question on the Internet. I just want to muse on it for a second before I go look it up.

P.S. Gary Gaetti was one heck of a baseball player. Was he, in the end, the last member of the 1987 team to retire? I know this is an answerable question on the Internet. I just want to muse on it for a second before I go look it up.

Answering my own question, and quoting myself, yes. Here's the ranking of the top five 1987 Twins by latest retirement year:

1. Gaetti, 2000, at 41, with the Red Sox.

2. Mark Portugal, 1999, at 36, also as a Red Sock.

3. Greg Gagne, 1997, at 35, as a Dodger.

4. Frank Viola, 1996, at 36, as a Blue Jay.

5. Joe Klink, 1996, at 34, as a Mariner. No, I never heard of him either.