Kevin Tapani clears up name background: 'That is true; we're Finnish'

Susanna Tapani was talking with a reporter after Tuesday's practice for the Minnesota PWHL team. She's from Finland and the pronunciation of her last name is TAAHP-AHH-NEE.

It was mentioned that Minnesota had a famous athlete with the same last name, but the pronunciation TAP-U-NI.

She nodded and said: "I have been told that often in the short time I've been in Minnesota. He played baseball … is that right?

Knowing that pitcher Kevin Tapani, among the heroes for the 1991 Twins champions, came from Escanaba — in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, with its large Finnish population — it occurred that perhaps the Italian spin we had been putting on his last name all these years confused his heritage.

"That is true; we're Finnish,'' Kevin said in a phone call on Tuesday. "My grandparents pronounced it in the Finnish style. The next generation went with the easier pronunciation, and most people in baseball started assuming I was Italian.

"I would be hanging out before a game against the Yankees, near the batting cage, and Phil Rizzuto would come up and say, "My paisano,' and give me a hug.

"I never had the heart to say, 'Scooter, I'm a Finn from the U-P.' "

Tapani said that when the U.S. was playing Finland in Olympics hockey, he noticed the player with the same spelling and had numerous friends ask if Susanna was a relative.

"Maybe she is,'' he said. "Maybe I should go over to a game and we can have an exchange of jerseys.''