Twins manager Rocco Baldelli leaves game early for birth of his first child

ST. PETERSBURG, FLA. — Only in baseball are outs the unit of time, but Twins manager Rocco Baldelli put himself on the clock for Sunday's 6-5 comeback victory at Tampa Bay.

Before the game, Baldelli told reporters he'd leave Tropicana Field precisely at 4:05 p.m. local Tampa time to catch a dinner time flight home to Minnesota for the birth of his and his wife Allie's first child.

Baldelli informed home-plate umpire Jim Wolf precisely then in the eighth inning that coach Bill Evers would take it from there for him. He then fist-bumped staff members, including Evers, in the dugout and disappeared down the tunnel with his bags and a car waiting.

The two teams played on for another 30-plus minutes without him.

Before he left, Baldelli called Sunday "kind of a big day" as he headed home.

"The plan is for Allie to be at the hospital and we are going to have a baby," he told reporters pregame. "That is all going to come together very quickly tonight and tomorrow. There's nothing better than this and I'm incredibly excited."

Longtime mentor and minor league manager Evers will manage in his absence, which Baldelli said could be the entire four-game series at Cleveland starting Monday. That all depends on the baby, of course.

"Born in Minneapolis," Baldelli said. "That point has been made to me a couple times. Forever she will be born in Minneapolis."

Baldelli said the team will be in "exceptionally good hands while I'm gone." A former catcher and career coach and manager, Evers is 67 and will retire at season's end after these last three seasons reunited from Tampa Bay with Baldelli in the Twins dugout.

Evers managed a 6-3 road victory over the Los Angeles Angels in the second game of a doubleheader in May when Baldelli served a one-game suspension. He managed two games for Tampa Bay manager Joe Maddon in 2007 and won both games.

"I think it's going to be fun," Evers said. "I want to do the best job possible. I really love to manage."

Evers was managing when Twins infielder Nick Gordon drove in Josh Donaldson for the winning run in Sunday's ninth inning.

Somebody asked after Sunday's game Evers if his team won one for Rocco.

"We always win one for Rocco," Evers said. "You put a smile on his face, everyone's happy. I'm not taking any credit for this. It's all about the players doing their job."