Ron Gardenhire, Dan Gladden, Cesar Tovar elected to Twins Hall of Fame

The Twins will induct three new members of the team's Hall of Fame in August, a trio that constitutes its most versatile class ever. The newly elected members are being recognized for their careers in the dugout, the broadcast booth, and, for at least one day in 1968, at every position on the diamond.

Longtime manager Ron Gardenhire, radio broadcaster Dan Gladden and play-anywhere utility man Cesar Tovar were elected to the Class of 2022, the Twins announced Thursday, the first time since the Hall of Fame's inaugural class in 2000 that more than two honorees will be inducted at once.

"It's unbelievable, to tell you the truth," Gardenhire said in a video press conference. The 2010 American League Manager of the Year said his tenure with the Twins included "a lot of wins, a lot of losses and a lot of fun."

Gardenhire, who also played and managed in the Twins' minor league system, and coached third base under his mentor and fellow Hall of Famer Tom Kelly for 11 seasons, won 1,068 games in 13 years as Twins manager. He guided the Twins to a division series victory over Oakland in 2002, his first season at the helm, but never won another playoff series. Still, he reached the postseason six times in his first nine years as manager, the longest stretch of playoff appearances in team history.

"When TK told me he was going to step down [after the 2001 season], it kind of rocked my world because I just thought he should manage forever," said Gardenhire, 64. "He recommended that I get a chance. [General Manager] Terry Ryan had my back, so I got a chance to manage and we had a heck of a baseball team. TK built a good one, and we took off and ran with it as long as we could run."

Tovar and Gladden were elected by receiving at least 60% of the vote by a committee of baseball media members. Gardenhire was elected by a special veterans committee consisting of living Hall of Famers, Twins front-office personnel and historians.

Gladden, 64, began his broadcasting career in 2000 alongside fellow Twins Hall of Fame members Herb Carneal and John Gordon, and became the full-time analyst upon Carneal's death in 2007. Only those two legendary announcers have called more Twins games on radio than Gladden.

Gladden's five seasons in a Twins uniform after being acquired in a trade with the Giants in 1986 were most memorable for his postseason exploits. Gladden had a hit in all seven games of the 1987 World Series against St. Louis, including a grand slam in Game 1. Four years later, in his final game as a Twin, Gladden doubled to lead off the 10th inning of Game 7 against Atlanta, then he raced home from third base — where Gardenhire was coaching — to score the game's only run and earn the Twins' second championship.

The Twins Hall of Fame "is a special fraternity and I'm honored to be able to finally go in," Gladden said. "I always hear players talk about that [congratulatory] phone call from Rod Carew, and I got to experience it. To get a phone call, [with] the relationship I've had with Rod Carew over the years, you've got to cherish that."

Tovar spent eight seasons with the Twins and drew MVP votes in five of them, and still rates among the top 15 Twins of all time in hits, singles, doubles, triples and stolen bases. The Venezuelan utility man, who started more than 100 games at five different positions, is one of five big-league players to man all nine positions in a single game.

Tovar, who helped the Twins win AL West titles in 1969 and 1970, died of cancer in 1994 at age 54.

"My father was a hard worker. Played hard, played his heart out," said his daughter, Nancy Jones, who still lives in the Twin Cities. "Loved the game and always had that wonderful smile on his face."