Dan Gladden was hitting .397 at Triple-A
Phoenix in 1984 when he was promoted to the Giants,
and the speedy outfielder maintained his torrid pace
in San Francisco, batting .351 with 31 stolen bases
in 86 games as the Giants centerfielder. He earned spots
on both the Topps and Baseball Digest all-rookie teams
that year.
Dan Gladden was traded to the Twins before the 1987
season in a deal that involved Dan and David Blakely
in exchange for Luis Vasquez, Jose Dominquez, and
Bryan Hickerson. Hickerson was the only other player
involved in the deal who reached the major leagues.
In 1987, Dan Gladden was switched from centerfield
to left, where he started regularly for the World
Champion Twins. He made a big impact in his first
season with the Twins. He led the team in stolen bases
for the first of four straight seasons as the Twins
captured the AL West crown. In the World Series, Dan
Gladden's grand slam off Bob Forsch keyed the Twins'
game 1 victory over the Cardinals, and Dan finished
the series with a .290 batting average and 7 RBI’s
as the Twins won their first-ever world championship.
He would earn another ring with the Twins in 1991,
when they beat the Atlanta Braves in what is generally
regarded as the greatest World Series ever played.
Dan led the Twins in triples that year and continued
to serve as their leadoff hitter and starting leftfielder.
In the postseason, Dan hit two triples and stole five
bases, but he is most often remembered for scoring
the winning run of the Twins' victory over the Atlanta
Braves in game 7 of the World Series. Dan led off
the bottom of the 10th inning with a hustling bloop
double, and later that inning, with the bases loaded,
Gene Larkin hit a deep fly ball over a drawn-in Braves
outfield, allowing Dan to score the Series-ending
run.
One of only five players to play on both Twins world
championship teams (along with Kent Hrbek, Kirby Puckett,
Gene Larkin, and Randy Bush); Dan Gladden was Minnesota's
primary leadoff hitter and leftfielder from 1987 until
1991.
Despite the thrilling game 7 championship victory
and solid numbers, Dan Gladden felt the front office
was less than enthusiastic when it came to offering
him a new contract. In December, at the age of 35,
he signed a free-agent deal with the Tigers. A slow
start was followed by a month-long stint on the disabled
list, and he slumped badly in the second half.
Dan rebounded with a career-high 13 homers in 1993.
On August 11, 1993, Dan Gladden hits a grand slam
in Detroit's 15-5 win over the Orioles. He also hit
a grand slam in the previous game against Baltimore,
making him the 14th player in history to do so in
consecutive games.
He then spent the 1994 season with fellow expatriate
Henry Cotto on Japan's Yomiuri Giants. "It was
an experience that allowed me to learn more about
other styles and history of baseball in another culture.
To this day I still practice some of the drills and
philosophies that I learned from playing in Japan,"
reported Dan. He helped the Tokyo Giants to a victory
in the 1994 Japan World Series.
Dan Gladden then retired from the game as a player,
but remained active as a scout. He even scouted for
the Twins during spring training of 1995.
During the 1996-98 seasons he was the advance scout
for the Colorado Rockies, working with manager Don
Baylor and his staff in helping their team prepare
to play other National League teams.
In 1999 he was the roving, outfield, base running,
bunting instructor for the San Francisco Giants. Having
worked with Dusty Baker and other Giant coaching staff
members in helping players reach their potential.
"It was a very rewarding job and experience to
see those young players developing and improving their
skills," he said.
In 2000, Gladden became a radio analyst for the Twins
on WCCO. He continues to host baseball camps for youth.
Dan Gladden truly loves the game of baseball and that
is why he is a Minnesota “great.”
