Baldelli and wife expand family ... with twins!
CINCINNATI -- Has any manager been this committed to his team¡¯s identity?
Rocco Baldelli set an awfully high bar for that late Sunday night, when the Twins¡¯ skipper and his wife Allie welcomed a pair of fraternal twin boys -- Nino and Enzo -- to the world, the club announced on Monday.
What better way for the manager of the Twins to cement his fit for the position?
¡°I told him with the stature of where he¡¯s at job-wise with the Twins, the dedication that he really puts into this job and going the extra mile off the field really shows a lot,¡± first-base coach Hank Conger said with a big laugh.
Both baby boys and Allie Baldelli were said to be healthy and doing well. Bench coach and acting manager Jayce Tingler said there¡¯s a ¡°good chance¡± Baldelli could return to the team when the Twins return home for their final homestand of the regular season on Friday -- though there¡¯s also some chance he could be back on Wednesday.
The twin boys join a quickly growing family that already included the couple¡¯s older daughter, Louisa, and beauceron dog, Bowie.
Baldelli already has company within the clubhouse, as starting pitcher Bailey Ober was already a member of the ¡°Twins with twins¡± club, with Ober¡¯s pair of twins -- Kollins and Olivia -- born last November.
¡°I just said, 'Enjoy it. It's going to be fun. It's going to be busy. Just expect it to be busy,¡¯¡± Ober said. ¡°The new normal is going to be different, but it's going to be -- it is what it is. After a little while, it feels like it's supposed to happen. Just how it is.¡±
It sounds like not too many people have given Baldelli any playful jabs about how fitting it is that he¡¯d add to his family this way -- he¡¯s already got plenty to think about, between the two new kids and, well, the Twins¡¯ upcoming playoff run.
¡°I can't imagine how exhausted he's going to be over these next three years,¡± Tingler said. ¡°I haven't jabbed him at all.¡±
¡°I'm sure there's been some banter going on, but I feel like not a lot of the guys are trying to stress him out too much,¡± Ober said. ¡°Hopefully, it brings us some good luck.¡±