“The window was closing,” Fitzgerald said. “The older you get, the less chance you have of making it. I was headed to Mexico this winter. I played in the Dominican [Winter League], and I had an offer to play in Mexico for the season. Then the Twins offered me [a minor league contract] at the end of January. It all worked out.”
Fitzgerald, who added a single in the fifth inning and caught a foul ball while falling over the tarp past third base, carried his home run ball to his postgame news conference. He has a lot of memorabilia, particularly bobbleheads, at his home, but he plans to give the ball to his parents.
Fortunately, the ball fell back onto the field, so he didn’t have to work out a trade for the ball.
“I don’t think anyone wants my stuff,” Fitzgerald said. “They’d probably ask me for Keaschall’s stuff.”
For the first time since Oct. 5, 2022 — 440 games ago — the Twins started a game without Ryan Jeffers or Christian Vázquez behind the plate.
Mickey Gasper started at catcher Sunday, ending the nearly three-year streak. Jeffers served as the designated hitter while Vázquez is on the 10-day injured list after he was hospitalized with an infection in his left shoulder.