Inside The Twins

Terry Ryan, Rick Stelmaszek enshrined in Twins Hall of Fame

They are the 39th and 40th members of the organization's Hall of Fame.

Nolan O'Hara

Former Twins general manager Terry Ryan speaks at a pregame ceremony in which he and Rick Stelmaszek were enshrined into the Twins Hall of Fame ahead of a game against the Cleveland Guardians on Saturday, Aug. 10, 2024, at Target Field in Minneapolis.
Former Twins general manager Terry Ryan speaks at a pregame ceremony in which he and Rick Stelmaszek were enshrined into the Twins Hall of Fame ahead of a game against the Cleveland Guardians on Saturday, Aug. 10, 2024, at Target Field in Minneapolis. / Nolan O'Hara / Bring Me The News
In this story:

The Twins honored Terry Ryan and Rick Stelmaszek, enshrining them as the 39th and 40th members of the Twins Hall of Fame with a special pregame ceremony Saturday at Target Field in Minneapolis. 

Ryan was the Twins general manager from 1994-2007 and from 2012-2016, helping construct several division-winning teams in the early 2000s. After the Twins won the ALDS in 2002, they were named the Organization of the Year and Ryan was named the Executive of the Year. His fingerprints are on the organization to this day, having drafted star center fielder Byron Buxton.

Ryan also pitched in the Twins organization in the mid-1970s.

“Universally loved and respected in our game and especially right here,” Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said of Ryan. “And I know a lot of people around here, employees, even players, guys that have been with him that owe him a lot, that are endeared to him, that really love the guy.”

Ryan gave a speech that will be remembered because it was a seemingly never ending list of people he had to thank, including current and former Twins staff members and the organization as a whole.

"I know there are a lot (of people I thanked), but I've worked here 30 years, right?" Ryan said. "And I was a player here for four more. ... I had a tough time with that because you're leaving somebody out, and I'm sure I left (out) some quality names and positions where they are huge for this organization. So I was a little worried about that. But then people encouraged me to do the best you can, and I did."

Stelmaszek was the longest-tenured coach in Twins history, spending 32 consecutive years on the Minnesota coaching staff. Stelmaszek was on the staff for both World Series teams and worked under five different managers: Johnny Goryl, Billy Gardner, Ray Miller, Tom Kelly and Ron Gardenhire. Stelmaszek passed away in 2017 after a battle with pancreatic cancer. 

Kelly and Gardenhire both spoke in honor of Stelmaszek and gave flowers to his wife, Kathie. Andy MacPhail, who preceded Ryan as Twins general manager, gave a tribute to Ryan.  

There were 21 members of the Twins Hall of Fame in attendance for the ceremony, which was hosted by longtime Twins play-by-play broadcaster Dick Bremer. There were also several video tributes from current and former figures in baseball for both Stelmaszek and Ryan, including one of several general managers who competed against Ryan during his tenure with the Twins.

"I really enjoyed (Stelmaszek's) introduction. I liked to watch everything about Stelly. And all of a sudden, all of those competing GMs, that was very nice. You know, some of those guys are Hall of Fame-type guys," Ryan said.

Ryan and Kathie Stelmaszek threw out the ceremonial first pitches ahead of Saturday night’s game against the Cleveland Guardians, which the Guardians won 2-1.

Published |Modified
Nolan O'Hara
NOLAN O'HARA

Nolan O'Hara covers all things Minnesota sports, primarily the Timberwolves, for Bring Me The News and Sports Illustrated's On SI network. He previously worked as a copy editor at the St. Paul Pioneer Press and is a graduate of the University of Minnesota's Hubbard School of Journalism. His work has appeared in the Pioneer Press, Ratchet & Wrench magazine, the Minnesota Daily and a number of local newspapers in Minnesota, among other publications.

Home/Minnesota Twins News