Minnesota Twins Infielder Collects a Base Hit That Was Years in the Making

The journey from Merrimack, N.H., to his first major league hit was a long one for the Minnesota Twins’ Mickey Gasper.

But it finally happened on Saturday.

Batting sixth and filling the designated hitter role, Gasper hit a groundball into the hole at short off St. Louis Cardinals reliever JoJo Romero to lead off the eighth inning. He beat the throw from shortstop Masyn Winn to first base for that long-awaited hit.

Congratulations on your first big league hit, Mickey Gasper! pic.twitter.com/Fnv3WX4t05
— Minnesota Twins (@Twins) March 29, 2025

On the day, he was 1-for-3 in the 5-1 to loss to St. Louis, and Gasper had one of just three hits for the Twins.

It came after 1,600 plate appearances for Gasper, 29, in 407 games in the minor leagues, and 23 last season in 13 games with the Boston Red Sox in his first taste of the major leagues.

Raised in New Hampshire, he played collegiately at Bryant in Rhode Island and was selected in the 27th round of the 2018 MLB Draft by the New York Yankees.

The Red Sox claimed him from the Yankees in the Rule 5 draft in December 2023, then traded him the Twins for reliever Jovani Moran the following December.

In 92 games split between Double-A Portland and Triple-A Worcester last season, he hit .328 with 12 homers and 58 RBIs.

Gasper, outfielder DaShawn Keirsey Jr. and infielder Edouard Julien were the final three players to make the Twins’ 26-man roster.

Gasper’s strong spring – he hit .308 with two home runs and six RBIs – bode well for him, as did his skill at multiple defensive positions, including catcher.

Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said it was a joy to tell rookies Gasper and Keirsey they’d made the roster.

“That’s the news that guys dream of getting,” Baldelli said, per The Athletic. “It is meaningful. It means a lot to them. … You get a chance to watch people feel that emotion and be rewarded for all the hard work they put in. It’s nice. It’s really nice.”

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