Eddie Guardado

A starter with soft stuff who grew up in hard circumstances, Eddie Guardado improbably earned three postseason saves and made two All-Star teams as a reliever. Fans of the small-market Minnesota Twins embraced the underdog lefty with an alliterative nickname. “Everyday Eddie” – so called because he averaged more than 70 appearances per season from 1996 through 2003 – became one of the most beloved players in team history.

Born on October 2, 1970, in Stockton, California, Eddie Adrian Guardado grew up with his father and stepmother. According to a story in the Minneapolis Star Tribune, Victor Guardado “came … from Mexico to work in the fields of northern California, then … became a lab technician in Silicon Valley.”1 After divorcing Eddie’s mother Connie, Victor married Karen in the late 1970s.

One of five children,2 Eddie Guardado lived in East Stockton, where he later told a reporter he had “to lie down on the floor because you’d hear shots and you didn’t want to get caught in a drive-by situation.”3

Guardado played baseball and football at Franklin High School in Stockton.4 He “was known for sideline-to-sideline linebacker play. ‘Man, I loved to hit,’ Guardado said. ‘There’s nothing like flattening some guy.’”5

Guardado attended San Joaquin Delta College in Stockton. Minnesota selected him 570th overall in the June 1990 draft. Only two other players picked in the 21st round of that draft reached the majors; they appeared in 33 games combined. Guardado pitched in 908, 25th most at the end of 2025, giving him, according to the Athletic, “a strong case for being the best 21st-round pick of all time.”6

The six foot, 195-pound Guardado pitched in the minors for the Elizabethton (Tennessee) Twins in 1991 and the Visalia Oaks and the Kenosha Twins in 1992. Entering the 1993 season, Minnesota believed in Guardado, but did not want to bring him up to the majors too soon.7 Nevertheless, Guardado came up to the majors that June and understandably felt anxious about the promotion. “I flipped up the toilet lid and threw up,” he said.8

Guardado got bombed in his first start against Oakland on June 13, 1993. Nonetheless, he earned praise from his backstop, Brian Harper, who said, “Guardado definitely has big-league stuff. He’ll be better next time, when he isn’t as nervous and he just pitches.”9 He would later have the most memorable confrontation of his career against the A’s.

During his first month in the majors, Guardado implied that his limited arsenal and stamina might make him best suited for relief. “I’ve been … trying to concentrate on saving myself for the later innings,” Guardado said. “If the catcher calls for the breaking ball on the first pitch, you’ve got to throw it for a strike, because these hitters know what’s coming if you don’t get the breaking ball over.”10

Minnesota manager Tom Kelly stayed supportive. “We all know he is … young … and he is learning as he goes along,” Kelly said. “He has a good arm. He has three pitches that he can throw, and he works the inside corner … well. He has a great move to first base. He fields his position well.”11

Kelly moved Guardado to relief. “We’re trying to get Eddie some help with his changeup,” Kelly said. “[Pitching coach] Dick Such is working with him. It might be better for him to stay in the bullpen for a while.”12

Guardado spent the first half of 1994 in the minors. “We weren’t thrilled [with Guardado early in the year],” said Terry Ryan, the Twins’ player personnel director. “We felt he wasn’t … working ahead in the count and using his changeup…. I had a session with him and explained that his stuff is good enough to get people out, but he’s got to come at hitters.”13 Guardado absorbed this lesson, which he would inculcate in others as a pitcher and coach.

Guardado married his high-school sweetheart, Lisa Limbaugh, on November 5, 1994. They would have two sons (Niko and Jacob) and one daughter (Ava).

Guardado went 0-13 between wins against the A’s on August 13, 1993, and the Yankees on July 15, 1995. After thriving as a reliever for his first six 1995 appearances, Guardado struggled again in the rotation. After a June 12 loss dropped his record to 0-6, Guardado returned to the bullpen, where he would remain for the rest of his career. Guardado  his new role. “I want to be a starter,” he said. “That was my role … when they brought me here, so it’s disappointing.”14

Kelly “said he did an injustice”15 by starting him. “Eddie did … well in the bullpen,” said the manager. “Maybe he’s one of those guys where that’s his niche.”16

Pitch mix and avoiding lineups stacked with right-handed hitters explained why Guardado performed better as a reliever. Jim Souhan of the Minneapolis Star Tribune observed, “Guardado’s slider and his ability to drop his arm makes him tough on lefthanders. Lefties are hitting .169 against him; righthanders are batting .345 [in July 1995].” Over Guardado’s career, lefties would bat .228 with a .644 OPS against him, whereas righties would hit .263 with an .802 OPS.

Guardado grew to appreciate pitching out of the bullpen and saw himself as carrying on the legacy of lefty relievers. “I really started to admire guys like Jesse Orosco and Rick Honeycutt, and Tony Fossas – they hung onto their jobs a long time by doing the job every day,” Guardado said. “Every day I come … ready to pitch and I take pride in that.”17 His dependability attracted notice. With 23 appearances in the club’s first 35 games, Guardado was on pace to break the major league record of 106 appearances in a season, set by Mike Marshall in 1974. “I feel great,” Guardado said.18

Guardado earned his “Everyday” nickname, which he liked,19 and established himself as a go-to reliever in 1996. Called on to pitch, Guardado, according to Souhan, “stops at the infield line and kicks his feet on the turf on his way to the mound. He warms up, turns his back on the plate, bends down, talks to himself, hurls down the rosin bag and takes breaths so big he looks ready to hyperventilate.”20

Kelly did not think Guardado needed extra motivation: “Eddie still gets hyper,” Kelly said. “If he doesn’t slow himself down, he’ll throw two balls in 10 seconds. When he composes himself, when he gets his breaking pitch in the right spot, Eddie does very well.”21

Guardado would pitch in a career-high 83 games in 1996, tying Detroit’s Mike Myers for the league lead. “I didn’t think I’d get in 80 games,” Guardado said. “But we had only one lefty in the pen for most of the year, and I’ve had a lot of roles.”22

Minnesota signed lefty reliever Greg Swindell after the 1996 season. Swindell, who led Minnesota relievers in ERA and WHIP, faced more than twice as many batters as Guardado did for the Twins in 1997.

The Twins traded Swindell on July 31, 1998, but even with that transaction, Swindell faced 281 batters over the first four months of the season, nearly equal to the 286 Guardado faced over the full season. Kelly had lost some faith in Guardado. On September 1, 1998, Guardado faced Tampa Bay with the bases loaded and none out. He fanned the first two hitters before giving up a triple to Aaron Ledesma. “You have to be able to pitch to more than one guy if you are going to move into a spot Swindell vacated,” Kelly said.23

Encouraged by catcher Terry Steinbach,24 Guardado at the end of the 1998 season began relying on a new pitch: “I … used that splitty” he said. “I’ve thrown it more than usual in the last couple of outings.”25

Guardado focused on the split-fingered fastball in spring training in 1999 to try to transform himself from a lefty specialist into a reliever who could also retire righties. La Velle E. Neal III of the Minneapolis Star Tribune wrote that Guardado “places the ball between his index and his middle finger of his left hand, with the index finger touching part of the seam.”26

When the 1999 campaign began, Guardado confessed, “I still don’t always know where it’s going to go.”27 During the season, he added a fourth pitch, according to Patrick Reusse of the Minneapolis Star Tribune, “a sinking fastball that … Guardado tries to put on the outside corner. It’s important for Guardado to have an extra pitch against righthanders, particularly if Kelly is going to give Guardado a shot to be the Twins closer.”28

The sinker helped Guardado earn nine saves in 2000, more than double his previous high of four in 1996. On June 18, 2000, Guardado became only the third Twins pitcher to appear in 400 games, a mark previously reached by Jim Kaat and Rick Aguilera.29

Guardado lived up to his moniker when he pitched in four straight games from June 24-27, 2000. He lost on June 25 after a 3 2/3-inning outing against the Angels, but came back the next day to finish the contest, earning the admiration of Anaheim manager Mike Scioscia: “I figured he would get tired, he was out there for his fourth inning and still throwing hard,” Scioscia said. “He must be a strong man.”30 (After pitching four days in a row in 2002, Guardado said, “I’d take it 10 straight days.”31)

While LaTroy Hawkins served as the primary closer for the Twins in 2001, Guardado set a career high in saves (12) for a second straight season, although he did not get his first until June 1 – game number 52 for Minnesota. Ryan called Guardado “one of the most respected lefthanded relievers in the league.”32

On August 29, 2001, Guardado passed Aguilera for the most appearances by a pitcher in Twins history. Neal noted, “After the game, the Twins presented Guardado with a bottle of Dom Perignon champagne and a baseball-shaped piñata.”33

Guardado finished 2001 with a 3.51 ERA, his lowest yet in his ninth Minnesota season, the first of his career with a winning Twins team. As the season neared its end, debate started about whether Guardado should remain as a setup man or close. Coach Paul Molitor favored the status quo. “He’s shown with his tenacity and experience that he can handle any situation,” Molitor said. “I don’t think he would max out his ability to help the team in that [closing] role. He’s done an outstanding job for this team this season – just like he has for a lot of years.”34

Ron Gardenhire disagreed, naming Guardado closer as soon as he took over as manager.35 Guardado made more history in his new role with the first closer entry music (AC/DC’s “Thunderstruck”) played by the franchise.36

No lefthander had led the Twins in saves since Tom Burgmeier in 1975, but Guardado in 2002 picked up 45 of the team’s 47. He had more attitude than arsenal. “It’s great to have that one dominating strikeout pitch, like Mariano [Rivera] with the cutter, like … Aguilera … had with the splitter,” Guardado said. “I don’t have it. My strength is going after hitters. Fastball in. Fastball away.”37

Catcher A.J. Pierzynski concurred. “As a setup man, he always came in guns blazing. Throwing the resin bag down. Jumping around. Doing Eddie kinds of things. Look … there’s some guys who don’t want to be in the box with a guy on third base and two outs in the ninth. You either have that, or you don’t. Eddie has that.”38

Guardado led the American League in saves at the All-Star break and made the All-Star team for the first time. Improbably, his Midwest League catcher in 1992, Arizona’s Damian Miller, made his first (and only) All-Star team in 2002, too. “He has that closer’s mentality, even when we were in ‘A’ ball together and he was a starter,” Miller said.39

In the bottom of the sixth, Guardado faced Andruw Jones and José Hernández, both of whom struck out swinging in a contest that ended in a controversial 7-7 tie.

The Twins won their division in 2002 for the first time since 1991, clinching on September 15, the earliest date in team history. Guardado got the final three outs of the 5-0 win over Cleveland that secured the playoff spot. Neal and Souhan wrote, “Gardenhire and pitching coach Rick Anderson decided Guardado should be on the mound if the team had the opportunity to clinch the title. ‘We thought that was the right thing to do,’ Gardenhire said. ‘Eddie’s been so big for us all year.’”40

On September 18, Guardado earned his 43rd save, breaking the team record of 42 previously held by Jeff Reardon in 1988 and Aguilera in 1991.

What made Guardado so effective? According to Guardado’s All-Star teammate Tampa’s Randy Winn in an interview with ESPN’s Alan Schwarz, “‘He’s funky … All of a sudden the ball’s on you, like, ‘Where’d that come from?’ On an 0-2 pitch in Minnesota, Winn watched helplessly as Guardado dropped down sidearm and whipped something … inside to [strike him out].”41

Oakland’s Jermaine Dye said, “The problem is that he doesn’t have a favorite pitch to go to…. He has a fastball with good velocity on it. To the right-handers, he throws a back-door slider and a splitter for a changeup type pitch. He’s not … overpowering, but he knows how to pitch. He hits his spots and makes hitters put the ball in play.”42

The underdog Twins (94 wins) opened the 2002 playoffs on the road against the Athletics (103 wins), the team Guardado rooted for while growing up in nearby Stockton. He gave up two baserunners but got the save in a 7-5 Game One win. “I had more butterflies than saliva,” Guardado said.43 He did not pitch in the next three games, two of which Oakland won, setting up a decisive Game Five matchup in California.

In the bottom of the ninth, Guardado entered. According to the Athletic, “Not only was [he] nervous pitching in front of friends and family … he didn’t have his best stuff, either…. Guardado said he thought to himself … ‘Don’t fuck this up…. We were like second fiddle to them,’ Guardado said. ‘But we didn’t care because … we didn’t take no shit.’”44

As reported in the New York Times, Guardado “gave Gardenhire heartburn … when Mark Ellis‘s three-run homer in the ninth cut a 5-1 lead to 5-4. ‘I wanted to kill Eddie, actually,’ said Gardenhire … ‘My pitching coach [Anderson] was telling me, “I think he’s rushing.” I said: “Rushing? He’s not rushing. This is taking forever.’”45

Guardado still had two outs to get after the homer. Terrence Long flied out, but Randy Velarde singled to put the tying run on with Ray Durham the winning run at bat. Gardenhire admitted, “It was so hard to just stand there and not take Eddie out.”46 Guardado went to a full count on Durham before getting him to foul out, securing the series for the Twins. “Michael Cuddyer was the first to hug Guardado, and ‘I’m on the bottom of the pile,’ Cuddyer said, ‘face to face with Eddie, and we can’t move, and I’m trying not to kiss him.’”47

As a division winner, Minnesota had the home field advantage against Anaheim, the AL wild-card team. The Twins took Game One, 2-1. Guardado came on in the ninth and with one out walked Tim Salmon. With two outs and pinch-runner Chone Figgins on first, Guardado faced slugger Troy Glaus. On a 2-2 count, “I knew Glaus was looking dead-red [fastball],” Guardado said. “A.J. put down slider and I thought, ‘Yeah, let’s try it.’”48 Glaus struck out looking to give Minnesota the team’s only ALCS win. Guardado did not pitch in the final four games.

Guardado peaked in 2002 with the most saves (45) and highest WAR (2.0) of his career. He even finished tied for 15th in voting for AL MVP, the only time in his career when he earned MVP votes.

Although Minnesota exercised an option to bring Guardado back in 2003, his agent, Kevin Kohler, said, “I’m worried about his future with the Twins if he goes into the season without a contract [extension].”49

Guardado set a Minnesota record by converting 24 straight save opportunities, a streak that began in 2002 and ended at San Diego on June 6, 2003. Joe Nathan set a new mark in 2004.

Guardado made his second and last All-Star team in 2003. He got one out, yielding two hits and a run.

The Twins clinched a second straight division crown on September 23, 2003, with Guardado finishing for his 40th save. Minnesota would face New York in the playoffs, an awful matchup given that the Twins had gone 0-13 against the Yankees in 2002 and 2003. “I think we put too much pressure on ourselves to beat them,” Guardado said of the Yankees. “For some reason, the last two years, they’ve had our number. It’s not that we can’t play with them, it’s just worked out that we can’t beat them.”50

In Game One, Guardado entered in the ninth with a 3-0 lead, gave up three hits but got three outs and the save. New York pitchers yielded just a single run in each of the last three games to win the ALDS in four. Guardado made the last postseason appearance of his career in the finale. With Minnesota down 7-1 in the top of the ninth, Derek Jeter homered off Guardado in a series-ending loss for the Twins. “I want to put on this Twins uniform again and get another season started,” Guardado said. “It’s very rare that a player gets to wear just one uniform his whole career. I hope something works out.”51

About two months later, Guardado signed with Seattle. “I had to do what I had to do,” he said. “I’ve been having a tough time with this. But the Twins just didn’t do anything to keep this [departure] from happening.”52

On June 17, 2004, Guardado had his only plate appearance in professional baseball. With Ichiro Suzuki on first, Guardado bunted into a 5-6-4 double play.

Guardado made more money in Seattle than he would have in Minnesota. He played mentor (according to the Athletic, “Guardado spread the splitter gospel in the Seattle bullpen … teaching J.J. Putz his grip”53) as the last-place Mariners lost 99 games. Guardado missed the last two months of 2004 with an injury to his rotator cuff. “Asked if pitching as often as he did in his 11 years with the Twins might have played a factor [in getting hurt], he replied, ‘Yeah, it probably did.’”54

Opting for rehabilitation instead of surgery, Guardado returned for the start of 2005 when he set a Seattle standard with 27 straight saves despite pitching with a rotator cuff injury. “As long as it’s not hurting or fatigued in a way that’s not normal, then you don’t worry about it,” he said.55

Guardado doubled his save total of 18 in 2004 with 36 in 2005, the third and last time he finished in the top seven in the American League in saves. In 2006, he lost his closer’s role56 to Putz and got traded on July 6, 2006, to Cincinnati for Travis Chick. Guardado hoped that the excitement of closing again would improve his performance. “I pitch with a lot of emotion,” he said.57

Guardado’s first three saves with Cincinnati came during a four-game sweep of Colorado. Infielder Rich Aurilia raved about his new teammate. “Not only is he a proven closer, he brings some energy out there.”58

Guardado converted his first seven save opportunities with the Reds but blew two of his next three as he experienced discomfort in his throwing arm. “I’ve been coming in early every day and working on it,” Guardado said. “I want to be out there bad. We’re in a pennant race.”59

Originally diagnosed with tendinitis, he finally went on the disabled list and had surgery for a UCL tear after pitching his last game of 2006 on August 19. Cincinnati failed to make the playoffs; manager Jerry Narron blamed the Guardado injury as the key to the team’s downfall.60

Cincinnati kept Guardado by signing him to a minor-league contract; beat writers covering the Reds referred to him as the closer-in-waiting, but Guardado never saved another game for Cincinnati, although he returned to the majors on August 9, 2007.

The Reds declined to exercise Guardado’s option, and the Texas Rangers signed him for 2008 before trading Guardado back to the Twins in August. Minnesota wanted Guardado to serve as a setup man for Nathan, who had starred after following Guardado as closer. The reunion succeeded sentimentally, but Guardado no longer pitched effectively given that, according to Souhan, he threw “85 miles per hour these days. The Twins need someone who can miss bats in the eighth inning.”61

In his month-plus in Minnesota, Guardado pitched nine times. The Twins tied the White Sox for first place in the AL Central but lost a 1-0 playoff game in which Guardado did not appear.

Texas brought Guardado back in 2009. He went 1-2 with no saves in his last season in the majors. Washington signed Guardado but released him in 2010 spring training. Over 19 seasons in the majors, Guardado pitched in 908 games. He finished with a 46-61 (.430) record, a 4.31 ERA, and 187 saves.

Guardado served as a spring-training instructor for Minnesota starting in 2012. He raised funds to help families who have children, like his daughter Ava, with autism. Guardado “says the real fighter in the family is Ava. ‘She’s the hardest-working 6-year-old I know…. She works at it 40 hours a week. I’ve got four therapists coming in every day, and she goes to school every day with a shadow…. She’s made some big strides.’”62

Eddie’s older son Niko acts in film and television; his younger son Jakob pitched his senior year for the University of the Pacific Tigers in 2025. “He learned from not only me, but Torii Hunter, LaTroy Hawkins, David Ortiz, I could go down the line,” Eddie Guardado said. “When Jakob got older, we stayed after the games until 1 in the morning, hitting in the cages and hanging out in the locker rooms. That for me was … easy … but teaching him the hours and the dedication is not a joke.”63

Guardado served as bullpen coach for Minnesota manager Molitor beginning in 2015. “I think they just want my attitude, being in the clubhouse every day, having that positive energy,” Guardado said.64

Minnesota pitchers praised Guardado. Blaine Boyer explained, “I think when I was going through what I was going through, he was basically telling me, ‘Clear your head, man, understand that we’re here for a reason, and our first instinct is to put more pressure on ourselves, especially when we’re going bad.’ He’s … good at lightening the mood.”65

After going 5-16 in his first two years with the Twins, Mike Pelfrey got off to a 5-2 start in 2015; Guardado received credit for helping Pelfrey improve his split finger/forkball.66

J.T. Chargois recalled, “I started to explain all these little things, and [Guardado] said, … ‘Forget all that stuff, just go to home plate.’ And that … helped a lot.”67

Brandon Kintzler, who closed for the Twins in 2016 and 2017 until Minnesota traded him to Washington, credited Guardado with helping him maintain his focus even if he allowed baserunners.68

Minnesota fired Molitor after the 2018 season; new manager Rocco Baldelli chose not to retain Guardado, replacing him with a bullpen coach more focused on analytics.69 After four years out of baseball, Guardado joined the Angels as a special assistant, player development in 2023. After Steve Karsay took midseason medical leave, Guardado reprised his bullpen coach role with the Angels in 2025.70 He observed of relievers, “[T]he arms we’re dealing with today are amazing…. But if we can’t get the ball across the plate, what does all that velo mean?”71

Souhan encapsulated Guardado’s baseball career, calling him “the greatest overachiever I ever met in sports, a failed starter turned one-out reliever who turned himself into an All-Star closer with a 90-mile-per-hour fastball and a slider that barely slid.”72

Last revised: February 4, 2026

Acknowledgments

This biography was reviewed by Rory Costello and David Bilmes and fact-checked by Bill Lamb.

Photo credit: Eddie Guardado, Trading Card Database.

Notes

1 Patrick Reusse, “Hot Shots, Part II,” Minneapolis Star Tribune, May 30, 1993: 9C.

2 “Guardado’s brother, Victor, got addicted to heroin and died.” Jim Souhan, “Firmly planted, Hamilton is making many believe,” Minneapolis Star Tribune, May 23, 2008: C1.

3 Dan Barreiro, “‘My dream came true,’” Minneapolis Star Tribune, June 13, 1993: 3C.

4 Minnesota Twins 1996 Media Guide: 31.

5 Jim Souhan, “A better life,” Minneapolis Star Tribune, July 7, 2002: C13.

6 Aaron Gleeman, “Best Twins players that never would’ve been picked in a five-round draft,” The Athletic, May 13, 2020, www.nytimes.com/athletic/1803917/2020/05/13/twins-mlb-draft-best-late-round-picks-hrbek-hawkins-radke-dozier-kubel-lawton/?searchResultPosition=273 (accessed December 11, 2025).

7 Jim Souhan, “Winfield is hitting it hard, but with no luck,” Minneapolis Star Tribune, May 8, 1993: 7C.

8 Jim Souhan, “From no way to ‘Everyday,’” Minneapolis Star Tribune, September 7, 2008: C2.

9 Patrick Reusse, “Guardado’s debut: Nerves, A’s get the better of him,” Minneapolis Star Tribune, June 14, 1993: 7C.

10 Jim Souhan, “Guardado to change first-inning strategy,” Minneapolis Star Tribune, June 29, 1993: 5C.

11 Sid Hartman, “‘U’ football team has favorable schedule,” Minneapolis Star Tribune, August 1, 1993: 2C.

12 Jim Souhan, “Newcomer Brummett tickled after going from top (Giants) to bottom (Twins),” Minneapolis Star Tribune, September 3, 1993: 10C.

13 Dennis Brackin, “Guardado to make first start of season today,” Minneapolis Star Tribune, July 2, 1994: 5C.

14 Jim Souhan and Dennis Brackin, “Deal causes hard feelings in Twins clubhouse,” Minneapolis Star Tribune, July 7, 1995: 5C.

15 Sid Hartman, “Steinbrenner says baseball to rebound,” Minneapolis Star Tribune, June 7, 1995: 2C.

16 Dennis Brackin, “Beaning by Erickson is fresh in Seitzer’s memory,” Minneapolis Star Tribune, June 7, 1995: 7C.

17 Jim Souhan, “Lefty relievers make it big by frequently lending a hand,” Minneapolis Star Tribune, July 7, 1999: C5.

18 Scott Miller, “Minnesota Twins,” The Sporting News, May 20, 1996: 29.

19 La Velle E. Neal III, “Guardado goes on the DL; relief corps gets thinner,” Minneapolis Star Tribune, May 25, 1999: C6.

20 Jim Souhan, “Twins do and don’t in split with A’s,” Minneapolis Star Tribune, June 9, 1996: C11.

21 Patrick Reusse, “Guardado, Trombley provide welcome relief,” Minneapolis Star Tribune, September 5, 1996: C7.

22 David Jackson, “Molitor tries to regain his stroke,” Minneapolis Star Tribune, September 28, 1996: C7.

23 La Velle E. Neal III, “Twins fans to see home run derby,” Minneapolis Star Tribune, September 3, 1998: C8.

24 La Velle E. Neal III, “Steinbach’s stay clearly shows family matters,” Minneapolis Star Tribune, February 26, 1999: C4.

25 John Millea, “It takes some time, but Twins finish job,” Minneapolis Star Tribune, September 4, 1998: C10.

26 La Velle E. Neal III, “Guardado hopes new pitch will be right stuff for Twins,” Minneapolis Star Tribune, March 31, 1999: C4.

27 Dan Barreiro, “It’s not pretty, but it goes in the ‘W’ column,” Minneapolis Star Tribune, April 9, 1999: C10.

28 Patrick Reusse, “Guardado is ready to go,” Minneapolis Star Tribune, February 29, 2000: C8.

29 “On Deck,” Minneapolis Star Tribune, June 20, 2000: C5.

30 Patrick Reusse, “After extra-inning loss, Guardado rescues Twins,” Minneapolis Star Tribune, June 27, 2000: C1.

31 Jim Souhan, “Unlikely star of starters,” Minneapolis Star Tribune, July 4, 2002: C1.

32 Jim Souhan, “Every year Eddie,” Minneapolis Star Tribune, March 19, 2001: C9.

33 La Velle E. Neal III, “Twins win on team effort,” Minneapolis Star Tribune, August 30, 2001: C7.

34 Jim Souhan, “Loud and clear,” Minneapolis Star Tribune, October 7, 2001: C13.

35 Jim Souhan, “Guardado will open as closer,” Minneapolis Star Tribune, January 5, 2002: C7. The manager and closer had an unusual relationship. After Guardado smashed a shaving-cream pie into Gardenhire during a television interview, Gardenhire the next day placed a live two-pound lobster on Guardado’s shoulder. La Velle E. Neal III, “Clubhouse funny business,” Minneapolis Star Tribune, August 25, 2002: C16. “That’s OK,” Guardado says. “I was worried he was going to throw it in the whirlpool with me.” Jim Souhan, “In charge,” Minneapolis Star Tribune, October 1, 2002: S1.

36 Dan Hayes, “Inside Twins closer Jhoan Duran’s ‘badass’ walkout entrance, ‘the WWE event for baseball,’” The Athletic, May 15, 2024, www.nytimes.com/athletic/5494315/2024/05/15/jhoan-duran-twins-walkout-entrance/?searchResultPosition=294 (accessed December 11, 2025).

37 Patrick Reusse, “Everyday Eddie moving into pressure role,” Minneapolis Star Tribune, June 27, 2000: C14.

38 Dan Barreiro, “Everyday Eddie transforms into Every-save Eddie,” Minneapolis Star Tribune, May 10, 2002: C7.

39 La Velle E. Neal III, “Pierzynski takes in the moment,” Minneapolis Star Tribune, July 9, 2002: C4.

40 La Velle E. Neal III and Jim Souhan, “Hard labor ends for Hocking,” Minneapolis Star Tribune, September 16, 2002: C18.

41 Alan Schwarz, “No longer Everyday, Guardado now closing the deal,” July 12, 2002, sports.espn.go.com/espn/print?id=1404955&type=columnist (accessed December 23, 2025).

42 La Velle E. Neal III, “Memories to forget,” Minneapolis Star Tribune, October 1, 2002: S5.

43 Jim Souhan, “This time, left was right,” Minneapolis Star Tribune, October 2, 2002: C7.

44 Dan Hayes, “‘We ended that movie’: When the Twins tore up the script of the ‘Moneyball’ A’s,” The Athletic, April 28, 2020, www.nytimes.com/athletic/1775667/2020/04/28/twins-as-2002-alds-moneyball-game-5-guardado-pierzynski-radke/?searchResultPosition=271 (accessed December 11, 2025).

45 Pat Borzi, “Minnesota Winning With Merry Pranksters,” The New York Times, October 8, 2002: D5.

46 La Velle E. Neal III, “Survivors,” Minneapolis Star Tribune, October 7, 2002: C13.

47 Jim Souhan, “Dome magic? It’s ancient history, fans,” Minneapolis Star Tribune, October 5, 2006: C11.

48 Patrick Reusse, “Eddie closes it out with no reservations,” Minneapolis Star Tribune, October 9, 2002: S5.

49 La Velle E. Neal III, “Wells, Jackson out; is Hocking next?” Minneapolis Star Tribune, October 29, 2002: C3.

50 Jim Souhan, “It’s time for the main course,” Minneapolis Star Tribune, April 18, 2003: C13.

51 Jim Souhan, “Free agents aren’t cheap,” Minneapolis Star Tribune, October 6, 2003: S4.

52 Jim Souhan, “Guardado departs,” Minneapolis Star Tribune, December 10, 2003: C1.

53 Zack Meisel, Cody Stavenhagen and Stephen J. Nesbitt, “Year of the splitter? Once a dark art, the pitch is primed to take over baseball,” The Athletic, March 21, 2024, www.nytimes.com/athletic/5357134/2024/03/21/splitter-pitch-mlb-elbow-injuries/?searchResultPosition=292  (accessed December 11, 2025).

54 La Velle E. Neal III, “Guardado could be out a year,” Minneapolis Star Tribune, August 11, 2004: C5.

55 Joe Chistensen, “Guardado unfazed by injury,” Minneapolis Star Tribune, August 10, 2005: C8.

56 Joe Chistensen, “M’s try to lighten mood, but no escaping awful record,” Minneapolis Star Tribune, May 7, 2006: C15.

57 John Fay, “‘Everyday Eddie’ excited to join Reds,” Cincinnati Enquirer, July 8, 2006: B7.

58 John Erardi, “Sweep of Rockies offers welcome relief for Reds,” Cincinnati Enquirer, July 17, 2006: C7.

59 John Fay, “Nickname aside, Guardado knows his arm needs rest,” Cincinnati Enquirer, August 16, 2006: C11.

60 C. Trent Rosencrans, “Guardado’s countdown,” Cincinnati Post, March 14, 2007: 1B.

61 Jim Souhan, “Sometimes it’s not what you wear, it’s when you wear out,” Minneapolis Star Tribune, September 12, 2008: C10.

62 Jim Souhan, “Eddie’s everyday focus on supporting his family,” Minneapolis Star Tribune, February 27, 2012: C5.

63 “Pacific’s Guardado inspired by father’s major-league success,” May 15, 2024, www.pacific.edu/pacific-newsroom/pacifics-guardado-inspired-fathers-major-league-success (accessed December 29, 2025). Jakob finished his Pacific career with a 3-9 record, a 6.22 ERA, and, unlike his father, no saves. As a batter, he had an OPS of .521.

64 Michael Rand, “Everyday, excitable Eddie,” Minneapolis Star Tribune, December 1, 2014: C2.

65 La Velle E. Neal III, “Twins bullpen can lean on Boyer,” Minneapolis Star Tribune, May 22, 2015: C5.

66 Chip Scoggins, “Whatever the reasons, starters guide ship,” Minneapolis Star Tribune, June 9, 2015: C7.

67 Phil Miller, “Chargois now worth watching,” Minneapolis Star Tribune, February 27, 2017: C4.

68 Ken Rosenthal, “On Brandon Kintzler, and how the game is not always what it seems,” The Athletic, January 15, 2021, www.nytimes.com/athletic/2324585/2021/01/15/rosenthal-on-brandon-kintzler-and-how-the-game-is-not-always-what-it-seems/?searchResultPosition=282 (accessed December 11, 2025).

69 Ken Rosenthal, “How the Astros experiment and collaborate to get the most out of their pitchers,” The Athletic, May 22, 2019, https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/989143/2019/05/22/rosenthal-how-the-astros-experiment-and-collaborate-to-get-the-most-out-of-their-pitchers/?searchResultPosition=265 (accessed December 11, 2025).

70 Aaron Coloma, “Angels Coach Undergoing Hip Surgery, Will Miss Rest of Season,” Sports Illustrated, September 4, 2025, www.si.com/mlb/angels/onsi/angels-news/angels-coach-undergoing-hip-surgery-will-miss-rest-of-season (last accessed January 14, 2026).

71 Phil Miller, “Hunter, Guardado relish coaching roles,” Minneapolis Star Tribune, September 11, 2025: C6.

72 Jim Souhan, “Hunter to provide class, leadership” Minneapolis Star Tribune, December 3, 2014: C4.