Oliva joins Twins for 'very special' road trip

ANAHEIM -- When Twins legend Tony Oliva is on the road, he makes sure to wear his uniform top -- mainly so that fans still know who he is.

"They don't know I'm still around, because I'm not a spring chicken," said the 80-year-old Oliva.

For the first time in nearly 30 years, Oliva was able to don his retired No. 6 jersey on the road after manager Rocco Baldelli extended him an invitation to join the Twins on their road trip through Seattle and Anaheim in the last week.

Oliva has been a longtime special instructor for the Twins during Spring Training and is a constant presence in the home clubhouse at Target Field, but he said it was a big surprise when Baldelli made the offer.

"This trip is very special," Oliva said. "I'm feeling good that they give me the opportunity to be here and see what it’s about, because I was over there when the players were in Spring Training, but when you’re traveling, it’s different."

To make things even more special, the second leg of the road trip brought him to Southern California, where longtime roommate and dear friend Rod Carew still makes his home.

"Those days, most of the players had a roommate, and I think it’s the best thing that happened to me, because it’s nice when you come back to the room after the ballgame to have somebody that you can talk [to]," Oliva said. "Sometimes, the game is such a long season, and it’s good to have somebody when you come back to the room to talk about [things]."

Carew, who played for both the Twins and Angels, likes to make the trip out to Angel Stadium when the Twins are in Anaheim. He heard before the team left for Seattle that Oliva would tag along, and the pair would get a chance to spend some time together in California.

Or, as Carew jokingly refers to it, babysitting time.

"We spent all of Spring Training together, and I was his caddie," Carew said. "I was his taxi. Every morning, I'd pick him up and take him to the park and take him home.

"LaTroy Hawkins looked at me one time, and he says, 'You and Tony -- that's Torii Hunter and I about 10 years from now,'" Carew said, grinning at Hawkins across the visitors' clubhouse.

Oliva and Carew didn't spend much time together outside the ballpark while the Twins visited Angel Stadium for this three-game series, partly because Carew makes a long drive to get to the park and doesn't generally arrive until around 3:30 p.m. for a night game. (Back in the day, when they were Twins teammates from 1967-76, Carew said that he and Oliva would usually be among the first to arrive at the stadium.)

The pair had already seen each other several weeks ago when the Twins flew Oliva out to Los Angeles to exhibit his Cuban sandwich at MLB Food Fest from April 26-28. There was plenty of babysitting time to be had on that trip, when Carew showed Oliva the sights at Laguna Beach and drove him up the coast.

Oliva said that during his playing days, he wouldn't see much of California's sights because he would spend most of his time at the hotel or the ballpark.

"I do a golf tournament for children's cancer [in August], so I'm begging him to come back out and participate in that," Carew said. "So I took him and showed him around the nice places to try and get him thinking about coming out.

"And he says, 'I didn't know California was so beautiful!'"

Regardless, the old friends will get to spend more time together next month when Carew visits Minneapolis for several days to attend Joe Mauer's number retirement ceremony.

As for Oliva, he's already trying to make plans for his next road trip -- looking way ahead.

"I suspect that [the Twins] can go all the way this year," Oliva said. "If we make it to the playoffs and World Series and they invited me, I would be glad to. Any time they invite me, I’m willing to go."