Twins pitcher Guerrier has family in Valley

By John Kovach

YOUNGSTOWN — There is a Youngstown connection to the Minnesota Twins.

Relief pitcher Matt Guerrier’s parents, Chuck and Janet (Olson) Guerrier of Birmingham, Ala., both were born in Youngstown and graduated from high school in 1965 — Chuck from South and Janet from Boardman.

Chuck, now an attorney, went on to get his bachelor’s and law degrees at Case Western Reserve University. He and Janet married when he was a junior at Case Western Reserve in 1968, and they eventually made their home in Shaker Heights where they raised a family before relocating to Birmingham a few years ago.

Matt, a 6-foot-3 right-handed pitcher who played at Kent State, is in his sixth season with the Twins and has an 11-16 career record, including 2-0 this season.

He has appeared in 27 games this year over 17 innings and has a 3.33 ERA with 20 strikeouts and six walks.

Last year, Matt appeared in 76 games and pitched 761‚Ñ3 innings and compiled a 6-9 record with a 5.19 ERA, 59 strikeouts and 37 walks.

“He is doing very well with the Twins. He likes the Twins and wants to stay there,” said Janet, noting that Matt’s role with the team has changed. “He had been a long reliever and now basically comes in the seventh and eighth [innings] to set up for the closer.”

Janet said that she and Chuck still have family members in the Youngstown area and are planning the annual Olson Family Reunion here on July 31 and Aug. 1-2. They also are planning to attend the Twins-Indians’ three-game series in Cleveland Aug. 4-5-6.

Chuck has two brothers — Ray Guerrier of Boardman and David Guerrier of Michigan — and an aunt, Betty Wilson, who also lives in the area.

Janet has a sister, Patricia Davis, Youngstown of Youngstown; and two brothers, Richard Olson in Hermitage and Tom Olson in Gary, Ind. — all Boardman High graduates.

She also has two uncles: Atty. Leonard Olson of Canfield and Leroy Olson of Fort Pierce, Fla., formerly of Boardman.

They both also have numerous cousins in the area.

“We always have a whole weekend of [reunion] activities. We have been doing this about 25 years. We usually meet at a relative’s [house] and go to a big picnic area on Sunday,” said Janet.

But she said Matt has been unable to attend the reunions since he was a little boy.

“Matt used to come to the reunion when he was small but when he got into high school and college he was always gone [playing] baseball and unable to attend. And he can’t leave now playing in the major leagues,” said Janet, who expects many of the family members to also see the Twins-Indians series. “We have been to a lot Twins-Indians games since Matt has played.”

Janet and Chuck also have another son, Brian, who lives in Norwalk and attends every Twins-Indians game in Cleveland to visit with Matt and hopefully see him pitch.

“[Matt] and his brother are very close and Brian goes to see every game in Cleveland,” said Janet, noting that Matt and his wife, Dejie, have a daughter, Ava, 1, while Brian and his wife, Julie, have two daughters — Kamryn (7) and Kelsi (3).

“There is a good possibility everyone will be at the Cleveland game,” said Janet.

kovach@vindy.com