Colabello gives mother unforgettable birthday gift

MINNEAPOLIS -- It was made-for-television magic for Chris Colabello and his mother, Silvana, on April 23 with the Twins playing the Rays at Tropicana Field.

Colabello was at the plate in the fourth inning with right-hander Jake Odorizzi pitching, when FOX Sports North's Marney Gellner was interviewing Silvana as part of the broadcast with Colabello's parents, Lou and Silvana, in attendance at the game in a rare opportunity to watch their son play in person.

And on a 1-0 pitch, Colabello crushed a two-run homer to center field to tie the game at 2-2 while Silvana was being interviewed. She was in complete disbelief that her son homered while she was being shown on television, telling Gellner, "You knew it!" after the homer as if it was a planned event and both Colabello and Gellner were in on it.

But it simply couldn't have been scripted any better, as Colabello pointed to his mother in the stands after the home run, especially considering it was a special day for Silvana -- her birthday. Colabello didn't realize until after the game what had transpired during the broadcast, but was happy to give his mother the homer as a birthday present.

"It's weird because April 23 has always been a special day for me for a long time, hitting-wise," Colabello said. "It seems like every time I play on her birthday, something crazy happens. All the way back to high school and college."

Indeed, Colabello also had a big day at the plate on his mom's birthday while he played at Assumption College in Worchester, Mass. according to Silvana.

"He did it in college when it was my birthday," she said on the broadcast after the homer. "He hit two home runs that day."

Colabello drove in a total of four runs against the Rays on April 23, including the game-winning two-run single, which gave him 26 RBIs in the month of April to pass Hall of Famer Kirby Puckett's club record for RBIs in the first month of the season.

So it was a extra special day for Colabello, who is one of baseball's best stories early this season, as he's off to a surprising start with the Twins while seeing time in right field, first base and designated hitter.

"It's quite an honor," Colabello said of breaking Puckett's record. "You start getting mixed in with names like that and you realize how special this game is and how special this opportunity to be here is. It's certainly something I'll remember for a long time."

Colabello said he'll also always remember giving his mom that special birthday gift that day with his two-run homer and four-RBI performance. His parents both traveled from his hometown of Milford, Mass., down to Tampa Bay to see him play, as it was spring break for Lou, who works as a high school physical education teacher.

Both of his parents have supported him throughout his baseball career, including his seven years playing for Worchester in the independent Canadian-American League from 2005-2011 until finally joining the Twins organization in '12. So Colabello believes he's living the dream now that he's finally a big league regular, and won't forget his special birthday gift he gave his mother this year.

"That's a pretty cool moment," Colabello said. "I'm obviously blessed to have my parents in my life, and to have them along for the ride with me is pretty neat."