TwinsFest - which I first experienced when the Twins were riding high on World Series victories, was a fun event to walk through and soak up the baseball atmosphere. It comes at the perfect time of year - Baseball has been done for a few months, and wont be back for a few months, Spring Training and Hot Stove coming up and in full effect. Wonderful. Lets start thinking baseball.

A fun autograph opportunity for me has been to bring Seth Stohs's Twins Prospect Book. It is a lot of fun to bring that around to the 'On the Farm' booth and have future prospects sign their entry.


I had the chance to meet 8 prospects before I was too tuckered out to wait through another line. Both Aaron Hicks and Kyle Gibson were among them!

The Cedar Rapids Kernals were there, selling their goods as this will be the first year that the Class A affiliate will be playing there rather than in Wisconsin (Beloit Snappers). While I'll miss the cool turtle logo, I never did make it out there for a game. Maybe I'll make the trek to Iowa someday.

There are also other stations around TwinsFest, where (for a fee) you can meet and obtain autographs from big leaguers, like Willinghammer & Duensing:



Anyone feel the need for Kemps Ice Cream or a quick Head & Shoulders Shampoo?


Rollie Fingersand his mustache were signing autographs:



One of the booths there was this guy who was collecting ticket stubs from games his favorite player appeared in. He said that Minnesota games in the 70's and early 80's are some of the hardest to find in the country:


I won sunglasses from the ESPN1500 booth, but opted to take a magnet schedule instead. The 96.3 booth didn't have any notable freebies. I was a bit bummed that for the second year in a row all the 'grab bags' were sold out already - for those not familiar they are often stuffed with SGAs (stadium give aways) that were left over from the previous year such as bat day bats, bobbleheads and other fun goodies, usually for around $15. I spotted Jim Pohlad running around the floor. Last year I saw Bill Smith doing the same.

Tom Kelly, signing autographs for some guys booth to be sold:


Tom Pelissero and Jim Souhan interviewing Tom Kelly and Bert Blyleven:


Tom Pelissero said nobody would shed a tear for this place (The Metrodome - or 'Mall of America Field' as it is officially known today) once it was knocked down and when the Twins moved to Target Field - and yeah - it is a bit of a dump, certainly outdated at least. And Target Field is amazing. My jaw dropped when I first walked into the ballpark and saw how the concourse opens up to the field. I will always have great memories of the dome, and it was nice to hear Tom Kelly say much the same thing to to Mr. Presso.

I also got the chance to meet (and get a signature!) from another one of my childhood heroes - Frank Viola, the MVP of the 1987 World Series:


It was a fun time, I'm not sure if this will be my last time in the Dome thinking baseball or if there will be one last TwinsFest hurrah next year before they rip it down for the new Vikings Stadium, but just being back in the building where I had so many good memories, was a lot of fun.

Numbers retired by the Twins as of Jan 2013:

A week ago today, on July 14th 2012, the Twins honored Camilo Pascual by inducting him into the Twins Hall of Fame. (for a full list, check out: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minneso...s_Hall_of_Fame )

Known for his curve ball, Camilo Pascual played for the Washing Senators in 1954 until they moved to Minnesota and became the Minnesota Twins, which he stayed (Playing in the '65 World Series) until 1969 moving on to the Reds.

Former Twins Player (and later Dayton's employee) Julio Becquer was there - along with Tom Kelly, Rod Carew, and Tony Oliva.

I'm a big fan of Twins HOF day each years since 2000 - and like to get there early to collect one of the 5,000 pins that you can obtain after entering the park each year. To my surprise, during a Twins game only 2 days prior I heard about how Camilo would be signing autographs before the game at the pro shop. I thought that would be a pretty fun thing to go to, as he isn't here in MN often, and who knows if he'll ever be back again.

After waiting at gate 34 for a while, a Twins gate guard announced that if we were there for Camilo we better get over to gate 29, which had a line already. As we were making our way to the back of the line, up walks Mr. Pascual himself, a Twins handler approached him and told him "all these people are here for you" to which he smiled and walked on to the front of the line (curiously actually outside Target Field - so you didn't need a ticket to meet him, which many people seemed aware of, and which caused concern for pin collectors such as myself as we couldn't enter the ballpark and leave as there is no re-admittance).

The gentlemen in line behind us was talking with Camilo on the way up, telling him about how he remembered watching him pitch against Whitey Ford as a kid, and Camilo told him about striking out Mickey Mantle numerous times.



As the line progressed Clyde Doepner (the curator for the Minnesota Twins) was patrolling the line, checking out what people had and giving tips to let the ink dry.



Eventually we made it up to Camilo, he was fun to briefly talk to with his thick accent and seemed generally happy to be there. Clyde was right - he does have a real "Harmon-eque" signature - beautiful and legible.




The induction ceremony was fun, even if after all these years its hard to understand much of what Tony Oliva says. Later during the 7th inning stretch Camilo sang take me out to the ballgame with his wife and a bunch of kids, which was fun to see, he seemed to be having a good time.

Fun day, and a great thing for Camilo Pascual to finally be in the Twins HOF.

According to Dave St. Peter "top player candidates for '13 inductions" are Grant, Knoblauch and Guardado.

This past All Star Game was pretty special to me, and sure wasn't because of the American League's performance.

I've been a season ticket holder in years past and now for the past 3 years since the gates opened at Target Field. I have a list of complaints. As a season ticket holder in addition to getting tickets there are supposed to be perks, and service and communication should be a given - but that is a separate post perhaps for another day.

This post is about me being wowed by a STH perk, my first "Sweet Spot" benefit. I was invited to come on down to Target Field and hang out in the Champions Club and watch the 2012 All Star Game. A place graced by the presence of the likes of the late Dark Star, or when people like Rudy Giuliani come to town to watch the Yankees. A place that I wasn't even allowed to check out during the STH "open house" that was held a few weeks before opening day. The elusive Champions Club.

We got to park where the players park:


The special entrance:


And right as you walk in Black Jack is there to greet you:


We were given programs, entered into a raffle, and allowed to stroll the interior, which much like the rest of the ballpark is full of cool photos, history and memorabilia of the team, including miniatures of the various players honored outside the gates of Target Field, both World Series Trophies, and much more.

We were fed a great meal, and enjoyed a fun lecture from Mr. Clyde Doepner the curator for the Twins (for more on Clyde http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=URvKMb79gCc )


I got to ask him the last question - "What item have you acquired over the years has meant the most to you personally?" to which he responded Killebrew's Hall of Fame speech.

As comfy as the interior was, the exterior was equally amazing.


We were treated to a pre-recorded thank you from Joe Mauer, and could watch the game from outside on the big scoreboard or inside on one of the many TV's.

I've got a lot of pictures, but hopefully this gave you a general feel.

Other than the game being crummy, it was a fantastic time and a great experience. Other than the true behind the scenes stuff for employees only, I think I've been all the various clubs and cool areas now, and may never see this one again. I feel very lucky to have taken part.

Until next time sports fans...