Target Field – Minneapolis, MN

October 4, 2015

Bad news: This was my last game of the season, for sure.  The Twins were eliminated the day before.

Good news: It took 161 games to eliminate the Twins from playoff contention.  Gone are the days of 90+ losses in a season; we are finally back in winning record territory.  The added bonus of not making the playoffs?  The Twins pretty much had a fire-sale (more like a “free”-sale) with their equipment… but that will be covered at the end.

At the Gates:

Anyone ever heard of a podcast called “At The Gates”?  You getting sick of me mentioning it yet?  Oh well, this is the last time you’ll have to hear about it in a game post this year.

Paul (unofficially the co-host) joined me at the gates at just past 10:30 for the 2:10 game.

Here was my late breakfast I ate while I waited for him:

Yep, two vegan donuts from Glam Doll Donuts in Minneapolis – go there, they are delicious and even sell regular delicious donuts – along with a glass bottle of Mexican Coke. Sugar on top of sugar.  That’s how I roll!

Paul and I discussed the meaning of life, solved many issues that man has struggled with since the dawn of time, and even proved which God is the correct one.  Seriously folks, this episode was a good one, you’ll be very enlightened.  (OK, the best part was probably our World Series picks which will get us ridiculed once the series is set in a few weeks.)

Then the gates opened…

To a field with no one on it… but it was set up for BP.  The Twins, who were eliminated and who were going to be fielding a strange/young lineup, did not take BP, so the field was empty for about 30 minutes.  Then the Royals started to come out and take one final regular season BP before their playoff push.

Ball #1:

Thank you, Don Wakamatsu.  This was his warm-up ball before he threw BP.

Ball #2:

Thank you, Alex Gordon.  A ball just sitting by the cage that he picked up and hesitated to throw to the BP-pitcher was snagged by myself when I yelled for him.  Simple.

Ball #3:

Game time.  This was a toss-up from Dom.  I hope he comes back next year!

Ball #4:

See ball #3.

Ball #5:

The 1-0 pitch to Salvador Perez from Brian Duensing in the 5th inning.  Again, see ball #3.

Ball #6:

As soon as the game was over I got in my prime spot for the season finale giveaways.  This was a game ball from Dom.  The rest happened all too fast and resulted in yet another record-setting day for me.

Non-Baseballs:

Bat #1: Let me back up.  In the 8th inning, before he took the field one last time, Eduardo Escobar grabbed his two bats, and decided to bring one close to me.  I shouted, “Eduardo!” and he held out his bat and gave it straight to me.  Excellent!  I love the last game of the year… and it wasn’t even over yet.

Rosin Bag #1: Thanks, Dom?  Who else has a rosin bag?  It gets messy, but goes nicely with the mota stick I have from Spring Training a few years back.

Hat #1: Trevor Plouffe, after he came in from giving the shirt off his back to a lucky kid.  What a year for Trevor; leading the team in RBIs, solidifying himself in the field, and having his first child.  Good job, dude.

Batting Gloves set #1: Kennys Vargas.  It helps when someone recognizes you.  Sharing that “I caught your first home run” experience really is something else. (He gave them to Miguel Sano, who was closer to me, and told Miguel to give them to me.)  But it didn’t end there…

Bat #2: Kennys Vargas!  This bat is PRETTY.  I have had my eye on his new model, since it is now his signature (not block style) and is in gold on white wood.

But wait, there’s more!

Bat #3: Danny Santana?!  Yep, the shy, quiet dude tied my record for most bats in a game.  All three being Latino players and all three I used broken English to get their attention at some point.  I guess it helped, huh?

Wrist Band #1: Dominique’s “KC” wrist band that he threw into the crowd.  I almost got his hat (weird), too.  I do not know what the KC stands for; maybe I’m being dumb, but any help?

I would have taken a photo of each one separately, but it happened quickly and then by the end, it was too much to try to hold onto.  So the photo of the haul will have to suffice.

The Haul:

Wow.  I averaged more than 6 balls a game int he regular season, a new personal best.  Plus I put up quite an impressive non-baseball haul in this last game.  Can you tell why it is easy to say “I love the Twins”?

The yearly recap post will come shortly.  I want to have it out before the end of October, so if you want to see anything that wasn’t covered in last year’s post, speak now or forever be disappointed!  As a little teaser, here is all the “stuff” I will breakdown in further detail in said “year-end post”…

Isn’t it lovely?

Recap:

Thank You:

• Dominique – quite simply, THE MAN.  Congrats, too.  You’ll be quite the man in February – don’t sweat, you got it.
• Trevor Plouffe – another simple message: THANK YOU.  Congrats on your most important piece of 2015, fatherhood.
• Kennys Vargas – thanks for never forgetting me.  You are the nicest giant.
• Eduardo Escobar – the life of the party.  Your dance moves and happy spirit ignited this club.
• Danny Santana – shy and quiet, but so much potential.  Come back strong in 2016!
• Alex Gordon
• Don Wakamatsu
• All the usher friends I made along the way, but certainly not limited to Ken, Larry, Heather, and roaming specialist, Forrest.  You are all top class.
• More year-end thank-yous in the next post…