k-bro Twins Fest Report - 2012

Nothing breaks up a drab, blah, boring, post-holiday winter's weekend quite like talking baseball. And the best place to talk baseball, and see baseballs, and hear baseball stories, and to think about baseball, and otherwise get your baseball fix in January is TWINS FEST!

I was especially motivated to go this year, because Brad Radke was appearing for the first time since he retired. I don't normally like to spend my time in autograph lines, but this was for Brad Radke, so I had to.

He shared an autograph station with Jacque Jones and Shannon Stewart, so it was kind of like a 2004 reunion tour. The line was longer than I expected, but fortunately I made it in just in the nick of time (they closed the line 5 or so people behind me).

Success!

I didn't want Jacque and Shannon to feel bad, so I got theirs too.

For the record both Jacque Jones and Brad Radke are better looking in person than any picture I've ever seen; they both have fabulous smiles.

Brad has short hair now. But he's still good looking. But not so much in this picture.

After I finally got my autographs, I went inside. It's the first time I'd been in the Dome since they put on the new roof. It was a lot brighter in their than it used to be. I can't imagine trying to catch a fly ball with that sun-bright roof.

It was crowded, but not as much as it was a couple of years ago.

I sat at the ESPN1500 radio area, which is one of my favorite things to do -- you can relax, and listen to the radio guys interview the players. It's a great way to see the guys as they're being interviewed.

Justin Morneau also commented on the bright white roof.

When we started wondering around, we checked out Bert Blyleven's new Hall of Fame plaque, ...

Hmm. I don't think it really looks like him.

visited the Twins Pro Shop, ...

You can get your very own Mike Lamb banner.

and found TC Bear, among other things.

Best mascot in the Majors.

By the time I did all that, the Twins Grab bag booth was closed down because they had run out of grab bags for the day. I was really disappointed because for $15, you can get a treasure of stuff -- old stadium giveaways, media guides, and other prizes. Bummer. Next time, I'll get those first.

All in all, though, I had a great time. And now I'm really in the mood for baseball to start.

The k-bro Twins Fest Report: 2010 Edition

I wasn't really planning on going to Twins Fest this year. I usually go every few years, and I went just last year. But it just so happened that I had nothing else going on, and I knew some of my Twitter friends would be there, so I figured "why not?" So Mom and I headed to the Dome and ultimately had a great time.

It was crowded. That shouldn't have surprised me, but I think it was more crowded than previous years. At least it felt like it.

First up was the Cuddyer photo line. We had a great time chatting with the gals in line near us. After a while of waiting, we got worried because the staff guy cut off the line right before us. But we stayed in line, and we were lucky enough to make it in just before Cuddy had to leave. Whew! And, boy, are we glad we made it! He couldn't have been a nicer, more polite guy -- super sweet. And, I have to tell you, he's better looking in person than any picture can do justice. But here's one anyway.

Next, it was time to buy grab bags. I love the grab bags because you can always get stadium-give-away items that they only give to kids. The kids' give-aways are always the best. The grab bags are great also because sometimes you can get an autographed item. I've never gotten a signed item before; I've got one now! Score! It was certainly worth the $15. 

Yeah, I don't recommend ever putting your stuff on the Field Turf -- all this was covered in little black pellets after I took this picture. And that stuff is static-y too, so it ain't coming off.

1. Joe Mauer and Mike Redmond "autographed" chest-protector-shaped backpack
2. Mother's Day give-away t-shirt 
3. Dan Gladden bobblehead
4. 2009 Team "autographed" bat
5. 2009 Stats and Information Guide
6. and the coup -- 2010 Target Field calendar with Pat Neshek's autograph. 

Oh, and when I was standing around near the Hall of Fame exhibit, Denard Span scurried by. When I told Mom, I nearly got flattened by a friend of my son's who was chasing him. I'm glad he did, because he led us to where Denard stopped and chatted with fans for a bit.

Then, we moved to the KSTP 1500 area to listen to Joe Mauer's interview. We weren't the only ones there. And no, he didn't say anything about a contract; nor did they ask him about it. Just the typical "feeling good...working out...ready for the season...like that JJ Hardy and Jim Thome are here...blah, blah, blah."

Joe's the one in the tan sweater.

After that, we headed down to the StarTribune booth because I wanted to meet Howard Sinker (A Fan's View). It was great to shake his hand; I was glad to meet him and thank him for linking to my food donation post back in September. I also got to meet Seth Stohs (SethSpeaks), John Bonnes (Twins Geek), and Topper Anton (Curve For a Strike) at the same time. It was a great few minutes -- I was pleased that I got to meet these guys because I admire their blogs so much. I wished I could just take our group and go have a beer or DQ or something and talk baseball. I think next year the Twins should set up a booth of all the cool bloggers. I'd visit.

We had a lunch break and ran into Betsy (For The Love of The Game) and Katie (KC's Baseball Blog) -- it was fun to see them again.

Then we headed to the photo line again to see who was there. Brendan Harris. Ok. Turns out that he was super nice and friendly too. And he's better looking in person than I thought he was. So I was happy with this photo too.

And after visiting a few more booths, that was about all we could handle. I don't know how people play sports on that stupid, pellety Field Turf. My legs were killing me. But I had a great time.

The k-bro Twins Fest Report

On Sunday, mini-bro, j-bro, j-bro's buddy z, and I braved zero-degree temperatures and journeyed to the Metrodome for the largest mid-winter baseball festival in the major leagues.

Luckily, we were able to park about as close to the Dome as possible, so we kept our jackets in the car and ran to the door. That was really helpful; it's a drag to have to carry your jacket all over.

As we first walked in

When we first walked in, Gardy was at the radio stage talking about Cuddy, and he said something like, "I'm just trying to get him to Twins Fest." My first thought was, "uh oh" because I had read somewhere that he didn't make it Friday due to illness. Getting my picture taken with him was my number one priority.

After Gardy was done, Nicky Punto put on the headset for his turn at the radio interview. We stayed for a few minutes, but we soon wanted to get going to the main floor. I did snap a quick photo as we were walking down the steps.

Our favorite shortstop looking adorable

Speaking of photos, it turns out that I would make a lousy photojournalist. I get caught up in everything going on, I forget to take pictures. So I have to use a lot of words to make up for it.

We did a fair amount of shopping at the collectors' booths; mini-bro collects baseball cards, and he wanted to add to his collection. I treated myself to a Twins grab-bag and scored a nice poster of Cuddy, Justin, and Joey from that stadium construction commercial, a red Twins hat, some Twins school supplies, and a Torii Hunter Gold Glove bobblehead (turns out the Twins Sisters got the exact same grab bag -- what're the odds?).

Soon, it was lunch time, so we grabbed some food and headed back to the radio stage to listen to more interviews.

The first Dome Dog of 2009

John Gordon and the other radio guys were interviewing Jason Kubel. He's not a terribly interesting interview.

Jason Kubel talking about his new contract

But when Jason was done, Nick Blackburn and Kevin Slowey stepped in to be interviewed. Now we're talking. Unfortunately, we couldn't stay too long because we had to go get in the photo line.

Is it me, or does Nick Blackburn get better looking all the time?


It looks like I caught Kevin Slowey with a dumb look on his face. He was much friendlier than this makes him look.

When we were waiting in the photo line, we heard several rumors about Cuddy not being able to make it at all because his whole family is ill. Although I still haven't been able to confirm it, I did believe it and forgot all hopes of seeing him. Oh well, all was not lost. We did get to meet Scott Baker.

Poor Scott. We were towards the end of the line, so by the time we got there, he'd been there almost a half-hour, standing and smiling. He looked so exhausted; it must be hard shuffling from radio interviews to autograph signings to photo stations for three days. But, even though he seemed tired when we first reached him, he bucked up and chatted nicely and smiled for the camera. I appreciated that.


Scott Baker is a good sport.

After that, we went on the pressbox/clubhouse/dugout tour. I've done that before, and it was no different this time.

View from the pressbox.

After that was done, it was time to go. We sprinted in the frigid cold back to the car and headed home. It felt odd leaving the Metrodome and not being stuck in parking lot traffic for hours.

Now I'm ready to bring on spring training and opening day.