Mick Abel is a player the Twins picked up at the trade deadline a couple years ago. He was supposed to be an important part of the 2026 Twins starting rotation but injury got him and he was out for the year. I have wanted to add a baseball from him since we picked him up but didn’t have a chance to at Twinsfest so I figured I would next Twinsfest. Josh Eastman posted he got “stuck” with a Mick Abel baseball from a Fanatic Under Wraps lottery and was selling it. I worked with him on a decent price and it arrived today. It has an MLB and a Fanatic hologram on it. Now I can focus on a card at Twinsfest!
Author: Kevin
Puck
Today I received a card I never thought I would pick up. A signed 1996 Topps #50 Kirby Puckett card. This, along with the All Star card, is from the last year of Kirby regular cards printed from his career. I saw this card go for $1,500 at a large collector show last summer. That one was signed in blue but I don’t care this was signed in black Sharpie for what I got it for. I bought it from Greg Kozniewski, who I bought a number of other items in the past (he remembered my name!). Greg warned me there was a paper clip indentation that was pretty severe on it but, again, for the price and rarity, I was ok with that. When it arrived today, it was not nearly as bad as what Greg warned me of and it will display amazingly. I am really excited to add this one to the collection! Now to track down the All Star card from that year…
Royce!
Today was the final Twins season ticket holder autograph event and it certainly did not disappoint! It featured Yoendrys Gomez and Royce Lewis. Both were AMAZINGLY engaged with the fans. It was awesome. I told Yoendrys I hope he gets the save tonight and his response was “That means we win!”. I told Royce and Cami and I went to the Field of Dreams game and he asked what I thought of it. I told him “It was magical!” and he agreed saying it was pretty cool. I asked if he got to speak with Kevin Costner and that I did not see him there (he was interviewed prior hoping he could meet Kevin) and he said he didn’t as Kevin wasn’t there. I gave him a couple tickets and asked to inscribe each. I told him I missed the playoff game because I had covid so my brother and his wife went. He asked if I was at the other and I told him I was and he said “That’s great! No covid!” Royce commented on the silver paint pen I had for him to use that it was a great pen! He said he liked Cami’s nails too. Royce is so engaging with fans. It is a memorable experience every time I meet him. After the signing I took Cami to the airport for her flight back to Arizona. Her final school term starts Thursday!
The items I got signed today are:
Yoendrys Gomez- 2 OMLB (one for my brother)
Royce Lewis- 06.26.2026 ticket w/”1st MLB Walkoff Hit”, 10.03.2023 ticket w/”2 HR 3 RBIs” from his 2023 AL Wild Card Game 1, 09.15.23 Topps Now, 2023 Bob Ross card.
Is This Heaven?
Wow! WHAT AN AMAZING TIME!!! I was VERY fortunate to have the opportunity to attend the Twins Field of Dreams game today. Cami flew in last night and we headed down to Dyersville, IA early this morning. We met up with our friends Rob and Kate at the hotel we both were staying at and headed to the Field of Dreams. We drove down in pretty constant rain and there were concerns about rain all day and evening. Mother Nature must be a baseball fan because the weather was perfect! Cami and I played catch on the field, walked through the corn and just took photo after photo and video after video to remember the moments. The one autograph we got was from Tim Parks. You might ask “Who is Tim Parks?” Tim is the person who created the MLB Passport program and he was there stamping the pages for the game. Cami was able to get her page stamped and a photo. He signed the “Witness” area. I could go on and on about how magical the whole event was but I might crash the internet with the story being so long! Let’s just say the Twins losing did not diminish the experience at all. The final outcome was an after thought asterisk to all the amazing memories created with Cami and I.