Author: Kevin

Danny Thompson, What a Shame

Wow!  What a package I received today!  My friend Kyle S (esiason14 from SCN) sent me a PSA/DNA authenticated 1975 Danny Thompson card signed in blue sharpie.  It looks awesome.  It was one of my final two cards I needed from the 1975 Topps Twins set.  What a phenomenal gesture!  THANK YOU Kyle!

You might wonder why I titled this “Danny Thompson, What a Shame”.  Back in the mid-1980’s the Twins had a give away where they gave away a 45 record that had the “Gopher Rouser” on one side and a couple Twins songs on the other.  Of course there was the “Win Twins” song but the other song was Terry Cashman’s “Talkin’ Baseball” Twins version.  I had never heard the Twins version before and listened to it over and over on my parent’s old record player.  I learned a pair of things from that song… I learned that Jack Kralik had a no hitter and there was something about Danny Thompson that I had to learn about.  The lyrics were something like “Kralik had a no hit game.  Danny Thompson, what a shame.”  This was before google so I had to look it up in a couple Twins almanac type books I had.  I learned that Danny passed away in a truly sad manner, succumbing to leukemia.

This is my very first Danny Thompson autographed card for my collection.  Thanks again Kyle!

Twinsfest 2017 – Day 3

Today started out just as early as yesterday when the alarm went off at 5:50am. Caden and I headed out the door and got to Target Field around 8am. Just before the gates opened, Cayden and Noah showed up so we all went in to the ballpark together. Caden went to Byron Buxton and Brandon Kintzler’s line while Cayden, Noah, and I went to Joe Mauer’s line. What happened next is probably my most favorite hour regarding autographs at Twinsfest ever! Cayden, Noah, and I went through Mauer’s line three times! Then, Caden showed up and said he went through Buxton’s line three times as well! Caden showed up with about five minutes to go and I hand the three boys a baseball and my last two Mauer cards and they got those signed. The third time I went through the line I told Joe I was down to two more cards of his to get signed and he said “That’s awesome. Well, until next year when they come out with more!” and we laughed. Those two got knocked out and I am caught up. I have one card that showed Mauer, Justin Morneau, and Johan Santana that is signed by Morneau but it is out at a potential signing with Johan so I still need that one but at this moment, I have all but that card of Joe Mauer’s Topps base, Topps Heritage, Allen & Ginter, and Gypsy Queen signed!
After that the boys went on their own while I got back in line for Robbie Grossman, Danny Santana, Jeff Smith, and Michael Tonkin.  During this time Caden got me a baseball signed by Jason Castro.  I got right through that line and decided to see how the line was at the Players Wives booth. There was about eight people in line for Tony Oliva and Byron Buxton! By this time they were out of the balls in a bag so I got a 2017 player’s family cookbook. I did not bring ANYTHING for Tony Oliva and did not have a baseball so I had him sign the cookbook and gave it to Cami. Buxton signed a pair of cards for me. I then went up and got in line for Brian Dozier. The last card I needed for Dozier is the 9/12/2016 Topps Now card. When I got to him he looked at it close and said he had never seen that card and signed it. I then circled back around into the line again and waited for the final session of the weekend. I got a pair of Miguel Sano cards signed as well as Gene Glynn. I told Neil Allen he signed all my cards on Saturday and wished him well. I had two more Miguel Sano cards left and was content with those waiting but I noticed he was at the Twins Wives Booth right after the signing session so I got there and was about 15th in line. I bought another cookbook (will send to mom!) and got him to sign one of the cards. I then looped back in line and got a ticket, skipping the cookbook, and got my final Sano autograph of the weekend. I headed to the free rookies line and picked up a few of those guys and was done.
My autographs for today:
Joe Mauer: baseball, 2006 AL Batting Leaders, 2009 Topps AL Batting Leaders, 2010 AL Batting Leaders, 2012 AL Active Batting Leaders, 2014 Topps AL Batting Leaders, 2012 Topps All Star, 2010 Topps MVP, 2009 All Star, 2008 Topps, 2013 All Star, 2010 Topps Team card already signed by Ron Gardenhire. When he saw this one he said “Oh. It is always good shaking hands after a game!”
Brian Dozier: 9/12/16 Topps Now
Miguel Sano: 5/29/16 Topps Now, 8/7/16 Topps Now, 2016 Topps Heritage (with Byron Buxton)
Byron Buxton: 2016 Topps Heritage (with Miguel Sano), 2016 Topps Heritage, 2016 Allen & Ginter, 9/23/16 Topps Now
Max Kepler: 8/1/16 Topps Now
Brandon Kintzler:  baseball
Jason Castro:  baseball
Robbie Grossman: 2 @ 2016 Topps
Danny Santana: 2016 Topps Heritage
Gene Glynn: 1989 Jacksonville, 1992 Bend Rockies
Brandon Kintzler: 2 @ 2014 Topps
Justin Haley: 2 @ 2014 Carolina League All Star
Daniel Palka: 2014 Bowman, 2016 Bowman
Buddy Boshers: 2015 Topps Heritage
Taylor Rogers: 2016 Topps Heritage Minors
Mason Melotakis: 2015 Topps Heritage Minors
Pat Light: 2013 Topps Pro Debut
Stephen Gonsalves: 2016 Topps Pro Debut
Michael Tonkin: Signature card
Aaron Sledgers: Signature card
Trey Vavra: Signature card
Engelb Vielma: Signature card
Jeff Smith: Signature card
Wow! What a weekend! I had a blast! I spent a ton of money this weekend but it is my most favorite weekend of the year. In addition to everything I listed I got over these three days, with help from many people, the kids each got about 30 cards signed for their collections.  They will end up getting a lot of the doubles I got once the dust settles and I can organize everything.  I start planning for Twinsfest a month or more before it happens and enjoy it. It was great to see old friends (Tony S, Russ K, Shane V, Rob M) and make new friends (Zach K, Luke K, Spencer S). I cannot wait for what cards come out in 2017 that I will have to get signed at next year’s Twinsfest!

Twinsfest 2017 – Day 2

Today started out early as the alarm went off at 5:50am. Caden, Cami, and I headed out the door and was able to pick up Cayden and their friend Noah by 7:15. We got to Target Field around 8am. We stayed in the original line we were in this time and it worked out. As is our tradition, my buddy Shane showed up and we pretty much hung out all day. It is one day that we can both plan on meeting up and handing out and catching up on things from the last year. We all headed to the Joe Mauer line and got Joe and Michael Cuddyer on cards. We got back in the line but we were too far back to make it through a second time so we left. Caden and his friends and Cami went off and did their own thing while Shane and I hung out. Cami went to one of the other stations while I went to see how the Twins Players Wives booth was looking for Mauer. Shane and I stood in line and I texted Cami that she better get there soon because Joe just showed up. She was off getting Tony Oliva and his group. She showed up just in time so we had three tickets as well as three balls in a bag. A lady in line after me was waitin with her son and only he was getting a Mauer autograph. I told her I would buy the ball in a bag for her if she got me a card signed. She was excited to give her son the ball and said yes. Shane and I then headed up to start waiting in the Miguel Sano line. While waiting, Cami ran down to Jose Berrios in the Players Wives booth and said noone was in line. I gave her some cards and she ran down and got a ball in a bag as well as a couple cards signed by Jose and came back. She asked if I had any more for Jose and I told her two more and she said there was nobody there so she ran down again for those. We then opened the bags to see who we go. I ended up with Miguel Sano, Tyler Duffey, and Danny Santana. Cami and I each got Eduardo Escobar in the other two. Also while waiting, my buddy Russ showed up and I got to see his kids. Man they are growing up fast! We got Sano on some cards along with Corey Koskie and Neil Allen. I told Neil that he was the highlight of last years’ Twinsfest as far as interactions went and he looked at me like “Me? What in the world are you talking about?” I then told him about the Sports Illustrated discussion and he laughed out loud about that. It was pretty neat. Shane, Cami, and I then headed to Max Kepler’s group. Earlier in the day Cami went to the vendors and bought a photo of Max Kepler’s first home run which was a walkoff. She loves Brian Dozier and Max Kepler so it was neat she got the photo and was able to get it signed. Right after that she got picked up by Amy as they went to a volleyball tournament in Mankato. I found the rest of the guys and we all headed to Old Spaghetti Factory for our annual Saturday night dinner.
Today I ended up with:
Joe Mauer: 2005 Topps, 2009 Topps, 2009 Topps Home Run Derby, 2014 Topps, 2016 Topps, 2016 Topps Heritage, 2016 Gypsy Queen, 9/10/2016 Topps Now. He said he had never seen the Topps Now card. He thought it was cool.
Miguel Sano: 2016 Topps Heritage, 2016 Topps, 2016 Gypsy Queen, baseball
Jose Berrios: 2016 Topps, 2016 Topps Future Star, 2016 Allen & Ginter, 2016 Topps Heritage
Max Kepler: 2016 Topps, 2016 Allen & Ginter
Alex Wimmers: Ticket with “1st Win!”, 2011 Topps Heritage Minor League, 2011 Topps Heritage Minor League All Star, 2011 Bowman
Tyler Duffey: Baseball
Eduardo Escobar: Baseball
Danny Santana: Baseball
Michael Cuddyer: 2010 Topps Heritage, 2006 Topps, 2011 Topps, Signature card
Neil Allen: 1983 Topps Traded
Corey Koskie: Signature card
Aaron Sledgers: Signature card
Thanks to Shane for being my “mule” and keeping me company. The stories we tell each other and the autographs we get are awesome memories.