Category: IP

Twinsfest 2012: Day 3

After the last two day of Twinsfest, I had already decided I had accomplished way more than I ever thought and it was all about the kids and what they wanted to do.  I did have one request though.  I had to get Paul Molitor for a friend of mine who happened to get a Jesus Montero debut ticket signed for me at the Mariners Fanfest.
The three of us got to the Metrodome and got our wristbands.  I asked the kids if they wanted to all win together or hedge our bets on the wristbands.  I told them that if they won either Mauer or Morneau, they could keep them but if I won, I was going to get a card signed I needed for my sets.  They decided to hedge our bets and each of the three of us got a different color for each player.  As we were walking down to get in line, I heard my name and looked up and there was Mike (mudpuddlehuddle from Neshek’s website who I met the day before).  Mike introduced me to nellanad (from Neshek’s website– funny how everyone refers to the person as their login names!) and he was kind enough to let us stand with them so we could get inside and out of the cold sooner.
We got inside the Metrodome and headed to Carew’s line.  Caden wanted Rod Carew, Justin Morneau and Ben Revere on baseballs.  Cami wanted Joe Mauer and as many as she could get on her Twinsfest 2012 baseball.  I tried to talk Cami out of Carew on her ball and to get me a card but she wanted him on her baseball so that is what she got!  I got a really cool 1972 Topps In Action card signed and Caden got his baseball and Cami got her ball signed.  Carew side paneled Caden’s ball which was kind of a downer but oh well.  Caden was ok with it.  We then got Brad Radke on a couple cards and Cami’s baseball.  While signing, I told Caden that Brad likes to fish and lives in Florida with a “You still live in Florida right?” and he said yes and asked if Caden liked to fish.  We told him Caden’s cousin Will lives in Venice, FL and we visited him this last spring training and we had fun.  Brad was really cool.
While in line for Carew and Radke, it turns out that the wristband Cami had on was chosen in the Morneau lottery!  Caden’s face had a frown when he heard that because he was hoping his would win.  Caden and Cami worked out a deal that Cami would get Justin’s autograph for Caden if he would give her Mauer if he got his color called.  They decided that was a good plan so we got in line for Morneau.  Justin asked the kids if they were having fun and signed the ball for her.
We wished him luck this season and headed to Corner #1.
At Corner #1, I paid for just two of us to get autographs as I was starting to see the bottom of my wallet.  I had spent over $550 after 2 1/2 days and still had a few more stations to go!  So at Corner #1 I had Caden get my autographs on cards and Cami got each guy on her baseball.  Brian Raabe asked if they were having fun and signed two cards.  Rick Stelmaszek signed a 1975 Topps card.  When Gene Glynn saw his cards I had he said “Utica!  I have not seen one of these in a while!” and took his time looking for just the right marker to sign them for me.  We got to Al Newman and he signed three cards for us.  I mentioned to him that Cami had seen him back in 2008 and he signed cards for her then.  I think he thought that was cool.
Again, Corner #2 was short so we headed over there.  I had just a card for Rene Tosoni and Cami was going to get the other two on her ball.  When we got to Tosoni, Caden gave him my card and he signed it.  Cami handed him her ball and he signed it for her and then she got Josh Willingham and Nick Blackburn on it.  I told Josh that I read a really nice article online about his charity efforts at his home state of Alabama.  He seemed pleased to hear that and said he would have to look for it and check it out.
We then heard that the wristband color for Joe Mauer was the color Cami had so with Caden getting Justin Morneau on a ball, Cami could get Mauer and both would be really happy.  We headed up for Joe and when we got in there, I told Caden to tell Joe what he got for Christmas.  He told him MLB 2011 The Show (the “Well Played Mauer” commercials) and Joe said “Very nice!”  I then told Joe that Caden really beats me up when we play and he replied that he would probably beat him too!  Caden just smiled.
We then knew we had to get in line for Paul Molitor so we headed there.  Once we were up there, I handed Paul Greg’s card (1987 Topps Brewers Team Card already signed by two) and Paul signed it and said “Oh yeah.  You can see a sliver of my face in there.”  I asked him if he signed many of those and he said not too many and that he does not see that card that often.  I thought that was cool.  It turned out really nice and I was pleased that I was able to help out Greg.  Terry Steinbach then signed a photo for Cami.
Caden really wanted Ben Revere on a ball so we headed over to that line.  It was Jamey Carroll and Ben Revere together.  I was down to hardly any cash and one last new baseball.  Cami had gotten cookies before we got to Ben and Jamey so I decided I would handle the baseballs for the kids so they did not grease and chocolate them up.  I got to Ben and gave him a ball and asked him to put “Gibby Award” on it and he did.  Ben won a Gibby Award for his phenomenal catch in center field.  For Caden, it was mission accomplished on the day!  Jamey signed Cami’s ball and asked her what kind of cookies she was eating.  She offered him one and he said no thank you.  He looked at me and said “She look’s happy.  A happy kid is a happy dad!”  That was pretty funny.
Now I was down to about $8 in my wallet so we walked down to the field and the kids tried a couple of the games and Cami got a balloon figure thing and we headed home.
This years’ Twinsfest was awesome.  I have not had a Twinsfest this good since the early 2000s. I am already looking forward to Twinsfest 2013!

Twinsfest 2012: Day 2

I had a hard time falling asleep after the exceptional night I had at Day 1 but I knew I had to get a decent spot in line so my Day 2 plan would go off ok.  I decided to wear my spring jacket rather than my winter coat because it was much lighter.

I decided to try my luck out at the M&M Boys wristband lottery and got a Mauer and Morneau wristband.  As the person put the Morneau wristband on, I noticed the two bands were red and green.  I commented “Merry Christmas to me, huh?” and the guy said maybe you will be lucky with them.  I got them and then got in line.  I was outside in my spring jacket for about 45 minutes or so but I kept telling myself it would be worth it because the bag would be lighter.  Once the doors opened I headed down to the field to see how things were looking.  I found out my color was not chosen for Mauer so I got in line at Corner #2.  I got the following:
Jeff Manship on Cami’s Twinsfest baseball
Chris Parmelee on my second debut ticket
Liam Hendriks on the same second debut ticket
Jamey Carroll on a sweetspot baseball.
Just like how things started the night before, I went on the other side of the curtain and got in line at Corner #1.  I got Tim Laudner on a rookie card, Juan Berenguer on a card, Dick Stigman on a card and Dave Goltz on a couple team cards (1973 and 1978).  As I was walking up, I noticed Mike (mudpuddlehuddle) from Pat Neshek’s board in line behind me and decided to introduce myself.  I am really not the type of person to do that as I appreciate some of the anonymity of the internet but I have seen Mike around at a couple places and thought I would finally introduce myself to him.  Mike made a comment that he thought my Twins signed baseball card collection was awesome which made me feel good.  It is really neat to hear a peer comment on something whether at work or in a hobby.  I told him I would see him around and talk more later.
I walked around for a little bit to check out what was for sale.  The card of tickets the person was looking for from the night before did not yield any tickets but the list looked really familiar to me.  It turns out the person there was Tony Swann.  I met Tony online a few years ago.  Tony collects tickets for every (yes- *every*) game that Carlton Fisk has ever played in.  We have traded tickets in the past for my Puckett HR collection.  I decided to swing by and introduce myself.  What a great guy!  He seemed as though we were long time friends going back to high school.  He was just featured in Beckett Monthly as a super collector.  Tony gives meaning to “super” both ways; super guy and super collection.  As we were talking he asks me if I have a ticket to when Puckett got his last hit and I told him I was not sure.  He pulls out the tickets and gives it to me. What a guy.  I gotta find him some Fisk tickets!
I move on and find out my wristband for Morneau was the right color.  Wow!  Lucky me!  I get up to the line for Morneau and as I try to get situated, I notice the $5 bill I got in change at Station #2 a few minutes earlier had writing on it.  I look and it says “Merry Christmas for you 12/25/11” on it.  Someone gave that dollar as a Christmas present a few weeks ago and I got it.  I immediately thought about when the person put the wristbands on my wrist and my comment about “Merry Christmas to me”.  I thought that was cool so I took a picture of it on my phone.  I got up to Justin and gave him his 2010 Topps Heritage MVP card.  Why I chose that card is to finish him up for that set.  He looked at it and said “There I am, deep in thought.” and signed it.  I then headed to the Carew line to get another card done.  I was waiting in line for Carew while the previous line was still signing.  That seemed to work out for me as the standard plan to get a jump on the next lines and move on to multiples throughout the day.  I got up to Tony Oliva and got him to sign a wire photo from 1972 and got Rod to sign my 1976 Topps batting leaders card.  I then got back in the same line for the next group.  That provided me with another cool personal moment with a former Twin.  I got up to Mudcat Grant and he signed a wirephoto from the 1965 World Series for me.  I then went to Roy Smalley.  I told him I was sorry to hear about his father passing away a few months ago.  He said thank you in a sincere, appreciative voice.  I told him I sent his dad a baseball card a couple years ago and he signed it and sent it back and I still have it in my collection.  He told me his father loved signing the cards that people sent to him and then said “Thank you for sending it to him.”  Get that.  Someone thanking ME for sending and getting back a card.  Tells you how classy the Smalley family is.  That was really special to me.  Then I gave Scott Erickson a complete ticket to his no hitter game and asked him to sign it with “No Hitter”.  He did and it looks AWESOME.  He handed it back to me and asked “How is that?”  I told him it looked awesome and thanked him and he shook my hand with a solid firm grip.  I then headed down to the field again to check out the items for sale there.
I noticed the line was short in Corner #1 so I got the following tickets signed:
Kyle Waldrop ML debut ticket with ML Debut
Rene Tosoni ML debut ticket (would not sign ML Debut)
Scott Diamond ML debut ticket (did not even ask after Tosoni)
The line for Corner #4 was non-existent so I got in line and got the following:
Alexi Casilla on Cami’s Twinsfest ball
Brian Duensing ML debut ticket with “Major League Debut!”
I then walked over and had a cool chat with Joel Bradley who I met on SportsCollectors.net. Great local guy.  I headed over to say hi to my buddy and former ticket rep Rob Malec.  On my way there, I saw Jerry Bell walking around checking things out.  I have a baseball card of Target Field that I wanted to get him to sign at some point and thought about mailing it to him via the team address.  I asked him if he had a moment to sign a baseball card for me.  He was really nice and said no problem so I pulled out my Target Field card and he signed it.  I thanked him for all his efforts in getting the new ballpark built and how my kids have so much fun going to a game there.  I then headed on my way to see Rob and got to meet a former coworker of his who still works at the Ft Myers Miracle and had a nice chat with both of them.
I headed home after that thinking ‘Man, could Twinsfest get any better?’  Once home, I gave a schedule to each of the kids for Sunday and let them circle who they wanted to get in lines for and we would have to figure it out as each Sunday of Twinsfest is my day with Caden and Cami.

Twinsfest 2012: Day 1

Wow.  Where do I start?  I was really looking forward to this years’ Twinsfest as I have really focused my collection on tickets and cards and no longer have to carry around bats, large photos and the like.  I had most of the players on a baseball I wanted except for the new guys so I was hoping my bag would be lighter than in years past.  Wrong!  Maybe it was lighter but man, that thing felt like a ton after lugging it around all weekend long!

All things considered, this Twinsfest was my best one since around the early 2000’s.  I do not know if less people showed up because they lost 99 games last year or because the new policy for Mauer and Morneau but either way, I am not complaining!  I had an awesome weekend!  For those of you who do not know the new policy for the M&M Boys, you had to go to a different gate at the Metrodome and pick up a wristband.  I heard there were various colors for each.  I am unsure of the numbers on Friday and Saturday but Sunday there were three different colors for each player.  15 minutes before the signing was to begin, they announced which color wristband allowed the person to get in line and get an autograph.  It totally eliminated the people getting in line before midnight the night before.  I was very impressed and pleased with how it worked out.
I left work on Friday around 3pm and got to the Dome in quick fashion.  I wore my winter coat because I thought I would be standing outside for a while.  I decided to skip the wristband deal Friday night and headed to the floor of the Metrodome and got in line at Corner #2.  I got Nick Blackburn on his 2011 Topps card, Scott Baker signed his 2010 and 2011 Topps card, Alexi Casilla signed his 2011 Topps card and Matt Capps signed his 2011 Topps card.  I then went on the other side of the curtain to Corner #1 and got the following:
Joe Benson on his ML debut ticket with “ML Debut”
Ben Revere on his ML debut ticket with “ML Debut”
Kyle Waldrop on his ML debut ticket with “MLB Debut”
I was pretty excited because so far my plan was being executed to perfection!  Since the next shift had the two other players who made their major league debut on the same day with Joe Benson, I decided to stick around Corner #1 for them.  I was about 20th in line waiting for the next shift. That shift started and I got the following:
Jeff Gray on two Bowman rookie cards
Chris Parmelee on his ML debut ticket with “ML Debut” (Joe Benson on it already)
Liam Hendriks on his ML debut ticket with “ML Debut” (Benson & Parmelee on it already completing the ticket)
I was on Cloud Nine!  The ticket turned out AWESOME!
I then zipped up to get in line for Rod Carew.  Since I have been working on the All Time Topps Twins cards, I have needed quite a few Rod Carew cards.  I have most of his cards signed and have now moved on to the League Leaders and other cards like that.
I got in line with the intention of getting through for Bert Blyleven.  A friend of mine who I trade skeds with needed Bert on a HOF postcard and I wanted to get him one.  Well, turned out Bert was personalizing and I did not want to get a personalized one for Jim.  I stuck it out in the line and got Rod Carew to sign his 1983 Topps Super Veteran card.  That finished off 1983 for my Twins team set.  I got Ron Gardenhire to sign his 2011 Topps Heritage card and I was stylin’!
I then got right back in the same line as it was starting to form already for the next shift.  This turned out to be the highlight of the first night of Twinsfest for me.
I had a 1987 Game 6 ticket signed by Dan Schatzader with “Winning Pitcher” already and thought since Hrbek and Gladden were at the same table, it would be cool to get each to sign their respective ticket with “Grand Slam” as they each hit a grand slam in the same Series.  I believe that is the only time that has happened where two grand slams were hit by the same team in the same World Series.  Anyway, I asked Kent if he would sign it with “Grand Slam”.  In a gruff, grumpy voice he asked “Why?”.  I told him that he hit a grand slam in the game and in the same tone he said “So?”  At this point I was ready to just get his autograph and move on but said “Since you and Dan are here together at the same table, I thought it would be neat to have each of you sign it with ‘Grand Slam'”.  He reluctantly signed it with it and meanwhile, Gladden was leaning in checking things out as I gave him the Game 1 ticket in an effort to keep the line moving.  Dan asked me if they were my tickets and I had to be honest and tell him that I was saving up for college in 1987 and did not have the money to get tickets to the World Series and I picked them up a couple years ago.  Kent signed it and handed it back to me.  As I shuffled to Dan, Kent told me and Dan that he has a ticket from Lou Gehrig Day at Yankee Stadium.  (This is where things really get cool).  I asked him if he had a ticket to his major league debut game.  He said “No.  That was at Yankee Stadium.”  I asked him if he wanted one.  He said “No.  No.  No.  Well, I guess that would be cool.”  I told him I had a stub and that a few years ago he signed a full debut ticket for me and if he wanted the stub, he could have it.  He kind of looked up at me like ‘Are you kidding me?’.  I got the last Brad Radke card signed (completing my run of Topps Twins cards for him) and moved to the side while I dug around for the ticket.  I found it and slid it on the table to Kent.  He looked at it and his eyes got huge as he put his “cheater glasses” on to check it out.  He and Dan looked it over and Kent said “Wow!  Thanks a lot!”  I told him that was thanks for putting “Grand Slam” on my ticket and walked away.  It truly made me feel good to give something to a player as a small token of thanks for all they have done for us fans over the years.  Kent gave me a lot of great memories and to give him a ticket for HIS debut made me feel great.  I now have donated something to the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown as well as Kent Hrbek’s personal collection.  I then realized there was still time to get two of the new guys and went to Corner #4 and got Jason Marquis and Josh Willingham each on a sweetspot baseball.
My plan was executed perfectly and I even improvised and got a couple other guys that I did not think I would get until Day 2 or Day 3!
I headed down to the field and walked around for a bit.  While there, I saw a table with a guy looking for old Twins tickets and had a list on a card so I grabbed one thinking I would check it out at home.  I chatted with my ticket rep Craig for a bit.  I enjoy talking to him as he knows my collection and what it means to me.
I headed home tired and sore but really excited and looking forward to Day 2!