Today I returned from a weekend in Kansas City watching the Twins play some painful baseball against the Royals. The Royals won both games we were at but we did get to see a rally that just came up short in the 9th and Joe Mauer’s 415 career double in which he passed Kirby Puckett for the Twins all time doubles leader. In between all that, we had a blast. Caden’s buddy planned a trip for a total of six friends to go but one of the parents and Amy and I were concerned about letting a group of 16 year olds go on a trip to KC alone so I took the time off work and would be there if they needed some help or anything. I had to convince Cami to miss a concert at Target Field and to go so I had someone to hang out with as the boys all had their own place to stay, etc. Cami decided she would go if she could go indoor skydiving at iFly KC. We were in KC last year and she saw it and wanted to go but we did not have time in our schedule so we made it happen this time. She loved the skydiving experience. Cami and I had a great time hanging out all weekend and chasing autographs. We go to the ballpark Friday around 10am or so and waited where the players enter the stadium. We did real well and a lot of players stopped and signed for us and others. We got early entrance and picked a spot where I saw players sign last year but we got shut out. Cami did get a couple balls tossed to her during batting practice and gave one of them to a young boy who was from Shakopee and made his first baseball roadtrip with his parents. We enjoyed the game and after the game we waited where the players went out to their cars and were able to get Kyle Gibson on a card. We got up early Saturday and arrived at the ballpark around 10:30 or so and got a few more autographs. We headed back to the hotel right after the game because we wanted to give it one more try as the players arrived before heading home. One of the things Cami really wanted to get signed was a photo of Fernando Rodney. She tried five times before he finally signed her photo Sunday morning. She was so excited. In fact, one time she asked him inside the ballpark in Spanish if he would sign and all he did was looked at her and said “HUH?” really loud. At the end of the trip, the persistence and effort she put into it was all worth it as she was so excited. Here is a list of what I came home with (not including what the kids got for themselves). I had help from Caden, Cami and Tieva on a couple items in this list:
Hunter Dozier OMLB
Willians Austudillo ML Debut ticket
Eduardo Escobar ML Debut ticket
Jose Berrios 2018 Topps
Eduardo Escobar 2018 Topps
Jorge Polanco 2018 Topps
Fernando Rodney 2018 Topps
Ehire Adrianza 2018 Topps
Kyle Gibson 2018 Topps
Addison Reed 2018 Topps
Matt Belisle 2017 Topps
Logan Morrison 2018 Topps Now
Jorge Polanco 2018 Topps Now
Jorge Polanco 2018 Topps Heritage
Jorge Polanco 2018 Gypsy Queen
I also got a Jose Berrios 2018 Topps Now card signed but the autograph was so bad I am not including it and will hope to upgrade at some point.
During batting practice on Friday both Alex Gordon and Fernando Rodney tossed her a baseball. Before the game on Saturday she got a ball tossed to her from Mike Herman, that Twins travelling secretary. During the game on Saturday, Cami got a foul ball from Alcides Escobar tossed to her by the ball boy. What is cool about the ball is that it has the Royals 50th season logo on it. She ended up coming home with a total of five baseballs with all but one being from batting practice. It was a great time and a fun trip!