Graphin’ With Kevin

Today was one of the days where the Twins had players signing at the three Pro Shops.  Cami told me she wanted to add to her baseball that was started last weekend by Jesse Crain so she wanted to go see Brendan Harris at the Roseville Pro Shop.  We got there just as he showed up and sat in the car for a bit while the line shortened up.  When we walked up to him he smiled at Cami and she asked if he would sign her baseball with “To Cami”.  He wrote “To Cami, Best Always, Brendan Harris”.  She thought that was really cool.  I had him sign a 16×20 team celebration photo to which he commented “Wow!  Cool!” upon seeing.  Then he signed a couple cards for my Twins team collection.

Once we got back to the car, I asked Cami if she wanted to get another autograph for her ball and she said she did so we headed to Apple Valley to get Mike Redmond’s autograph.  By the time we got there, nobody was in line so we walked right up.  Cami asked if he would sign her baseball “To Cami Kat” so he did.  Then she gave him a couple Marlins cards.  He held one up and asked her if he looked younger now or back on the card.  She did not get it so he said “You are supposed to say now.”  We laughed and I pulled out a 16×20 photo of a team celebration and he signed that and a couple other cards for my Twins team collection.  Probably the coolest part of the whole thing was when I asked him if he got to pick his at bat music.  He said he did and I asked him if it was a reference to his infamous naked batting practice he had while playing for the Marlins.  He smiled, laughed and said it was.  In case you do not know his batting practice song it is the verse part of Jermaine Stewart’s song where he sings “…we don’t have to take our clothes off to have a good time…” from the song of the same name.  That was cool.  It was a fun time for both of us capped off by later going to the Twins game and seeing them win!

Caden was supposed to go with me to the ballgame today and I looked forward to spoiling him as well but he decided at the last moment he did not want to go.  Cami jumped at the chance to go again so the two of us headed out. We got there just before the gates opened so we were successful in each getting a Kirby Puckett bobblehead doll.  After that Cami wanted to go to the Plaza again and do some stuff.  As we were walking along, Caden’s friend from school, Lex, saw me and asked if Caden was along.  I told him he decided to stay home.  He and his dad were waiting in line for the kids’ autograph session which featured Jesse Crain and Nick Blackburn.  We started talking with them and the signing started.  They were kind enough to let us in line with them.  I gave Cami a ball for Crain because I did not have a card to give her.  She gave the ball to Jesse and asked him to sign it “To Camden”.  He asked “As in Camden Yards?”  I replied yes so he signed her ball with “To Camden, Go Twins!  Jesse Crain”  She gave the card to Nick Blackburn to get signed and he signed it.  She was nice enough to give that card to daddy as he needed it for a set he was working on! 🙂 Then Lex and his dad decided to head to the spinning wheel we went to a couple days before and Cami wanted to go in the TC bouncy thing again.  Then it was off to get another ‘tat’.  We got in line and she decided she wanted a Hello Kitty painted on her arm.  Then we went to the KSTP spinning wheel and while Cami did not win anything that time, dad won a mini-Gardy walker.  We then headed in the ballpark and got our hotdogs and preztel and sat down to watch the game.  The Twins ended up losing but it was sure fun to spend most of the day at the ballpark with Cami!

What a fun way to start the weekend!  I left work and headed home to get Cami as she was going to the Twins vs Royals game with me tonight.  She was really looking forward to it as was I.  We got to the ballpark and she had it all lined up what we were going to do on the Plaza before the game.  First, she wanted to jump on the TC inflatable bouncy thing.  Then it was off to get an ice cream cone painted on her cheek (her ‘tat’-short for tattoo- as she called it) and then she wanted to spin the wheel to see if she could win a ‘poster for daddy and his collection’.  She ended up spinning and winning a voucher for free Twins tickets.  She wanted a book instead and the lady was kind enough to let her choose a book instead of the tickets as we have season tickets already.  Then it was off to go inside and watch batting practice.
During my lunchtime at work I picked up a couple of the latest issues of Sports Illustrated with Zach Grienke on the cover ‘just in case’.  Cami and I walked in and looked around for Grienke.  We found him throwing between starts in the visitor’s bullpen.  We sat there and when he was done, he looked at me and I asked him if he would sign.  He did not say a word or anything and proceeded to change from his cleats to his running shoes and started doing sprints along the warning track.  He stayed out shagging fly balls until the Royals were done with batting practice.  As he was running in, I yelled and asked him if he could take a moment to sign my magazine.  He turned from his path of running to the dugout and came right to me.  He did not say a word or make eye contact but he signed my magazine.  I was so excited.  Cami was really excited too and asked me if I would ask him to sign her book (the one she got from spinning the wheel on the Plaza).  I told her to ask him and she went up to him and he signed it for her and she said thank you.  She came back jumping up and down with excitement.  During the entire game, she wanted me to take the book out so she could look at it, then put it away and then get it out and over and over.  Zach will never know how excited he made Cami and I but it was a gesture that neither of us will forget.  In fact, Cami was so excited that shortly after getting the autographs the guy with the wheelbarrow full of dirt came out of the bullpen area and Cami yelled “Hi dirt guy!” to which he, and everyone around us, smiled.  This game was the first one for Joe Mauer after his rehab stint after spring training.  As a result, Cami and I gave him a standing ovation before his first at bat.  It turned out that we were on tv as I got a couple calls from friends and family who saw us! What could be better?  Well, Joe deposited a pitch in that first at bat into the lower left field seats and the Twins won the game!

I read where Kent Hrbek and Jack Morris were going to make appearances at the Mall of America on behalf of the MN State Lottery today.  So, Cami and I got up and ran some errands and headed to the Mall.  We got there and waited in the Rotunda area while there were a lot of lottery games being played.  Cami wanted to go on a ride so we did that.  Once we were done with that, we headed back to the Rotunda.  We waited a little more and when Kent was done doing his thing, he sat at a table and we lined up for autographs.  I was finally able to get a 1991 Studio card signed for Nick.  I had a couple team leader cards that were already signed by Bobby Castillo and the other by Ken Schrom.  When Kent signed them, he said “You already got my buddy Schromy on it!  I have not signed too many of those already signed by Ken.  That is a nice card!”  I was really excited about that.  I told him I was trying to get all the cards signed by the players from the years I watched them.  He said there are a lot of things going on at the Dome this summer and there should be a lot of opportunities.
After we were done with Kent, we had over an hour before Jack was there so Cami wanted some Dippin’ Dots and to go on another ride.  So we went on the Balloon Ride this time.  Even I got in the act on that one.  It was about my speed too!
We then went back to the Rotunda to see if I could get my Sports Illustrated magazine signed.  He ended up signing for about four people and had security take him away.  I missed out on him but I got Kent and he was the main one I wanted today.
Cami fell asleep on the way home.  I guess she had a big day too!