The Minnesota Twins and Autographs

I have to admit, being "afar" from the Twins wasn't the best thing this past weekend. I enjoyed reading all the posts re-capping Twinsfest, and also the Star Tribune coverage of some of the new players that made the trek for our fan fest. But I was a little jealous. Yes, other organizations have similar fan fests, but the Twins do it the right way. Going back a couple decades to when I was a kid, even the great Kirby Puckett would always make an appearance to sign autographs. No Twin was immune from the requirements that: 1) they travel from wherever great location they live to the cold, Minnesota tundra during one of the coldest times of year; and 2) that they converse with fans and play the role of "hero" for a weekend. It's a great tradition. And the money goes to charity. It's hard to complain.



I remember attending Twinsfest after the 1987 World Series. I would have been 6, I guess. I still have a Twins hat that Tony Olivia signed from that year. That next summer, Dan Gladden signed my baseball glove and a 1987 Topps card at an youth baseball clinic at the Maplewood YMCA. My dad also surprised me by mailing a 1987 Homer Hanky to Frank Viola (who was my baseball hero back then), who promptly signed it and sent back for me. It's still in a frame in my parents' house. Long story short, the Twins make it pretty easy for fans -- especially kids -- to get autographs and mingle with players.



Minnesota's sports hero signs for fans on the road



As an adult, I wouldn't say that I'm an autograph hound by any means. I don't really have a great place in my house to display sports memorabilia (no room for a man cave yet), so there's not much of a point in collecting stuff that will just have to go in storage. When possible, though, I have tried to take advantage of a couple opportunities for autographs. Back in 2009, my wife was able to get Joe Mauer to sign the back of my #7 baby blue throwback jersey when we were in Baltimore. I have a case for the jersey, so it just has to be ironed and put in there. I also have a goal of getting signed MLB baseballs from the "retired number" crew. So far, I have Puckett, Killebrew and Hrbek. So there's a little work to be done there.



Eventually, I imagine putting some of this stuff in a boy's room, or even a girl's room; she's probably predestined to be just as much a Twins fan as a boy would be, anyway. My goal for this April, when we will go to the final 2 games of the first series of the year at Camden Yards, is to get Justin Morneau to sign a Metrodome banner that I purchased from the Twins Pro Shop a couple years ago. I'm sure you can picture these -- they hung either outside the Dome on flag poles, or inside the concourses at the Dome. It's about 6 feet tall, has a full-body likeness of him swinging a bat on one side, and the Twins and Star Tribune logos on the other. I've been toting this thing every year to Camden Yards, but he has yet to play when I'm there. Maybe this year will be different.

I would never personally sell any autograph. I even have a Jose Mijares autographed regulation MLB baseball. Sadly, the ball might be worth more without Mijares' autograph. But it -- like my other autographed items -- is tied to a good memory, namely, a hot summer afternoon in Baltimore, when at least a dozen or so Twins players were nice enough to step out of the clubhouse into the 110 degree Inner Harbor heat and mingle with Twins fans for a few minutes, even though the weather was so awful that batting practice had been cancelled. Every little piece of memorabilia I own has a nice story behind it. The Twins may not win 95 games this year, but they are very, very good in the community.

Do the Twins Place Too Much Emphasis on Player Personality?

One of the great things about the Twins' organization is that, if you are a fan and live within driving distance of the Twin Cities, you have many options throughout the year to meet the players. When I was in high school in 1997, Kirby Puckett and Al Newman came as part of the Twins' Caravan. I also remember seeing Chuck Knoblauch at the Twins' Pro Shop in Roseville during what would be his Rookie of the Year season in 1991. Back then, he was a nice, humble guy. In fact, I remember that the people in front of us had a newborn baby, and Knoblauch asked to hold the baby. How times changed for Knobbie. More recently, my wife and I attended the 2011 Justin Morneau Casino Night, which was a fundraiser for juvenile arthritis. Unlike the Pro Shop appearances, this event was not free, but, when all was said and done, it wasn't a whole lot more expensive than good tickets to a game at Target Field, parking, a few beers and some food. And, considering the Twins' 2011 on-the-field product, I probably fared better seeing that crew off-the-field. It seems like almost every player has their own charity stuff going on. There are plenty of opportunities for Twins' fans -- and they are mostly affordable opportunities -- to at least shake Denard Span's hand, or get a Joe Benson autograph on a Saturday morning in Roseville. It's a hallmark of the Twins' organization. And I can tell you firsthand from living in the New York and Boston media markets, that similar opportunities at similar price points are rare for Yankees and Red Sox fans. Good luck meeting David Ortiz, A-Rod or Derek Jeter, unless you are willing to fork over a lot of money.

When I attended last week's New Britain Rock Cats Hot Stove Luncheon, a comment made by Rock Cats' President & CEO Bill Dowling sort of surprised me. Dowling mentioned that when Terry Ryan or Bill Smith telephoned Dowling about players the Twins were thinking of calling up, one of the first questions was always, "what is the player like in the community?" In other words, as Dowling later elaborated, the front office was concerned with whether the player was active with the fans, was easy to deal with, and if he caused any trouble off the field. These are certainly valid inquiries, and it's something that many fans probably like to hear. But it got me thinking.

As long as I have been following the Twins, they have come across as a family-friendly organization. Almost as a rule, the players are always polite, and it's unusual to hear of a Twins player being arrested, or even suspected of illegal conduct. Clearly, along with the requisite baseball skills, the Twins' front office does have a concern that prospects will continue to represent the Twins in a positive light, and will not bring negative publicity to the team. Those are both laudable goals, and I can also understand that negative press would be bad for the bottom line.

But I wonder, over the years, which players the Twins have passed on (mostly via trade, I suppose), citing probable personality issues. Is it possible that, for example, in 2008, the organization could have made a trade for a jerk of a player that would have made the team just one game better, thus avoiding a Game 163 loss? Is it possible that the Twins have passed on a good draft pick because of personality issues? It's tough to imagine that, if it came down to it, the organization would be worried more about clubhouse culture and family friendliness than it would with the bottom line of putting a winning team on the field, but it's at least interesting.

The team is very quick to deal away perceived bad apples, such as Kyle Lohse and Kevin Slowey. Are they equally as quick to avoid dealing for players that are rough around the edges? For my money, anyway, I'd rather have a couple jerks on the team that can hit .300 and play good defense, than I would a team very nice young men who play "Twins style baseball," but can't turn on a major league fastball. Clubhouse culture is certainly important, and there's no denying that. But the Twins take a big risk by perhaps over-relying on a player's personality when it comes to drafting, calling up, and trading players. What do you think? Do the Twins over-emphasize being "nice guys," or can they in fact have it both ways?