Diamond Fest
This is becoming some sort of tape-delay blog. I write about things way after they happen....Maybe that's the key in separating my blog from all those other "on-time" ones. Anyway, I thought I would take this opportunity to relay my thoughts on the Diamond Awards and TwinsFest from last week. The Diamond Awards were first of the two major events, so I'm starting there. They were held at The Depot in downtown Minneapolis, and benefitted the University of Minnesota medical center and its research on Ataxia, MD, Parkinson's, and ALS. Bert Blyleven and **** Bremer posed as the emcees, which made for an interesting night. ( Bert has a tendency to go off prompt on occasion). After dinner, the awards were presented; and although many of the winners were not present ( Torii, Silva, Garza, Santana)...it was still neat to hear the presenter talk about how much each of these individuals has meant to the team, community, etc...
Twins Fest started the next day, and all but a handful of the players on the Twins 40 man roster were in attendance. The schedule for each day was a crazy mix of autograph signings, Q&A sessions, radio interviews and photo ops... but the whole thing seemed to run pretty smoothly.( Thanks to Mike Herman and Dustin Morse no doubt). My days weren't terribly taxing, with ample time to eat, lounge, etc. mixed in with the rest of my activities. The best part about my Twins Fest experience was the kids Q&A that I participated in on Saturday afternoon. Kids in general are pretty hilarious, and when you hand them a microphone they only seem to get funnier...A quick excerpt of the 'questions' I was asked.....
"Do you think you will ever hit a home run today"
"Do you throw a knuckleball"
followed by
"How fast can you throw a "knuckleball" ( I just said I didn't throw one)
"Do you know Johan Santana"
"If you were stranded on an island, who would you want to be there with you"
"What did you think of the Mitchell Report" (clearly from the kid's Dad)
and my favorite Question of the day..
"I play on a team called the Tigers, my Dad is a coach, and we won a lot of games last year"
Note: At my current blogging pace, you can expect Spring Training notes sometime in December.
Whatever the pace, please keep it up! I sincerely enjoy your blog! :)
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Agreed, keep it up! Looking forward to seeing you throw in MN this year. I acquired your Miz gamer glove locally, that you donated in the Dave Gassner charity auction in Rochester. I'm a collector, and that makes 2 o4 the 4 gloves that were in the auction: yours and Nick's (won that one). I know who has Brian's, but I can't locate Sawatski's! I'll be pounding on the Mizunos when you & Nick pitch!
Cheers,
Bruce in Rochester (remember the "Ocean's 13" movie? we shoulda went to Transformers... ;-)
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So are you 0-4 now on the crossword puzzles?
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Kevin,
I am from Seattle and a friend of your Uncle Micheal. I really enjoy reading your blog and am looking forward to your upcoming season.(note: I think your Uncle Micheal passes out more of your baseball cards than business cards.) We are all very excited for the upcoming season. Best of luck.
Tim
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I wanted to thank you for putting these blogs up...as a avid MN Twins fan, I enjoy reading how the caravans go & the diamond awards & twinsfest went also...thank you so much! Love, Kati
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I laughed out loud at the "questions," especially the last one!
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just never forget the security girl at MSP who loves you!
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Kevin-
So, who would you take on the island?
haha
Thanx for doing this blog. i look forward to the upcoming season
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I was so excited last night when I was able to finally find a "Slowey" jersey t-shirt at the pro shop! Now I am set- Take care of that arm buddy, we want you back soon!
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Hi Kevin, just a quick hello. I'm from Ottawa Ontario and was on my annual baseball tour vacation when I saw you pitch in Grand Rapids when you were with the Snappers. Aug 6 2005. 8 2/3 innings of perfection. So close! Congrats for making the show and good luck in the future.
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Congratulations on your recent complete game and near shutout. There was a collective groan in the living room when what's-his-name of the Royals got a hit with two outs in the ninth. Still a well played game. Good luck with tomorrow night's outing and have fun.
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Who would you want to be stranded on an island with?
Just Kidding!
One more question...do you HAVE to go to and autograph party to get your autograph? Btw...Awesome job pitching on the 24th of June against the San Diego Padres!
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Congrats on the complete game shut-out!
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