Twins Fest Weekend

Minnesota Twins Prospect Handbook 2012 – Now Available as an e-book for $6.99 by clickinghere. You can, of course, still get the print version for $13.99 by clicking here.

The procedure I had done yesterday kind of won last night, so I wasn’t able to finish the next installment of the Organizational Depth Chart, so that will return next week. I was, fortunately, able to watch the Diamond Awards live on FoxSportsNorth.com, and it was incredible. It’s such a nice event for such a great cause, but it also appears to be a fun event to be at. I would say that it is on my bucket list of baseball activities. Here are some of the highlights:

• Liam Hendriks and Brian Dozier accepted their awards for minor league pitcher and player of the year and did a good job in their comments.
  
• Ben Revere stole the show. He was so funny in his speech, and in his responses to questions from Dick Bremer. The best story (among many hilarious ones!) was about the triple during which he tripped and did a complete summersault. He said that his dad and his brother were at the game. They didn’t get to sleep until about 2:30 because, you see, his dad is a football coach, so they had to watch it on video several times and then do some running drills, and his dad brought cones, and… it was hilarious! Revere’s smile was in full effect!
  
• Tom Kelly went last and said there were benefits to being last. He kind of roasted most of the earlier presenters, which was hilarious. But when he was done, the surprise was on him. Dick Bremer told him to stay up on the stage and invited Dave St. Peter and Jim Pohlad to come up. St. Peter went on to talk about Kelly and said that September 8^th will be Tom Kelly Day at Target Field. At that time, the Twins will retire Kelly’s #10. Kelly was clearly shaken. He didn’t know what to do. In fact, he quickly shook, Bremer’s hand and walked off the stage to a standing ovation. As the ovation dropped to a sitting ovation, the FSN cameras showed Kelly wiping away tears. Clearly, that was an incredible honor for him, and I am so glad that I got to see it.
  

I’m sure it’ll appear on FSN on TV in the near future. It is something you will definitely want to watch.

I am about to make my trek to the Twin Cities, to Twins Fest. I’ve been going now for about five years and always enjoy it. I plan to be at the Metrodome Friday night and Saturday throughout the day. Then a reminder, at about 7:30 on Saturday night, the TwinsCentric crew and several other of your favorite Twins writers and bloggers will be at Old Chicago in Roseville. So come on out. If you see me, please come and say hi. It’s fun to meet people there. I will try to have a few Prospect Handbooks with me. Hopefully I’ll see a bunch of them walking around the Dome. As I’ve pointed out, I believe 22 players in the book will be signing at Twins Fest this weekend, including Dozier and Hendriks on the cover. Twins Fest is what you make it. If you like spending money on autographs, it’s great. It’s a baseball card and memorabilia show. It’s a great place to people watch. I know people who could sit in the Dome’s bleachers and listen as the 1500 ESPN personalities interview Twins players, coaches, front office people and more. It really is a fun event.

Here is a link to the Twins Fest page that includes a list of who will be signing and where, and much more.

And, so that I can get on the road, I’m going to cut this off here and keep it all positive. I won’t even talk about Dan Wheeler signing a minor league deal with Cleveland, or Brad Lidge signing with the Nationals for $1 Million + incentives. Twins Fest weekend is a great way for baseball fans to start getting ready for the 2012 season. Spring Training is just around the corner, and that always brings hope and excitement. At least for me, it does.

If you have any further questions, please feel free to e-mail me at sethspeaksnet@hotmail.com or leave your thoughts in the Comments Section!