Melissa Berman

I've gotta put this legal education to use somehow, and what better way than concocting baseball pickup lines, eh? 😂

I was planning on doing some sort of eyes pun again (last year I did "I've got my Arraez on you") or something related to the batting champion. Hadn't made one yet though 😂

Wow, this is a JOY. Just wonderful 😄 February showers bring March baseball?

This is ADORABLE. Love this one- I would've never thought to include TC!!😄

I knew that one had to be at the very top lol

Thanks for the kind words 😄 I got a good chuckle out of that one too

That Correa one I knew I had to put at the very top 😂 Thanks so much for the kind words!!

The Nick Gordon one is one of my favorites too. I'm so happy people are getting the reference 😄 I should've photoshopped some gold glove trophies onto the catch card

This is AMAZING lol. We all can relate to this one

Oh that's REALLY good. Making a mental note on that one 🤔

Those are a few of my favorites too 😂I also like the Kyle Farmer "cultivate" one. I could've run with even more farm puns

Had so much fun making these 😂 I've been stockpiling ideas for months

Happy Valentine's Day and day before pitchers and catchers report to Spring Training! To celebrate, here are some Twins Valentine's Day cards for you to pass on to your baseball-loving Valentine... or for you or your friends to chuckle at! Let me know your favorite one! All player images are courtesy of ESPN.com View full article

I LOVE the Trop! I went there a couple years ago and saw Nelly Cruz right after he was traded away from the Twins. I think it's super cool how you can just park right outside the stadium in the big surface lot. I also loved the Manta Rays swimming around in the outfield. It really felt like the Metrodome for me- it's like I was transported way back to when I was a kid.

So cool. I got an AJ Pierzynski bat from the Metrodome days! They were just handing it out to kids 12 and under though, if I remember right. Later we took it to a free signing at the Ridgedale Twins pro shop and had him sign it!

Truly can't be beaten. I'm planning on absolutely loading up on these tickets during this sale

Last year it looks like they went on sale in late March! Not sure if the lockout affected that timing at all. I was at Star Wars Night last season too with my Twins Pass, and we all know how that went! At least they resumed Star Wars night the next day! :)

Even though there is snow in the forecast, Twins fans can start planning their afternoons and evenings in the sun at Target Field this week. On Tuesday, the Twins announced their promotional schedule for the 2023 season, and single-game tickets go on sale on Thursday at noon. Image courtesy of Melissa Berman The Twins are also running what might be their best Target Field-era ticket deal yet: fans can purchase $4 no fees Ballpark Access tickets (standing room) for all regular season home games (excluding the Home Opener) between noon on January 19 and 11:59 PM on January 22. There are no fees on any other tickets bought during these four days either. The Twins looked to capitalize on what I have been calling “Correamania” by announcing these deals shortly after the Twins signed Carlos Correa to a 6-year deal. Last year the Twins ran a similar deal in April called the “Superstars Superdeal” which allowed fans to buy $4 upper-level tickets and $25 lower-level tickets to any Monday-Thursday game in 2022. However, with that sale, there were fees on the tickets bought online; I remember being at a Twins vs. Dodgers game while my friends bought tickets for 20 games at the in-stadium box office down the first baseline to avoid the fees. This year's deal is even better. While this week's sale is for a standing-room ticket and not an actual seat, just being able to get in the door for $4 for weekend games is unbeatable and well worth taking advantage of, especially if you are planning on getting to a large number of games. Though the Twins will probably run some other deals throughout the season, no deals could be any cheaper than this- a MLB game for $4 with no fees? You simply can't beat that, I would recommend looking ahead on the schedule, picking out some games you know you for sure want to get to, and buy some tickets in this window. This year, Target Field will be hosting high-demand teams like the Cubs, Giants, and Padres, all of whom the Twins would have been less likely to host before the 2023's new balanced schedule format. The Twins are also bringing back several other perennial ticket specials: Dollar hotdog day is back once again on Tuesdays, $5 student discount day is available every Monday through Thursday, Seniors “55-and-better” can get $5 tickets to every Monday-Thursday day game, and Fireworks Friday will light up the Minneapolis skyline after every Friday night game from June through August. Back again are the team's special "Theme Nights" such as Prince Night and Star Wars Night, where fans can purchase a special ticket package to receive a promotional item. According to the Twins, the Theme Night schedule will be available at a later date. Last year, it was unveiled in March. Running these bargain ticket deals to get as many fans in the doors as possible is the wise thing for the Twins to do. Last year, the Twins finished 20th in MLB attendance with an average of 22,514 fans per game. This season, the Twins play 16 home games in April, the most of any month, so with the often-cold-and-wet temperatures, the Twins will likely already be playing from behind attendance-wise. Giveaways From hats to bobbleheads to the return of bat day, the Twins are handing out a host of unique collector’s items this year. Here are a few of the best ones I will be targeting; complete list here: Opening weekend hat day- No apparel with the new TC logo yet? No problem- the Twins are handing out hats with the new “TC” logo to the first 20,000 fans at the Home Opener on April 6 and at the Saturday, April 8 game. “Kids Opening Day” is on April 9, and the first 5,000 fans 12-and-under will receive the Twins’ new “M and North Star” hat. Magnet schedule days are April 10 and 11 vs. the White Sox. Bat day is back! The first 5,000 fans in attendance on April 23 vs. Washington will receive a 28-inch wood bat commemorating 2022 American League batting champion Luis Arraez, You’ll need to get there extra early for this one. Two bobblehead days: Joe Ryan bobblehead day is June 3 vs. Cleveland (first 10,000 fans), and July 7 is Carlos Correa (first 10,000 fans) Byron Buxton replica jersey (April 22 vs. Washington; first 10,000 fans) and a “Los Twins” jersey (September 9 vs. the Mets; first 10,000 fans). The baby blue replica jersey the Twins handed out in 2021 is the favorite giveaway item I've ever gotten, so these two jerseys are on the very top of my "must-snag" list. More hats! Twins Bomber Cap day is April 30 vs. Kansas City (first 5,000 fans), the Twins will be handing out a Twins Trucker Hat on May 27 vs. Toronto (first 10,000 fans), and June 17 is Twins Bucket Hay day vs. Detroit (first 5,000 fans). These days, it doesn’t seem like the demand for collector's items is quite as intense as in the past: I remember being in line for Torii Hunter bobblehead day when I was a kid, and there were almost fights breaking out between fans. On giveaway days we would get down to the Metrodome hours beforehand, and the lines would snake around the whole stadium and onto the surrounding sidewalks. Nowadays, getting promotional items is not as difficult, though you will still have to plan ahead and arrive early, especially if they only hand out 5,000 of the coveted item. For 20,000 fan giveaways, my general rule of thumb is to arrive about an hour before the game to receive a promotional item comfortably. I usually put a reminder on my phone calendar for the days that have an item I definitely want to get. I have found the giveaway items, especially clothing items, to be of impressive quality and worth arriving early for. Are you going to Target any of these giveaways or take advantage of the $4 ticket sale? What's the coolest thing you've got at a Twins game? Let us know in a COMMENT below. View full article

Super well-said

That's definitely possible, though being limited to 3 challenges would hopefully help that

No, this is not a dystopian movie where robots take over the world, it’s baseball in 2023, and robot umpires are coming to CHS Field and all AAA ballparks this season. Image courtesy of Melissa Berman This year, two versions of an Automatic Balls and Strikes system (ABS), otherwise known as "robot umpires" or "robo umps," will be used in all 30 Triple-A ballparks, according to a report from ESPN. If this expanded experiment is deemed successful, the next stop could be its use at the major-league level. Half of the Triple-A games will be played with all the calls determined by an electronic strike zone (with each team receiving three challenges), and the other half will be played with an ABS challenge system. The ABS has continued to expand over the years, and 2023 will be its most widespread use yet. In 2019, the independent Atlantic League used the electronic strike zone in an all-star game, and that same year, the Arizona Fall League played with the ABS. In 2021, some Class A parks used ABS. Last season, the full ABS was used for some Class AAA games, including some games in the Pacific Coast League and all International League games played in Charlotte. The St. Paul Saints did not play in any games using the ABS in 2022, but that will change in 2023. The Saints acknowledged the change by posting a link to the ESPN report on its Twitter account. MLB tried out the ABS challenge system last year at the Low-A Southeast level during designated “Challenge Games.” During these games, human umpires still made balls and strike calls, but the pitcher, catcher, and batter could appeal the umpire’s call to the ABS. Each team received three appeals in Challenge Games, with successful appeals retained for future use. ESPN reports that this challenge system seemed to create an entire new “layer of in-game strategy” with managers “guiding players on the best manner to use the challenges -- avoiding frivolous challenges and protecting the team from egregious ball-strike call mistakes in pivotal moments.” The expanded ABS comes at a time when MLB is making a host of sweeping changes to make the game safer and stimulate offense. On September 9, 2022, MLB's Joint Competition Committee, which evaluates and ratifies proposed rule changes, officially approved a pitch clock, shift ban, and larger bases for use in the majors beginning in 2023. All of these changes were tested out in Triple-A in 2022. However, a formal rule change proposal related to the robot umpires was not made to the committee at the time, so there will be no use of the ABS in the majors in 2023. Though MLB robo umps are not a sure thing yet, if these changes are any indication, robo umps might not be too far away. My Take I am looking forward to seeing which form of ABS MLB uses at CHS Field, and if the change is even noticeable to fans (an article by the Athletic featured a player quote stating that it appeared the umpire in an ABS game was relaying the calls as quickly as if he were making them himself). I am a bit of a baseball purist, so I gravitate more toward the ABS challenge system, which, to me, seems to be the best of both worlds: umpires will still be used to call balls and strikes, but we can challenge, review, and possibly overturn questionable and egregious calls, just like in the NFL, NBA, and NHL. I am ok with there being some variation in strike zone from umpire to umpire, within reason. I think completely eliminating umpires calling balls and strikes is unnecessary and takes away one of the human elements that makes baseball unique, but we can and should use the technology we have at our disposal to make it more accurate. It is evident MLB needs to keep up with the times and do something to eliminate egregious, high-profile missed ball and strike calls, some of which can have substantial impacts on game outcomes, even in the postseason. Baseball is America's favorite pastime, but complaining about bad calls is a close second- just look at the myriad of Youtube video compilations of missed ball and strike calls. With both systems of ABS, these calls would likely be eliminated The need for change is also evidenced by the continued growth of @UmpScorecards. Umpire Scorecards is a popular Twitter account that provides an accuracy percentage, consistency percentage, and a list of the top 3 most impactful calls for every umpire after every MLB game. After umpire performances that users consider to be poor, they flood the replies imploring MLB to bring on the robots. My gut feeling is that some type of ABS will be introduced at the major league level sometime soon: the Triple-A, as we have seen, is the last stop on the bus for rule changes, a final testing ground, before arriving at MLB. If ABS gets positive reviews this year, like that of Kris Bryant, who played using ABS while on a Rockies minor league rehab assignment last year, I have no doubt MLB will be next. View full article

Now entertaining offers on the extra Correa shirts I scooped! ? LOL