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By now every team has had their first (or second) homestand, so some of the excitement and shine of the start of a new season has started to wear off. Gone are the calendars (mostly, the White Sox are giving one away Wednesday and the Tigers are giving one away Saturday) and the home opener celebrations. There are still some interesting items to be had, however. Locally, the Twins are in Texas through Wednesday and are in Kansas City this weekend, so there are no Twins-related giveaways (although on eBay last Saturday's Fur Bomber Hat is going for $27.94, the magnetic schedule is at $6.98 and the Opening Day long-sleeved hooded tee is going for $15.99 as of this writing... in case you want to buy something you missed). Friday, April 28 (Home Team First) Miami Marlins vs Pittsburgh Pirates - Marlins Fedora Milwaukee Brewers vs Atlanta Braves - Free-Shirt Friday: Long Sleeve T-Shirt New York Yankees vs Baltimore Orioles - Yankees Fleece Blanket Night St. Louis Cardinals vs Cincinnati Reds - Bruce Sutter Garden Gnome San Francisco Giants vs San Diego Padres - Giants Player Scarf Texas Rangers vs Los Angeles Angels - Rally Towel Kind of a light day for items here. I'm tempted to give my "promo of the day" to the Bruce Sutter Garden Gnome, but I'm giving the nod to the Marlins Fedora. Saturday, April 29 Arizona Diamondbacks vs Colorado Rockies - MLB Network Tote Bag Detroit Tigers vs Chicago White Sox - Team Calendar Miami Marlins vs Pittsburgh Pirates - Marlins Tumbler Houston Astros vs Oakland Athletics - Alex Bregman Replica White Jersey Kansas City Royals vs Minnesota Twins - Memorable Moments Bobblehead Series: Kelvin Herrera Los Angeles Dodgers vs Philadelphia Phillies - Corey Seager Bobblehead Milwaukee Brewers vs Atlanta Braves - Brewers Coupon Book New York Yankees vs Baltimore Orioles - Yankees Tote Bag Day St. Louis Cardinals vs Cincinnati Reds - Carlos Martinez and Matt Carpenter Double Bobblehead San Francisco Giants vs San Diego Padres - Two Flaps Down Hat Three bobbleheads on Saturday. I'm going to go with the Carlos Martinez and Matt Carpenter Double Bobblehead as my favorite of the day. Does anyone know what's in a Brewers Coupon Book? Sunday, April 30 Detroit Tigers vs Chicago White Sox - Justin Verlander poster Houston Astros vs Oakland Athletics - Green Grocery Tote Los Angeles Dodgers bs Philadelphia Phillies - Kids Batting Helmet Milwaukee Brewers vs Atlanta Braves - Orlando Arcia Player Wristbands New York Yankees vs Baltimore Orioles - Gary Sanchez Bobblehead Day St. Louis Cardinals vs Cincinnati Reds - Carlos Martinez Kids Home White Jersey St. Louis Cardinals vs Cincinnati Reds - Kids Ticket Voucher San Francisco Giants vs San Diego Padres - "Pence on Board" Plush Window Cling Texas Rangers vs Los Angeles Angels - Rangers Duffel Bag Toronto Blue Jays vs Tampa Bay Rays - Marcus Stroman Blue Replica Jersey Best promo of the day goes to the Giants with the "Pence on Board" Plush Window Cling, if only because it seems like it will give someone nightmares.

What an opening week for Major League Baseball. The Rockies are rolling, the Nationals gave up a dozen runs in the first inning on Saturday, oh, and the Twins are somehow 5-1. Enjoy the moment. The Twins are off Monday and are in Detroit Tuesday through Thursday before coming home for a ten-day homestand, The only promotion/giveaway at Target Field this week is a Fur Trapper Hat giveaway to the first 10,000 fans that show up on Saturday. Here's what the rest of the week looks like: Monday, April 10 Chicago Cubs - Cubs Magnet Schedule Detroit Tigers - Magnetic Schedule Kansas City Royals - Magnetic Schedule New York Yankees - Magnetic Schedule Day San Francisco Giants - Opening Day Calendar Seattle Mariners - 2017 Magnetic Schedule Tuesday, April 11 Cleveland Indians - Magnet Schedule & Car Magnet Miami Marlins - 2017 Magnetic Schedule San Francisco Giants - Giants SF Heart Flag Toronto Blue Jays - Rally Towel & Blue Jays Magnet Schedule Wednesday, April 12 Chicago Cubs - Replica Championship Banner Los Angeles Angels - MLB Network Tote Bag Philadelphia Phillies - @Phillies Cell Phone Wallet San Francisco Giants - Gold Glove Foam Finger Friday, April 14 Atlanta Braves - Commemorative Opening Day Ticket Chicago Cubs - Cubs Magnet Schedule Miami Marlins - Don Mattingly Bobblehead Boston Red Sox - Mookie Awards Bobblehead Seattle Mariners - Ken Griffey Jr. Replica Statue Night Washington Nationals - Daniel Murphy Bobblehead Saturday, April 15 Minnesota Twins - Minnesota Twins Fur Trapper Hat Atlanta Braves - 2017 Inaugural Season Magnetic Schedule Chicago Cubs - Replica World Series Trophy Cincinnati Reds - Kids Baseball Cap & 2017 Magnetic Schedule/Car Magnet Miami Marlins - Wall Calendar Giveaway Kansas City Royals - Reusable Royals Tote Bag Los Angeles Dodgers - Replica Jackie Robinson Statue New York Yankees - Calendar Day San Francisco Giants - Johnny Cueto Shimmy Bobble Seattle Mariners - Mariners Military Cap Night Sunday, April 16 Atlanta Braves - 2017 Inaugural Season Magnetic Schedule Cincinnati Reds - Kids Adam Duvall Fathead® Wall Decal Los Angeles Dodgers - Kids Kenta Maeda Fathead New York Yankees - PEEPS ® Plush Night San Francisco Giants - Brandon Crawford Backpack with Cape Toronto Blue Jays - Bringer of Rain Umbrella What interests you? Feel free to leave any comments or questions (any feedback is welcome!)

Months after the world ended (the Cubs winning the World Series… not the other thing), baseball that counts is finally back this Sunday with the Yankees at the Rays, the Giants at the Diamondbacks and the Cubs at the Cardinals. Locally, the Twins are home Monday, Wednesday and Thursday against the Royals and are on the road Friday-Sunday in Chicago to face the White Sox . What are the teams giving away to entice fans to come to the ballpark this week? Magnetic schedules, a lot of magnetic schedules. Twelve teams (the Diamondbacks, Orioles, White Sox, Rockies, Astros, Dodgers, Brewers, Mets, Pirates, Cardinals, Rays & Rangers) are all giving out 2017 magnetic schedules to all their fans (except the Diamondbacks and Dodgers, which are limiting it to the first 40,000). On the home front, the Twins are giving away 30,000 long sleeve hooded tees (adult M or XL) before the home opener on Monday. No giveaways are planned for Wednesday or Thursday. There will also be a White Sox Winter Hat giveaway for the first 15,000 fans in Chicago on Saturday. This item is the “White Sox version” of the hat the Twins will be giving away on Saturday, April 15. Across MLB, seven bobbleheads will be given away this upcoming week. The Red Sox give away a Rick Porcello Cy Young Bobblehead on April 5, while April 8 sees six bobbleheads (Jake Lamb Bobblehead, DJ LeMahieu NL Batting Champion Bobblehead, Jose Altuve 'Handshake Series' Bobblehead, Francisco Cervelli That's Amore Singing Bobblehead, Yadier Molina Bobblehead, Kevin Kiermaier Gold Glove Bobblehead) distributed to fans. For a complete list of promotional giveaways this week, check out the attached Excel table. Feel free to leave comments or suggestions.

Years ago, at Christmas, I decided to give my family the gift of taking them up to a Twins game. I left picking the date up to my mother who picked a Sunday afternoon game in August. Why that game? Because the giveaway was a Twins backpack or bag or something similar. She didn't pick because of the opponent, she didn't pick because the Twins were facing a great pitcher having a dominant season, she picked because of the giveaway. It was something I never would have thought of. I mean, bobbleheads are nice and all, and I've shown up early to get them, but until that point in my life, I've never picked a game to go to because of the giveaway at the gate. A couple weeks ago, the Twins released their 2017 Promotion and Giveaway schedule. The first thing that struck me is that it seemed to be a little light on items. I don't have numbers for prior years at this point (it's a side project I'm working on), but by my count 31 of the 81 home dates have a free item at the gate. This doesn't include deals like Student Day (which means my college education wasn't for nothing) and Senior Day. There will be more items announced on March 7, but those will be of the "Theme Night" variety, which require a special ticket package. Of the listed giveaways, here are my top 3. 1) Rod Carew Bobblehead (August 18, vs the Diamondbacks) - The first 10,000 fans get a Rod Carew Bobblehead, along with postgame fireworks to the songs of 1977 (which will probably, unfortunately, feature ABBA). 2) Rocket Raccoon Bobblehead (May 6, vs the Red Sox) - The first 10,000 fans get a Twins-branded Rocket Raccoon Bobblehead to promote "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2". There is also a Theme Night as well that night. 3) LED Energy Efficient Light Bulb (June 14, vs the Mariners) Minnesota Twins Long Sleeved Hooded Tee (April 3, vs the Royals) - The first 30,000 fans get an adult M or XL long-sleeved hooded Twins Tee. Not as thick (or as abundant) as the sweatshirts of the last couple Opening Days, this will at least be something to wear while you're showing up early to get your Rocket Raccoon bobblehead.