TwinsFest 2009: You going?

I’ll be there tonight and tomorrow… and then at the Hot Stove Banquet tomorrow night!

I suppose some people will say $150 is too much compared to TwinsFest, but when you figure it’s $12 to enter TwinsFest in addition to $25 plus a wait in line for an autograph, the Diamond Awards are really the way to go.

To me this is an underpublicized event, open to the public for a $150, and held every year the night before TwinsFest. That’s a tax-deductible contribution, there’s a real meal that would run at least $20 in a restaurant (and everyone has to eat, so you can deduct the price of a meal from the $150) and if you save $3 a week starting now you’ve got the price of a ticket by next January.

Last night, among those there were Mauer, Morneau, Span, Casilla, Nathan, Gardenhire, Hrbek, Blyleven, Killebrew, Anthony Slama, Ben Revere, Dave St. Peter and Bill Smith.

You can’t wear your Morneau jersey because it’s “business attire”, but a sports coat, white shirt and no tie covers business attire anymore. You also can’t just walk up to the players any time, it’s more formal than that. But everyone has to go to the bathroom, and it’s not hard to catch a player on his way back to the dining area, or after the awards ceremony ends. They aren’t going to turn you down because it’s a fund-raiser for the Minnesota Medical Foundation and everyone’s on their best behavior – including the people who pay to get in, of course.

It’s just a way better opportunity to see these guys, and you don’t have to wait in a line if you really want Joe Mauer’s autograph, just be considerate and pick your time to get an autograph.

The night features a whole awards agenda because the MMF partnered with the Twins and the Twin Cities baseball writers four years ago to make what was at one time just a fund-raiser into a higher profile event. There’s also a silent auction, and with the economy in the tank it was pretty easy to get a winning bid on some nice stuff for less than what the item was valued at last night. Having said that, most of the items are pricey (a few items for $30, but $80 and up is more likely), but it’s really nice stuff.

A highlight during the event last night came with master of ceremonies Blyleven on the stage with Hrbek. Blyleven mentioned that Hrbek had hit well against him, and then asked Hrbek, “Did I ever plunk you?” Hrbek looked at him and said, “You didn’t have the balls.”

Hrbek also gave the California kid Slama a bad time about California, and told him he would have to learn to ice fish and bowl if he wanted to play for the Twins.

A mark against TwinsFest this year is the Twins announced recently that they would not be selling single-game tickets at the event this year. That’s a disappointment for some people that I know.