TwinsFest always brings all sorts of exciting new Twins announcements, and this year is no different, as the Twins announced plans to build a bronze statue honoring Tom Kelly outside of Target Field.
Watch video of the announcement below.
TK will be the eighth bronze statue outside of the stadium, joining Harmon Killebrew, Kirby Puckett, Rod Carew, Tony Oliva, Kent Hrbek, Carl and Eloise Pohlad, and Calvin Griffith. I guess there’s also a giant baseball, a giant baseball glove, Bullseye, and TC Bear, but those don’t really count.
If you are wondering why it took so long for the Twins to build a statue for TK, it’s apparently because TK wouldn’t allow them to do it:
This wasn’t the first time Tom Kelly had been approached with the idea of a statue in his honor outside Target Field, but the legendarily no-nonsense manager finally decided to relent.
“We had a few of these discussions a couple years ago about this stuff,” Kelly, 66, said after Friday’s announcement at TwinsFest. “I just have a hard time because I believe the game showcases the players. Push comes to shove, the players get it done, one way or another.”
This time, when Twins president Dave St. Peter raised the idea again about three weeks ago, Kelly went along.
A very well deserved honor, if you ask me.