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Twins woo Fergus Falls fans
Published Tuesday, January 15, 2008
Photo by Tom Hintgen
TC Bear was a hit with kids during the Twins Winter Caravan stop Monday evening at the Bigwood Event Center in Fergus Falls.
Minnesota Twins outfielder Michael Cuddyer and catcher Mike Redmond surmised from previous experience that they would receive a warm welcome during the Twins Winter Caravan stop Monday evening in Fergus Falls. They weren’t disappointed.
“Michael (Cuddyer) and Mike (Redmond) have been here in Fergus Falls before, and they told me how much they enjoyed the rapport with Fergus Falls area Twins fans,” Twins Radio Network studio host Kris Atteberry said prior to introducing the two players at the Bigwood Event Center.
The Twins take pride that their winter caravan is the longest running caravan of its type among all major sports — running ever since the Twins moved to Minnesota from the nation’s capital in 1961.
“Without you guys (Twins fans), we wouldn’t be here,” Cuddyer said. “It’s to the credit of the Twins organization that they really care about their fan base, and communities such as Fergus Falls.”
Redmond, who at age 36 is in the twilight of his career, said coming to the Twins from the Florida Marlins — where he was on a World Series title team — far exceeded his expectations. He said that fan appreciation is among the many benefits of playing for the Twins.
During the question-and-answer portion of the evening program, the players were asked about the void left by the departure of star outfielder Torri Hunter.
“We’ll have some young, new faces on the team,” Cuddyer said, “and we’ll play hard. I’m convinced we’ll be very competitive.”
Redmond said that Cuddyer, Joe Maurer and Justin Morneau will be the nucleus of the 2008 Twins. He’s convinced that Minnesota will again have one of the best bullpens in the American League — and that things will bode well if the Twins have leads after seven innings of play.
When asked about the use of steroids tarnishing the game of baseball, Cuddyer responded by saying that Major League Baseball needs to clean up its act as soon as possible.
“Have regular drug testing,” he said, “so we can get rid of this issue (steroids) once and for all — and get on with playing clean baseball games.”
The Twins’ caravan stop in Fergus Falls benefitted the Fergus Falls Community Food Shelf.
Comments
The Daily Journal is happy to host community conversations about news and life in Fergus Falls and the surrounding area. As hosts, we expect guests will show respect for each other. That means we don't threaten or defame each other, and we keep conversations free of personal attacks. Witty is great. Abusive is not. If you think a post violates these standards, don't escalate the situation. Instead, flag the comment to alert us. We'll take action if necessary. It's not hard. This should be a place where people want to read and contribute -- a place for spirited exchanges of opinion. So those who persist with racist, defamatory or abusive postings risk losing the privilege to post at all.Posted by eripsni (anonymous) on January 15, 2008 at 1:06 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Who is Joe Maurer?
Posted by ZaZ (anonymous) on January 15, 2008 at 2:33 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Ouch.
Posted by doctipster (anonymous) on January 16, 2008 at 2:58 a.m. (Suggest removal)
The bad part this year was the fact that they brought some sort of roadie, who stood along side and at the autograph table was right on Cuddyers side telling everyone only one, only one. I must have heard a dozen people walk out of there stating how rude the man was and that if it was going to be like this they wouldn't have come. It is truly sad. This man, who so far is unidentifiable, made me actually give my wife the ball and each of my kids a ball instead of being easy and just having me give all four to the players to sign, maybe he was doing his job, but im thinking he was more just being a jerk, Im all for the Winter Caravan but I hope that they can get someone with a little more personal appeal up here next year. The players were awesome. The roadie should have stayed on the bus....
Posted by nobal (anonymous) on January 16, 2008 at 11:56 a.m. (Suggest removal)
When I went to Lincoln Elmentry and a class mate.I think his name was Lee Becker,lost his leg back 63 or 64.
He was a big Twin fan and The whole team visited him after the surgery I think.
I recall seeing balls and maybe bats that where given to him all signed by team mates.Always wondered how Lee was doing these days.
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