August 1- Minnesota Twins

One would think of all the hats in my collection this would have been one of the easier ones to track down. Nope! If my memory serves me correct it took me about three years of combing various Web sites, Ebay and Lids locations in order to find an authentic one. Now, over my ridiculously exhaustive search I did come across a few “Genuine Merchandise” versions (replicas), but this bad boy was a diamond in the rough that I somehow found at the Lids in Union Square in downtown Manhattan. Clearly all of the best caps are displayed there because I definitely picked up some gems every time I went there.

It was a bit of mystery to me as to why this cap would have been so hard to track down, but then again, I can be pretty picky at times. I for one have always preferred the Major League Baseball logo on the back of the hat, a token which was only added to caps starting in 1993. 

As in the case of this cap the logo wasn’t added until 2009 when the Minnesota Twins wore it as a home alternate cap. The Twins first used this for all of their home games from 1976-1986 where it and the all-navy “TC” cap that I wrote about on February 15^th were replaced with the “M” logo cap that I wrote about on January 21^st. The move proved to be one of those rare uniform changes that brings immediate success as the Twins hoisted their first World Series championship since 1924 when they were still the Washington Senators.

In my research I found a bit of a conflicting story about its first use. The vintage MLB clothing company Brand ’47 has the year 1973 marked on most of its franchise caps, as did a few other Web sites. The only problem with this is that in almost every photo I found, whether it was baseball cards, game photos or even the team photo, this cap wasn’t used. No, the first arrival of this cap via photo didn’t arrive until 1976 as I previously mentioned as shown in the photo below.

Now, I can see where in a black and white photo one might not be able to tell; however, it’s easy to notice how the shade of the cap matches with the “TWINS” emblem across the chest, which was red at the time and contradicts the navy blue shirts of the trainers and equipment managers. This trait becomes even clearly in the team photo from 2009.

Like I said, I looked deep into most photo archives and couldn’t find anything until I came across the Web site http://twinstrivia.com/year-by-year/ where they have all the team photos dating back to 1961, their first year as the Twins. Check the link if you don’t believe me as the team also wore the red caps from 1977-1982 and 1984-1986. I could be wrong about 1983, as it might also have to do with the lighting and it being in black and white, but it looks like a few guys are wearing red and other navy blue. Either way, red was the home color that year.

Keeping in the theme of the red cap I have elected to mark it up with numbers and a date from the original time from of when this cap was used. Nothing personal against the 2009 team who won their division on an extended day of the season (game 163) against the Detroit Tigers, but there’s just too much good stuff that happened within the other 11 years to pass up.

#14- To those familiar with the Twins legacy, this is an easy number to remember. But for those who only know about Hall of Fame legacies, this is a name you should learn. Ken Hrbek, a product of Bloomington, Minneapolis, was drafted in the 17^th round of the 1978 draft. The interesting part about the timing is that, as a first baseman, he had some pretty big shoes to fill as Harmon Killebrew and Rod Carew were the only names were noting to have played the position in the team’s history. Carew was traded before the 1979 season, so Hrbek was one of two possible candidates being groomed for the position. Hrbek made his major league debut on August 24, 1981 at Yankee Stadium, hitting a game-winning home run in the 12th inning off New York reliever, and future Twin, George Frazier.

After his cup of coffee at the end of the '81 season, Hrbek would make the team out of spring training and come into his own in 1982, playing well for Twins manager Billy Gardner. That season Hrbek would etch his name into the Twins’ legacy as he finished the year with a .301 average, 23 home runs and 92 RBI. As great as his accomplishment were during his rookie season, he still only managed to finish in second place for the Rookie of the Year award one step ahead of Wade Boggs and one spot behind some washout named Cal Ripken, Jr. Not sure what happened to either of those guys. Hrbek also locked up a trip to the All-Star Game that year, the only appearance of his career.

1983 proved to be a stellar sophomore season for Hrbek, but it was in 1984 that he had the best of his career. In ’84 Hrbek finished the year with a career-high .311 average, 27 home runs, a career-high 174 hits and a career-high 107 RBI. Somehow Hrbek didn’t gain an invitation to the All-Star Game, not to mention he once again finished as the second fiddle when it came to the American League MVP vote. That year Detroit Tigers relief pitcher Willie Hernandez won the MVP as well as the Cy Young Awards outright. The Tigers ended up winning the World Series that year as well.

Hrbek started and finished his 14-year career right where he started, in his home state in front of the people who had cheered him on since his high school days. The most notable contribution Hrbek gave back to the Twins fins were the two World Series Championships they won in 1987 and 1991. One the first run Hrbek finished the season with a career-high 34 home runs, but his most memorable came during Game 6 when he hit a grand slam off of St. Louis Cardinals reliever Ken Dayley, which shifted the momentum in favor of Minnesota who would win the Series in seven games. In 1991 Hrbek’s bat isn’t what most remember from that World Series run, rather the now infamous first base clash he had with Atlanta Braves’ left fielder Ron Gant in Game 2. Here’s the play if you don’t remember. Hrbek was a hero in Minnesota and public enemy number one in Atlanta. The Twins would win the Series again in seven games thanks to great pitching from Jack Morris and clutch hitting from Kirby Puckett. Hrbek was one of seven Twins to be part of both World Series teams. The other six were Puckett, Randy Bush, Greg Gagne, Al Newman, Gene Larkin and Dan Gladden.

Frequently injured (though seldom seriously), Hrbek retired after the players strike in 1994, citing his nagging injury problems and desire to spend more time with his wife and daughter. Kent Hrbek's number 14 was retired by the Twins in 1995, becoming at the time only the fourth (along with Killebrew, Carew, and Tony Oliva) in franchise history. Hrbek was also inducted into the Minnesota Sports Hall of Fame in 1996. He was also one of few players then (which is even rarer today) who played out his entire career with only one team.

#28- It’s a rare quality for anyone to have a professional baseball career for more than seven years, but Bert Blyleven was able to hang onto a playing career for 22-strong. Born in the Netherlands, but raised in Garden Grove, California, his father moved the family to Melville, Saskatchewan, Canada when Blyleven was two years old, and then to Southern California when he was age 5. He became interested in baseball as a young boy watching Sandy Koufax pitch for the Los Angeles Dodgers and listening to Vin Scully and Jerry Doggett announce the Dodgers' radio broadcasts. Blyleven was quoted as saying, “My dad built me a mound in the backyard with a canvas backdrop over our horseshoe pits, and I would go back there and just throw and throw and throw until I developed it, and it became my curveball. And I could throw it over at any time, any count.” Blyleven starred on the Santiago High School baseball team, also running cross country to build up his stamina and leg strength. He was drafted straight out of high school by the Twins in the third round in 1969, where after only 21 minor league starts he found himself called up to the Majors at age 19 on June 2, 1970. In his first season, his sharp curveball helped him to ten victories and he was named AL Rookie Pitcher of the Year by The Sporting News.

For six-and-a-half years Blyleven was the ace the Twins needed; however, he was blamed by the fans for the team’s failures. Blyleven won at least 15 games every season from 1971-1975; unfortunately, he also lost at least 15 games every season from 1971-1974. What’s even more unusual is that Blyleven never posted an ERA above 3.00 from 1971 until the moment he was traded to the Texas Rangers in the middle of the 1976 season. In 1973 Blyleven went 20-17 with a 2.52 ERA, 258 strikeouts and nine shutouts. The wins, ERA, strikeouts and shutouts were all career bests, but they were only good enough to give Blyleven his first All-Star Game appearance, a seventh place finish for the AL Cy Young and a 26^th place finish for the MVP. Yah, times were pretty crazy back in the 70s.

After Blyleven was traded to the Rangers in ’76. He pitched well with the Rangers, having a 2.76 ERA in his first season and throwing a no-hitter against the California Angels on September 22, 1977, just two weeks after being sidelined with a groin injury. His 2.74 career ERA with the Rangers remains the best in team history. He was traded to the Pittsburgh Pirates the following year as part of a four-team trade which is way to long to list the ins and outs. In short, Blyleven won his first World Series ring with the Buccos in 1979 behind a 12-5 record and a 3.60 ERA in 37 games started. Once again, the 70s were crazy time. At the end of the 1980 season Blyleven was traded again to the Cleveland Indians where he would have a stellar third place finish for the Cy Young in 1984 and an equally as noble 1985 season where he was traded back to the Twins and still finished with his second, and final All-Star Game appearance and another third place Cy Young finish behind a league-leading 206 strikeouts, league-leading 24 complete games, league-leading five shutouts and a league-leading 293 2/3 innings pitched. If you’ll learn anything by the end of this post it’s that pitchers these days have it pretty easy.

Blyleven would play three more years with the Twins all the way until the end of the 1987 season where he would earn his second World Series ring. At the end of the 1988 season, his worst statistical season, he was granted free agency by the Twins and was almost immediately picked up by the Angels. In his first year in Anaheim Blyleven had a bounce-back season going 17-5 with a 2.73 ERA, a league-leading five shutouts and 131 strikeouts. Blyleven finished the season in 13^th place for the AL MVP and fourth place for the Cy Young. Blyleven would play two more seasons with the Angels before hanging it up at the end of the 1992 season.

After his first year of eligibility in 1998, Blyleven was widely considered to be the best eligible pitcher not yet in the Baseball Hall of Fame. According to Matt Welch of Reason Magazine, "there had long been a strong case that the Dutch-born curveballista was the most deserving player on the outside of Cooperstown looking in." Still, it was not until his 14th year of eligibility in 2011 that he was elected, with 79.7% of the vote. He currently ranks 5th all-time in Strikeouts, 9th all-time in Shutouts, and 27th all-time in Wins. At the time of his election he was the only eligible member of the 3000 strikeout club, and the only person with 50 or more shutouts, not in the Hall of Fame.

Blyleven received only 17.55% of the vote for Hall of Fame admission in 1998 (first year of eligibility), and his vote total dropped to 14.1% the following year. No player who had debuted on the ballot since 1970 had a vote total that low and later won election to the Hall. However, ESPN.com columnist Jayson Stark stated that "no player has ever — and again, that word is 'ever' — had his Hall of Fame candidacy helped more by the sabermetrics boom than Blyleven." Specifically, according to Welch, "the president and chief investment officer of Lederer & Associates Investment Counsel in Long Beach, California, a guy by the name of Rich Lederer, began spending some of his off-hours writing analysis on the Interwebs about Blyleven's overlooked case." Blyleven was finally inducted to the Hall of Fame in 2011 after receiving 79.7% of the vote on his 14th attempt. "It’s been 14 years of praying and waiting,” he said. "I thank the baseball writers of America for; I’m going to say, finally getting it right." Blyleven was the first Dutch-born player inducted, and his Hall of Fame plaque depicts him with a Twins cap.

In 1996, Blyleven became a color commentator for the Twins. Blyleven's commentary is occasionally risqué for a baseball broadcast, but provides interesting and friendly conversation between him and play-by-play announcer Dick Bremer. One of his trademarks is circling fans with the telestrator on screen. Fans, both at home and at road games, carry signs to the games saying "Circle me Bert." This has led to a fundraising campaign with the Parkinson's Foundation and a sponsorship with the Minnesota Lottery.

8/1/86: This is one of the more fascinating days in Twins history for a number of reasons. The Twins were at home hosting my beloved Oakland Athletics as the Twins were holding their 25^th Anniversary celebration. That’s one reason. Blyleven was on the mound with 2,992 strikeouts under his belt, facing one of the better power hitting teams of that 1980s. In front of a crowd of a little more than 14,000 people Blyleven struck out Mike Davis for his 3,000 career strikeout and still had time to drop seven more batters on his way to a career-high 15 strikeouts in one game. Not to mention, Blyleven also got the complete game. Now, what would a game be without a little bit of offense? In order of his five at-bats Puckett hit a triple in his first, flew out in his second, hit a ground rule double in his third, a single in his fourth and a home run in his final at-bat to become the seventh player in Twins history to hit for the cycle.

What’s even crazier about this date, August 1^st, is that it also marks another unusual time in Minnesota history. In 2007 the I-35W Mississippi River Bridge in Minneapolis. Due to how many people were at the game the Twins elected to play the game that night against the Kansas City Royals, but postponed the game the following night. What I wouldn’t find out until six years later is that my girlfriend, Angie, was in Minneapolis, visiting friends from Wisconsin, and happened to still be in town for when the Twins played the Indians two days later.

July 13- Arizona Diamondbacks

I picked this cap up in November of 2011, all because an order I had placed with the Lids Web site was met with two egregious errors. About a week prior to my visit to the Lids location at Valley River Center in Eugene, Oregon I had purchased three caps, all of which were delivered to my house. Those three caps: the Lakeland Flying Tigers home cap, the 1994 Detroit Tigers alternate cap and a 1977 San Francisco Giants cap, which I’ll write about soon. Of the three caps only the Flying Tigers arrived without any issue. As for the other two; I had to return the Tigers cap because, even though the tags said it was a 7 3/8, it fit like a 7 ¾. In the case of the Giants cap the tags were marked as a Cooperstown Collection cap; however, they sent me this alternate cap instead. I was less than pleased, especially since I had to re-order the Tigers cap and the Giants cap had no more available in my size. I’m not the kind of collector who likes to go home from a day out empty handed, so rather than just get my money back I elected to pick up a certain Pittsburgh Pirates cap that my friend Leif had been hounding me to get and this Arizona Diamondbacks cap.

I never had any intention of outfitting my collection with white caps; after all, they’re much harder to maintain. But in the case of this cap I really wanted to expand upon my Cooperstown Collection line and get something that no one else really had. So far it’s been a bit of a success as I have yet to see anyone else wear one around Eugene, let alone the ballpark since I picked it up, which makes me a little bit sad. The lack of a presence is ironically fitting to the short lifespan of this cap which was only used for a handful of home game during the inaugural season in 1998. Originally classified as the standard home cap, it was changed to a home alternate when the purple cap was introduced before the start of the season.  During that time, the logo was also reduced in size, though most of the versions that ended up in retail stores (like the one pictured here) still had the large logo. The cap that was used featured the smaller logo and was paired with the pinstripe vest jersey as shown here.

 And during Buck Showalter’s press conference after being named as the Dbacks’ skipper.

The majority of the time when the larger logoed cap was shown it was featured on the heads of prospects from the expansion draft of 1997.

What’s actually interesting about the cap that I have is that it’s not even made up to the specifications of 1998. Well, it’s close, but if you look closely you can see that the purple on the cap I have is quite a bit lighter in shade. Obviously if I cared about it that much I wouldn’t have bought it and marked it up, I’m merely pointing out a small flaw just in case any of you cap collectors are way more of a perfectionist than I am.

When coming up with numbers to mark this cap up with I made a slight error with one of them, but I guess it’s not too detrimental as I highly doubt most non-Dbacks fans would have even caught it. Well, unless you’re a Pirates fan. 

 #5- Born in Danville, Virginia, Tony Womack was a seventh round draft pick by the Pirates out of Guilford College in Greensboro, North Carolina in the 1991 amateur draft. A base-stealer with a decent average, Womack floated around the minors from 1991-1996; however, he did make his Major League debut in 1993, but only played in 27 games between then and 1996. In 1997 Womack became the everyday second baseman under newly appointed manager Gene Lamont. The move would prove to be a real shot in the arm for both parties as Womack made the only All-Star game appearance of his career as well as finish in ninth place for the Rookie of the Year award and 24^th for the National MVP award after stealing 60 bases (best in the NL), batting .278, hitting six home runs and scored 85 runs. The following season Womack would lead the NL in stolen bases with 58, post four points higher on his average and score the same amount of runs. This is where I made my mistake with the hat. Womack’s final season ended up being with the Pirates and was not a member of the Dbacks until the following season (1999) when he was traded for Paul Weichard and Jason Boyd. During the 1998 season however, there was someone wearing the #5. His name is Andy Stankiewicz.

Stankiewicz was originally a draft pick of the New York Yankees in 1986, but didn’t make his MLB debut until 1992. After that Stankiewicz bounced around to the Houston Astros and Montreal Expos before playing his final year with the Dbacks in 1998. Having all ready worn #5 with the Pirates, Womack donned it for the Dbacks from 1999-2003. During his time in Phoenix he set a personal best by swiping 72 bases in his first season, making it three straight years of leading the NL in stolen bases. That year he also led the league in triples (14) and set career highs in home runs (seven) and runs scored (111). Womack was also moved from second base to right field in 1999 and then moved to the shortstop in 2000 as Jay Bell all ready had the keystone locked up.

Womack was an important part of the Dbacks' World Championship Team in 2001, especially with two key base hits that both came in the bottom of the ninth inning of deciding games in the playoffs. Womack ended the first-round series with a walk-off single off the Cardinals' Steve Kline. Later, Womack set up Luis Gonzalez' famous game-winning single in Game 7 of the World Series with a game-tying one-out double against the Yankees' Mariano Rivera. Womack owns the Diamondbacks record for most stolen bases in a career (182).

Womack would play until 2006 with the Colorado Rockies (2003), Chicago Cubs (2003 and 2006), Cardinals (2004), Yankees (2005) and Cincinnati Reds (2006).

#26- Drafted by the Minnesota Twins in the 20^th round of the 1990 amateur draft out of Viterbo University in La Crosse, Wisconsin, Damian Miller was on pace to being a life-long minor league player until he had a breakout season in 1997 was called up to relieve aging All-Star catcher Terry Steinbach for a few games. However, because Miller was used so infrequently and appeared so low on the Twins’ depth chart they had no problem allowing Miller getting thrown into the mix for the 1997 expansion draft, where he was selected in the 47^th round by the Dbacks. Another interesting factoid about Miller is that he was never a member of the Major League Baseball Players Association, as he was a replacement player during the 1994 Major League Baseball strike. These players are barred from joining the players' union. Another notable name on this list is former Florida Marlins, Toronto Blue Jays, Baltimore Orioles, Chicago Cubs and Boston Red Sox first baseman/outfielder Kevin Millar.

Miller played for the Dbacks from 1998-2002, hitting .269 with 48 home runs and 194 RBI during his tenure. He was also the starting catcher for the Dbacks when they won their only World Series title in 2001 and made only one All-Star Game appearance in 2002 in Milwaukee. Miller was traded to the Cubs at the end of the 2002 season and then traded to the Oakland Athletics during the Winter Meetings in 2003 for Michael Barrett. Miller would only play one year each for both clubs before signing with the Milwaukee Brewers in 2004 as a free agent, playing out the rest of his career which ended at the end of the 2007 season. Other teams showed interest in Miller once his Brewers contract expired; however, Miller said he would only play for the Brewers if given an offer.

July 4- USA Olympic/World Baseball Classic

Happy Independence Day everyone!!! Time to drop some knowledge!

When I originally thought about doing this post I was going to focus primarily upon the United States of America’s baseball team; however, upon doing a thorough amount of research I found that “one cannot simply talk about USA Baseball” in a few paragraphs. The main reason for this is because the USA Baseball team has evolved for nearly a century. That’s right, for roughly 101 years there has been some form of a US national team in place. So I’ll do my best to keep all of this succinct and with a point, rather than just constant babbling.

If I didn’t all ready blow your mind with the 101 years part, things are going to get a bit crazy for the next page or so for you then. According to the USA Baseball Web site and Wikipedia (for the sake of argument) the US National team was formed in 1978 and has been the National Governing Body (NGB) for amateur baseball. It represents the sport in the United States as a member of the U.S. Olympic Committee (USOC) and internationally as a member federation of the International Baseball Federation (IBAF). This is not entirely true. A lot of it is dependent upon wordage used and when other top-tier organizations complied to recognize baseball on an international level. This includes (as stated above): the IBAF, USOC, NGB, International Olympic Committee (previously), the Pan-American Games, etc. Like I said, there is a lot to cover but I’ll leave most of you to your own research as to not bore you with bureaucracy. Anyway, my whole point of the “not entirely true” dates back to 1912, the first time baseball was displayed as a demonstration sport at the Olympic Games in Stockholm, Sweden.

For those of you who don’t know, the definition of a “demonstration sport” is a game or event which is displayed for promotional purposes as an attempt to encourage interest in other countries. Baseball made its first appearance in the Olympics in 1912 in Sweden as an exhibition sport. A game was played between the US, the nation where the game was developed, and the host nation. The game was held on Monday, 15 July 1912 and started at 10 a.m. on the Ostermalm Athletic Grounds in Stockholm.

The Americans were represented by various members of the American Olympic track & field athletics delegation, while the Swedish team was the Vesterås Baseball Club, which had been formed in 1910 as the first baseball club in Sweden. Four of the Americans played for Sweden, as the Swedish pitchers and catchers were inexperienced. One Swede eventually relieved Adams and Nelson, the American pitchers. Six innings were played, with the Americans not batting in the sixth and allowing the Swedes to have six outs in their half of the inning. The game was umpired by George Wright, a retired American National League baseball player who also happened to be the brother of Harry Wright, the guy who pretty much invented professional sports in the US. One could argue that his Cincinnati Red Stockings of 1871 were the first professional athletes in the world, but that would be an untrue statement. Some dude named Gaius Appuleius Diocles in Rome in 146 A.D. can disprove that.

In 1936 baseball was once again displayed as a demonstration sport, but only two teams actually took the field; the US Olympic team and the World Champion team. Both teams were comprised of all members from the US. But even at that, the US kicked ass in front of Adolf Hitler. The person who pushed for baseball in Olympics was a pro ballplayer named Leslie Mann; no, not the actress whose married to Judd Apatow. Rather, the guy who played for the Boston Braves, Chicago Cubs, St. Louis Cardinals, Chicago Whales (Federal league), Cincinnati Reds and New York Giants for 16 seasons. Originally Mann had organized a 20-game exhibition in Japan the year before the Olympics. In fact, a team from Japan was supposed to play in the Olympics in Germany, but backed out last minute. Mann later went on to found the International Baseball Federation which played its first international championship in 1938 in England. The English team, composed mainly of Canadian college players, won 4 out of 5 games against an amateur American team. He also organized subsequent championships in Cuba in 1939 and Puerto Rico in 1941. World War II brought Mann's efforts to an end.

Baseball was played at the 1952 Olympics in Helsinki, Finland, but not the kind you’re thinking of.

Traditional baseball wouldn’t rear its head in Olympic competition again until 1956 when the games were held in Melbourne, Australia. What’s interesting about these games is that baseball was considered THE “foreign” demonstration sport of the games; however, baseball had been played throughout the country since 1889 and the Australian team was the first to actually field a legitimate team against the US… with the exception that their top cricket players were not allowed to play due to the fact that they were professionals. At the time, according to IOC rules professionals were not allowed to participate in said competitions. Due to the field being set up between the running tracks, right field was only 225 feet so special ground rules were put in place, stating that a ball hit over the running track on the full will be declared a home run, where one that bounces or rolls on or over the track, shall be declared a ground rule double. This rule was put in place to stop baseball cleats damaging the track for the events after the baseball. The game was played on December 1^st (remember, Australian seasons are the opposite of ours) from 12:30pm. As the visiting team, the Americans batted first, scoring 2 runs off 3 hits. Australia did not strike back until the bottom of the 2nd inning, when Chalky White of South Australia hit a solo home run off Vane Sutton. Sutton made up for his error in the top half on the 3rd, with a grand slam to send the score out to a commanding 6-1. The Americans again put the pressure on Australia in the fifth inning as two errors led to another 2 runs to the US, putting them in a comfortable position. The game was eventually called at 2:40pm, after six completed innings and a final score 11-5, with the US batting first. Very few fans were present at the start of the game, but according to record 114,000 had arrived by the sixth inning. This was due to the finals for the 1500 meters, 4x400 meters relay and finish of the men's marathon.

The Olympics were held in Tokyo, Japan in 1964 and once again only one game would be played between the Japanese and the US national team led by former USC head coach Rod Dedeaux, the greatest college baseball coach in history. Members of the team included pitchers Alan Closter, Dick Joyce, and Chuck Dobson; catchers Jim Hibbs and Ken Suarez; outfielder Shaun Fitzmaurice; first baseman Mike Epstein; and second baseman Gary Sutherland. Fitzmaurice hit a home run on the first pitch of the game and the US won 6-2 in front of 50,000 fans.

Baseball at the 1984 Summer Olympics was a demonstration sport, and the first Olympics in which the USA Baseball Team played as an internationally recognized program since the US boycotted the 1980 Olympics in Moscow, Soviet Union. Although single exhibition games had been played in conjunction with five previous Olympics, it was the first time that the sport was officially included in the program, and also the first time that the sport was played in Olympics held in the United States. Eight teams competed in Los Angeles, California in the tournament. Games were held at Dodger Stadium. Cuba, after winning the gold medal at the 1983 Pan American Games, was to participate, but did not as a result of the Soviet-led boycott (Payback). The US made it all the way to the final game where they lost to the Japanese team by the score of 6-3. Notable names from the ’84 team include Mark McGwire, Will Clark, Cory Snyder, Barry Larkin, Bobby Whitt, B.J. Surhoff and Bill Swift. The Dominican Republicteam that year featured a relatively unknown fastballer named Ramon Martinez. Due to the fact that baseball was a demonstration sport, no actual medal was awarded to the winners.

In 1988 in Seoul, South Korea, the final year as a demonstration sport, the US took home the gold (literally) as the beat Japan in the final game rematch. What’s most unusual about this final game is that actual medals were given out; however, they were not recognized by the IOC. It’s all dumb. Notable players on that year’s team include Andy Benes, Jim Abbott, Charles Nagy, Mike Fiore, Tino Martinez, Robin Ventura, Ed Sprague and Mickey Morandini.

Finally, in 1992 baseball made its debut as an official sport at the Olympics in Barcelona, Spain, which is oddly enough one of the only Olympic cities to actually turn a profit off of the games. The US finished a respectable fourth, having bean beaten by Japan and Cuba in the round robin stage and once again by Cuba in the semi-finals. If it makes you feel any better Cuba won the whole thing. But from 1992-2008 baseball served as an official Olympic event in which the US took home one bronze (1996 in Atlanta, Georgia), one silver (2008 in Beijing, China) and one gold (Sydney, Australia).

I don’t know a terrible amount about the Pan-Am Games, but what I can tell you is that the US have won five bronze medals, seven silver medals and one gold medal. I didn’t go into too much research in the Baseball World Cup either as most people don’t know much about it. However, there is the IBAF-recognized World Baseball Classic which wrapped up its third year in 2013… with the US team failing to medal in all three years.  Not to be one to end things on a downer, I saved the best for last, but first… the hat.

This particular cap was first introduced during the 2000 Olympics in Sydney. Prior to those games all headwear consisted of “USA” being stitched across the front panels like this.

Jason Giambi

Kris Benson

So whomever designed the current “US” with a red-outlined silver star logo back in 2000 certainly did a fantastic job as it has been used prevalently ever since in all international baseball games. While the cap has appeared in other bill and panel color schemes, the classic all-nave blue has lasted all 14 years of competition, with the addition of the flag of the USA added to the side in 2006 during the first World Baseball Classic tournament.

Now, despite 101 years to focus on I was able to whittle my marks down to two numbers for one year.

#28- Drafted by the Milwaukee Brewers in the first round (10th overall) of the 1999 draft, Ben Sheets made his professional debut with the Ogden Raptors of the Pioneer League. In August, against the Idaho Falls Chukars, Sheets struck out eight batters while allowing just one hit through five innings. Later in the month, he was promoted to advanced-A Stockton of the California League. In his seven minor league starts that year, Sheets averaged a strikeout ratio of 10.09 batters per nine innings.

In 2000, Sheets was on the US national team for the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney. One of the most important things to note from this year’s Olympics is that it was the first time professionals were allowed to be on the team. Granted, none of the talent had made it to the Major League level, but they were still paid players in the minor leagues and no longer technically amateurs. Sheets pitched 22 innings, struck out 11 batters, walked one, and gave up 11 hits during the tournament, and faced off against Cuban ace Pedro Luis Lazo in the gold medal game, giving up three singles and advancing just one runner to second base for the entire game. Sheets gave up no walks and struck out five in a 4–0 complete game shutout. It is still considered one of the finest pitching performances in US international competition.

After helping the US win their first and only gold medal in Olympic competition, Sheets headed back to the minors in 2001 but quickly worked through the ranks of the Brewer farm system until making his Major League debut on April 5^th. In eight seasons with the Brewers, the last few which were hampered by injury, Sheets went 86-83 with a respectable 3.72 ERA and 1325 strikeouts. All four of his All-Star Game appearances were made with the Brewers in 2001, 2004, 2007 and 2008. His best statistical season came in 2004 when he went 12-14 with a 2.70 ERA and 264 strikeouts, which were good enough for an eighth place finish for the National League Cy Young award that season. At the end of the 2008 season Sheets and the Brewers went their separate ways.

Sheets wouldn’t pitch again in the Majors until 2010 when the Oakland Athletics agreed to a one year, $10 million with an additional $2 million in incentives, contract with the Oakland Athletics. Sheets got the Opening Day start, going five innings allowing three runs (two earned) on four hits while striking out 3 and walking 4, receiving a 'no-decision'. The Athletics lost the game in the bottom of the 9th. On July 29, 2010, the Athletics announced Sheets would miss the remainder of the season due to a torn flexor in his right elbow. His season ended with Sheets going 4-9 in 20 starts.

On July 1, 2012, the Atlanta Braves announced that Sheets had signed a minor league contract with the organization in order to attempt a comeback to the major leagues. He made his first minor league start with the Mississippi Braves on July 4, 2012. On July 12, the Braves announced that they had called Sheets up from the minors. Sheets made his first start in nearly two years on July 15th against the New York Mets. He pitched six scoreless innings, giving up two hits and striking out five to earn the win. After his second start also resulted in no runs given up by Sheets, who pitched six innings of five-hit, six-strikeout ball, he stated, "If you asked me if I'm surprised I haven't given up a run, yeah I am. But I'm not surprised I'm getting people out. I wouldn't have come back if I didn't think I could get people out." Sheets made the final start of his career Wednesday, October 3, 2012 against the Pittsburgh Pirates.

#16- Doug Mientkiewicz attended Westminster Christian School in Palmetto Bay, Florida, where he was a teammate of Alex Rodriguez. Upon graduation, he was drafted by the Toronto Blue Jays in the twelfth round of the 1992 Major League Baseball Draft, but chose instead to play at Florida State University. In his third season with the Seminoles, Mientkiewicz led the team with a .371 batting average, 19 home runs and 80 RBI. Florida State earned their first ACC Championship, and Mientkiewicz was named ACC Atlantic I Regional MVP. After the season, Mientkiewicz was drafted by the Minnesota Twins in the fifth round of the 1995 Major League Baseball Draft.

In 1998, he batted .323, with a .432 OBP and .508 slugging percentage in 509 at-bats for the New Britain Rock Cats to earn Eastern League (AA) All-Star honors, and a September call-up to the Twins. He batted .200 with two RBIs in 25 at-bats for the Twins. Mientkiewicz earned a roster spot with the Twins the following spring without having previously played in Triple-A, and batted .229 with two home runs and 32 RBIs sharing playing time with Ron Coomer at first base in 1999. After a full season in the majors, Mientkiewicz spent the 2000 season with the Twins' AAA affiliate, the Salt Lake Buzz. He was the Triple-A All-Star first baseman, and Pacific Coast League All-Star designated hitter. He batted .334, with a .446 OBP and .524 slugging percentage, in 485 at-bats for Salt Lake, while both scoring and driving in 96 runs.

After the season wrapped up Mientkiewicz was named to the US team and served as the starting first baseman. Mientkiewicz was counted upon for his leadership as the oldest member of the team. He is best known for his walkoff home run against the South Korean team in the semifinals which helped carry the momentum into the gold medal game against Cuba.

In 2001 Mientkiewicz became the Twins’ full-time first baseman, posting the best numbers of his career on both sides of the ball. He won his first and only Gold Glove of his career that season and finished in 14^th place for the American League MVP award after going .306/15/74 under then-manager Tom Kelly. Mientkiewicz had another solid year with the Twins in 2003, but was traded to the Boston Red Sox near the trading deadline in 2004 where he joined a former Twins teammate David Ortiz as they shattered the “Curse of the Bambino” that season after the Red Sox won their first World Series title since 1918. Not wanting to make the same defensive gaff as in the case of Bill Buckner in Game 6 of the 1986 World Series, Mientkiewicz was put in a first base and recorded the final out of the Series.

Since then, Mientkiewicz became a bit of a journeyman, playing a season each with the New York Mets (2005), Kansas City Royals (2006), New York Yankees (2007), Pittsburgh Pirates (2008) and Los Angeles Dodgers (2009). He currently serves as the manager for the Fort Myers Miracle, an advanced-A affiliate of the Twins in the Florida League.

June 15- Fort Wayne Wizards

If there is a particular line in any baseball-related film that’s stuck with me throughout the years it has to be this one said by Shoeless Joe Jackson, played by Ray Liotta in “Field of Dreams” getting thrown out of baseball, “Getting thrown out of baseball was like having a part of me amputated. I've heard that old men wake up and scratch itchy legs that been dust for over fifty years. That was me. I'd wake up at night with the smell of the ball park in my nose, the cool of the grass on my feet... The thrill of the grass.” There’s something truly haunting about never being able to do what you love again, and it’s definitely a feeling I hope to never experience. I love baseball; probably more than a grown man should. As a kid all I ever wanted to do was play baseball. Morning, noon and night my friends and I went to the school yard and played until we couldn’t see the ball anymore. I played Little League until I was 13-years-old, not that I didn’t want to keep playing, the unfortunate reality of my parents’ divorce prevented me from continuing to play every summer as my mother had moved to Pismo Beach, California, about an hour-and-a-half away from my hometown of Bakersfield. My father had been the coach of my teams ever since I was nine-years-old, and no one took it harder that I wasn’t going to be around to play as much as he did. For the next four years I played baseball off-and-on, alternating with basketball and soccer on occasion. I was good at the other two sports, but the reality was that I was truly a prodigy when it came to baseball. I know it sounds arrogant for me to say, but it’s the truth. It didn’t matter if I stopped playing physically, my mind kept going, analyzing new and better ways to get a read on a ball once it was thrown or hit so I knew how to move my body. I played one year of summer league ball once I got into high school, but once again had to move away for the summer to be with my mom, this time in Vancouver. Washington. In 1999 I stayed in Bakersfield for the whole summer. I had scored my bat boy gig with the Bakersfield Blaze and had no intentions on leaving it. This summer, as it turned out, would be one of the last times I’d ever play organized baseball.

I touched on this in a previous post on March 7^th.  Since the Blaze were on the road my friends and I had the privilege of using Sam Lynn Ball Park to practice and play scrimmages in. Word got out and a few guys from the high school teams around the city starting hitting me up, asking if they could play as well. It was almost like my little clubhouse and I somehow became the leader. I obliged. There was no sense in keeping anyone out, especially considering the fact that I would be able to study them as I had intentions of going out for the varsity team the next season.

On an extremely hot 105 degree day in the middle of July my life was forever changed. The thing about Sam Lynn Ball Park is that it was built in the wrong direction. By this I mean the sun sets directly behind the center field wall. Even more important is that a sun shield was built to help get games started earlier as the sun goes down. Even funnier, the sun shield was built a few feet off. See?

It should also be noted that dead center is only 354 feet away, and not that difficult to knock one out during batting practice. Believe me, I don’t have much power but I’ve been able to do it. Anyway, on this particular day the sun was practically blinding everyone who came to the plate as it was around 3:30 in the afternoon. We were playing a full nine innings and I came up to bat for the third time, set to face off against my friend Jason who was on the pitchers mound. The first two pitches I took for a ball and a strike. I lucked out on the ball. I really couldn’t see it. On the third pitch I could tell by his wind-up that he was going to try and throw me a slider. Having known him and played on the same team as him for so many years it all seemed like it was going in slow motion. As he released the ball I could tell he screwed up. The ball was coming in way too high. For some reason my eyes looked upward briefly, catching the sun and I could no longer see the ball. Knowing that it was more-than-likely go in for a ball, I stood there. Within a split second my vision came back, but it was too late. The ball struck me dead center between my nose and my upper lip. I had been hit by plenty of baseball in the past; some in the back, a few in the leg and one or two in the ribs. But the pain of getting tagged in the face was excruciating. I stumbled back and bent down. Somehow I never fell to the ground. Jason came sprinting off the mound to make sure I was ok. I had difficulty finding words. The pain was too much to get anything out. Tears feel from my eyes, but I didn’t cry. When you get tagged in the nose it sets off a chain reaction that waters up your eyes, and I had it bad. Blood poured from my nose, onto my jersey and the ground. I looked up briefly and patted him on the back to let him know I didn’t have any hard feelings against him. Still a bit dazed, I started walking to first base. In my head I knew I got a free base after being hit, but the gravity of the situation hadn’t set in. A few of my other friends and the guys on the field tried to get me to sit down and have some water, but I just wanted to keep playing.

I never went to the hospital. It would be two years before I learned that I suffered post-concussion syndrome which I found out through an electroencephalography (EEG) test. I also learned that my brain rarely shuts down, which is why I usually never sleep. Either way, the damage was done. I was so mentally scarred from that event that anytime I stepped in the box after that I froze. I had no confidence. I was useless. Any dream I ever had of playing professional was gone. It took a few years to muster up the courage to play Portland City League and I was fortunate enough to hit .712 in my only season, but I felt I was too old and missed my window. I pretty much hung it all up after that.

I still have dreams of being in the box on a near-nightly basis. Not necessarily of me getting hit, but scenarios and pitch counts, and knowing what to do in any given situation. That part will never go away, and deep down, it truly saddens me. It’s been almost 14 years. Nearly half of my life, a glimpse of an unattainable moment from my past that will play on repeat for the rest of my life.

I realize I took you all down a weird road, but I promise you it has a point that has everything to do with this cap. I can pretty much come close to guaranteeing that had that moment never happened I probably would be sitting here today to write this story; nor would I have had the opportunity to be one of the nine Cave Dwellers in the MLB Fan Cave last season. Of all the people I had the pleasure of meeting, then-Los Angeles Angels and current New York Mets relief pitcher LaTroy Hawkins certainly rounds out the top.

For those of you who don’t know Hawkins turned 40-years-old on December 21^st of this last year. The occasion took place in Las Vegas and was orchestrated out by his wife. I won’t go into too heavy of details, but the only reason I know this is because he was kind enough to invite me, but I unfortunately couldn’t afford to take the time off of work as I was saving my money to fly to Florida to see my girlfriend Angie Kinderman. The reasons behind how I got invited are insignificant, but all I can really tell you that it was by far one of the most thoughtful gestures I’ve ever received from a truly amazing person. The reason I went into so much detail on how I lost my ability to play baseball over half a lifetime ago is because Hawkins has literally been playing professionally for a little more than half of his. He and I, from a professional stand-point, are polar opposites.

Hawkins was born in Gary, Indiana in 1972. For those of you who don’t know, Gary is roughly 25 miles southeast of Chicago. Gary's fortunes have risen and fallen with those of the steel industry. The growth of the steel industry brought prosperity to the community. Broadway Avenue was known as a commercial center for the region. Department stores and architecturally significant movie houses were built in the downtown area and the Glen Park neighborhood. In the 1960s, like many other American urban centers reliant on one particular industry, Gary entered a spiral of decline. Gary's decline was brought on by the growing overseas competitiveness in the steel industry, which had caused U.S. Steel to lay off many workers from the Gary area. As the city declined, crime increased. The first time I ever heard about Gary was when I was 11-years-old, trying out for the roll of Winthrop in a church production of “The Music Man.” There was a particular song that I had to sing in which the character thinks that Gary is basically the greatest place ever; something that I’ll never forget. Another key note of Gary is that it was also the birthplace of pop music sensation Michael Jackson.

Hawkins was drafted in the seventh round of the 1991 amateur draft by the Minnesota Twins out of West Side High School in Gary. He immediately reported to the Gulf Coast League (GCL) Twins of the Rookie League soon after, were he went 4-3 with a 4.75 ERA and 47 strikeouts in 11 games as a starter. He spent the next four years in the Twins' minor league system until making his Major League debut on April 29, 1995 against the Baltimore Orioles as a starter. From 1995-1997 Hawkins struggled a bit as a starter and was moved to the bullpen to take over closing duties. In 2000 and 2001 where he saved a combined 42 games. When Eddie Guardado was tapped to start closing games Hawkins become a set-up man in 2002 and 2003, and had his best years statistically with the Twins during this time. He went 15-3 combined for those two years with a 1.99 ERA and 138 strikeouts. At the end of the 2003 season Hawkins became a free agent and was singed to a three-year deal with the Chicago Cubs.

Hawkins was assigned by the Cubs to pitch the 8th inning to set up for Joe Borowski, but Borowski went down with an injury early in the season, and Hawkins took over closing duties. On September 11, Hawkins struck out the side on only nine pitches in a game against the Florida Marlins. He finished 2004 with a better-than-average ERA of 2.63 on the year and 25 saves, but he was traded to the San Francisco Giants on May 28, 2005 in exchange for pitchers Jerome Williams and David Aardsma. At the end of the 2005 season Hawkins became a proverbial “gun-for-hire” as he went to the Orioles in 2006, the Colorado Rockies in 2007, the New York Yankees for half of a season in 2008 before going to the Houston Astros for the next year-and-a-half, the Milwaukee Brewers for two seasons (2010-2011), the Angels this last season and the Mets now. During this time frame he pitched a few games at the Minor League level as well, but mostly for the sake of rehab appearances. All in all, Hawkins has donned the jersey of 10 different Major League teams as he is now in his 19^th season in the Majors, but 23^rd year overall as a professional, just a little more than half of his life. Many at any level would give anything to be in the game at the highest level for so long, and Hawkins is surely one who praises every day he steps into the clubhouse.

During the time we met each other in the Fan Cave we only said a few words to once another, mostly about what it was like to be stuck in a room for so many hours during the day. When I got my Instagram account set up back in June of 2012 he, Collin Balester and I would swap jokes back and forth amongst each other, and every now-and-then I found a “like” by Hawkins on a few of the photos I added. The most notable being the Jackie Robinson statue that sits outside Olympic Stadium in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, one of my favorite nights from my North American baseball tour.

When I was down in Corpus Christi, Texas visiting my little sister at school after we had gone to the Houston Astros game the night before, I talked to Hawkins for the first time in a few months on Twitter, but only after he had gotten into a bit of a spat by some punk talking smack. This is an unfortunate occurrence that I see more regularly than I’d like, all of which is started by raucous fans. I always make sure to applaud Hawkins for standing up to all the smack talk, no matter the consequence. I suppose after nearly 20 years of service, not to mention coming from one of the toughest towns in the United States, you can’t help but let his words slide. He earned the right to defend himself.

In the upcoming week I gave Hawkins a heads up that I would be in Arlington for when the Angels visited to play the Texas Rangers. During batting practice my friend Monica Gonzalez (@MissMoniRose) and I went up against the railing to spot him, and sure enough he spotted my big-ass beard and came rolling over to visit. We caught up as best we could. I had no idea of invested he was in my travels as he had been following my tour through all the photos I was posting on Instagram. We talked about food, the ballparks and pretty much everything else baseball related on top of how the season was looking tight between the Angels, Rangers and my Oakland Athletics as the last few games were shaking out. It was within this conversation that the topic of his birthday came up and he asked me to send him a direct message with my info to get to his wife. I of course obliged as soon as I could. We said our goodbyes and he went back to shagging balls during BP. As Monica and I walked away it dawned on me that I forgot to take a photo. I ran back across the left field bleachers, hailed him down again and popped this shot. I don’t normally ask people to pose for my photos, but in this case, based on the fact that he mentioned my photos, I had to do it.

It’s hard to say if we’ll ever meet again, my sources say yes only because I always seem to find myself in the right place at the right time more times than one could imagine. But until then, I hope this piece serves as a solid tribute to one of the iron men of Major League Baseball.

15-5/2.06-  I was fortunate enough to come across this cap on Ebay thanks in part to a fellow New Era Caps enthusiast by the name of John Beare (@Interstate19). He had casually mentioned that he saw it and thought I might be interested. Believe it or not, I had been trying to track down the hat for some time and immediately purchased it for the excellent price of $12 including shipping. Hell, it still had the tags on it.

The Fort Wayne Wizards used this cap from 1993-2004, changing it once to a wider "FW" logo without the wizard's cap in 2005 before they changed their name to the Tin Caps for the start of the 2009 season. The Midwest League came to Fort Wayne, Indiana in 1993. The franchise dates back from the league's days as the Illinois State League, starting in 1947 in Mattoon, Illinois. In 1958 the team moved to Keokuk, Iowa, where it spent five seasons; it was based in Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin (1963–1983) and Kenosha, Wisconsin (1984–1992) before moving to Fort Wayne. From 1993-1998 they served as the single-A affiliate of the Twins before converting to the San Diego Padres in 1999 which still stands as the main affiliate to this day. The one detail about this cap that still puzzles me is why they chose the Wizard hat style that they did. To be honest, it reminds me of the hat Mickey Mouse wore in the Disney animated feature “Fantasia.” Even more surprising, I’m shocked Disney didn’t come to the same realization and get sue-happy.

Of all the moments in the team’s history that I could write about I still find myself drawn to Hawkins’ career; specifically the 1993 season, which, as mentioned above, was also the first season in the history of the Wizards era.

Fort Wayne is roughly 132 miles east of Gary, so not too much of a culture difference for Hawkins when he took the mound for the Wizards in 26 games, 23 of which were as a starter. That season Hawkins had undoubtedly the best year of his career (statistically) including the Majors. He went 15-5 with a 2.06 ERA and 179 strikeouts. Sadly I ran out of room to add the 179 in on my hat, but I made due with what I had. I was also lucky enough to come across some photos of his time with the Wizards which were taken 20 years ago to the date.

It’s moments like this where I realize I ended up where I need to be. As much fun as it would have been, and as great as a fat paycheck would be, I just love researching and telling these stories. God has a plan for all of us. Sometimes we know it on the spot from birth, other times we have to go through half of our lives for the light bulb to click on. I’m perfectly content with the gift and the path God ultimately chose to bestow upon me. It took some time, but the itch is gone. Now, it's just fun to play when I can.

April 23- Minnesota Twins

I probably should have written about this a few days ago, but I was just too darn happy to be with Angie Kinderman (@sconnieangie) to put the proper thoughts together and focus on something so detailed. If you’ve been a regular follower of my blog then you’ve probably noticed on more than one occasion that Angie is a die-hard Minnesota Twins fan. If you’re new to my blog then you should know that my girlfriend is a die-hard Twins fans. I, on the other hand, am an Oakland Athletics fan and for some reason have developed a bit of angst against the Twins since we lost to them in the American League Division Series back in 2002. For those who are unaware that was the “Moneyball” season. Anyway, in the seven months that we’ve been together we’ve only physically been together for a little less than a month’s worth of time due to the fact that we live 3000 miles away from one another; she lives in Florida and I live in Oregon. Being the hopeless romantic that I am I decided to “take one for the team,” so to speak, and wear a Twins hat whenever we meet at the airport. On December 31^st I wore the “M” logo hat from my blog post on January 21^st when I flew into Ft. Lauderdale to see her and I wore the navy blue “TC” logo cap from my post on February 15 when she came to visit me. This last Friday when I flew in to see her again I decided to roll with this cap.

This cap is only the fourth one the team has won on the field in their 53 years of existence. The navy blue panel with red bill “TC” logo was first introduced at the start of the 2010 season and has served as the team’s road cap ever since. It especially seemed like the perfect cap to wear as I traveled to see Angie due to the fact that I was literally going on the road to see her; however, I would love more than anything to make it more of a permanent stop sometime in the near future because I love being with her so damn much. Like with a lot of other teams, the introduction of new caps can have detrimental consequences on a team’s success, and no one found this out the hard way much like the 2010 Twins.

I purchased this cap in late April along with six other hats from the New Era Flagship store across the street from the MLB Fan Cave as well as two from the Lids store about three blocks away. I was in a bit of a spending mood that day on account of the fact that a few of the afternoon games had been rained out after we wrapped up our filming for the day. Fellow Cave Dweller and Twins fan Lindsay Guentzel (@LindsayGuentzel) had a few friends from Minnesota visiting town that week which turned out to be a huge coincidence that I had perfectly timed the purchase. They were all collectively happy about it.

For some odd reason my relationship with Lindsay was rather hit-or-miss at times and I have yet to come up with a reasonable explanation as to why that is. Some days we joked back and forth to one another while others we became highly competitive based on the environment and circumstances we were dealing with. To be honest, I’m pretty sure more of that had to do with my overall attitude. She never wronged me, and sometimes I was a total jerk, something I apologized to her about at great length over the phone while I was on my country-wide baseball road trip a few months after I had been kicked out of the Fan Cave. I think the one moment that really solidified things between the two of us came on the final challenge I had participated in when our assignment was to create an All-Star campaign video for one of the players on the team were representing. I talked about this in my post from April 1^st. I chose to do mine on Reddick at which the final product turned out incredibly well. I had gotten help from the New York chapter of the Oakland Athletics Fan Club which happened to feature a former Miss Oakland named Sophia Andrade. I was also fortunate enough to get former Athletics Eric Byrnes and current Cincinnati Red Jay Bruce to endorse Reddick as well. It also didn’t hurt in the end that Reddick himself endorsed it as well as former WWE talent scout and play-by-play commentator Jim Ross backing at well. Unfortunately for me, the last two parts I had forgotten to relay when we then had to give a one minute presentation and pitch for our player. Lindsay’s video was kind of plain, but still a good idea. Since the team has planter boxes with flowers in the outfield, Lindsay decided to revolve her video around a Twins garden gnome that she had who would then be kidnapped and not returned unless people voted for Josh Willingham. The only catch for her video was that she needed someone with a British accent to do the voice. Cue me. One of the many talents I have is that I can do voice impersonations, a skill I rarely ever discuss with people, but work on regularly throughout my days as I once wanted to do voiceover work for cartoons. So, not being one to turn down requests, I happily helped Lindsay out with the voiceover work… and nailed it in one take. After we had completed our pitches and played our videos it finally came down to the judges’ decision for who the winner would be. At the time I hadn’t won a single challenge we had; however, Lindsay had won two and everyone else except Philadelphia Phillies fan Gordon Mack had all won at least one. I honestly thought I had it in the bag… until they announced Lindsay’s name. I was vapor locked. I did everything I could to keep from reacting emotionally until production wrapped. When that came to pass I walked downstairs and cried. Ricardo Marquez followed me down and did his best to console me. I wasn’t mad at Lindsay because she had won, I was mad at myself for helping her win. And with only a week to go before the first elimination I thought I was done. Which, as it turned out, I was.

On the last day that I was officially a Cave Dweller the A’s and Twins had started a three-game series in Minnesota on May 28^th. Things had started off well on my end; Travis Blackley was pitching a great game as the starter and Reddick had crushed a first inning solo home run off of Twins pitcher Scott Diamond, at which I yelled out, “Diamondcutter!!!” and made the diamond symbol like Diamond Dallas Page of World Championship Wrestling fame. However, my joy, little by little came to an end as the Twins came back to win the game 5-4 in the bottom of the eighth inning. During the comeback Lindsay shouted with as the final runs crossed the plate. She even apologized to me afterward; something that I thought was a bit weird considering that I never had a problem with anyone cheering for their team as they played mine. But alas, that would turn out to be the final A’s game I would watch in the Fan Cave as I was eliminated the next afternoon following the conclusion of the Chicago Cubs versus San Diego Padres game. Of all games. Yeesh!

The Twins would go on to sweep the A’s and my bitterness boiled over as I spent my nights at Foley’s Pub in downtown Manhattan, drinking and watching the last two games of the series with the A’s Fan Club. When I returned to the apartment complex on the night of the third game I arrived just as the other seven remaining Cave Dwellers were getting back. Lindsay, Ricardo and Ricky Mast all shared an apartment so I went upstairs with them for an additional bit of drinking. Lindsay decided to call it a night early, leaving the three of us to our own devices. Not too long after her lights went out I scanned the living room, looking for the garden gnome she used in her video, but I couldn’t find it. Next to the sink in the kitchen sat three Twins bobbleheads she had brought to New York from Minnesota. When Ricky and Ricardo weren’t paying attention I snatched the Dan Gladden bobblehead and bid them a good night. As I reflect back on that night I feel incredibly stupid for what I did; however, I had all the intention in the world to return it at the end of the season. What I didn’t know at the time was that little Dan Gladden would be taking my countrywide baseball tour with me.

I’m not going to go into too much detail on this part of the story as I have a much more detailed post that I’ll be writing in the future; however, what I will tell you is that Gladden made the journey with me to the 27 stadiums I was able to visit (including Canada), to Disneyland, to the National Baseball Hall of Fame and a slew of other baseball related events including a few Minor League stadiums. When I talked to Lindsay on the phone to apologize for the way I may have treated her I had debated on informing her that I had the bobblehead, but the words didn’t quite come out of my mouth. I had only knocked out about half of the stadiums ad wanted to finish my quest before I gave her the slightest hint that I was the one who had abducted it. Unfortunately for everyone, including little Dan Gladden, he has since fallen apart quite a bit. Here is a before and after on the punishment he has taken.

I assure you, it wasn’t my intention for it to end up in as rough of shape as it is. Back in January I hit up Ebay to try and find her a brand new one to send to her so I can finish up my tour with him. Once again; however, fate stepped in the way. Three weeks after I paid for a new one I got an email from the dealer informing me that he had returned my money as the shipping company he had used completely shattered the new on I had purchased. Talk about irony! So with that, I figured a Twins road cap post would be the perfect time to come clean as little Dan Gladden did fall apart on the road. Oh, and in case you’re wondering, yes, I do fully intend to get Lindsay a new one, but I’ll wait to give it to her when I get to Target Field, the final stadium on my checklist after Turner and Coors Field. Seems like a perfect time and place to wrap things up.

Since this cap has only been used for so many years I couldn’t think of two better guys to mark it up with and pay tribute to.

#7- Joe Mauer was taken with the first overall pick by the Twins in the 2001 amateur draft out of Cretin-Derham Hall High School in St. Paul, Minnesota.  He made his debut on April 5, 2004 as the predecessor to A.J. Pierzynski who had been traded to the San Francisco Giants at the end of the 2003 season. Maurer only played in 35 games that season due to swelling in his knees which sidelined him in July through the end of the season. In 2005 he played his first full season, batting an impressive .294 with nine home runs and 55 RBI. From 2006-2010, Mauer was the man, winning three batting titles in 2006, 2008 and 2009 on top of making four All-Star Game Appearances, winning three Gold Gloves (2008-2010), four Silver Slugger awards and the American league MVP in 2009. In 2006 he finished in sixth for the MVP, in 2008 he finished in fourth and in 2010 he finished in eighth. While Mauer has continued to hit well throughout his entire career (.324 lifetime average), it was during the 2011 season that problems began to arise. He signed a $184 million deal in March of 2010 which wouldn’t kick in until the 2011 season; however, he only ended up playing in 82 games that season and underwent arthroscopic knee surgery in the offseason. In 2010 the Twins finished the season in first place in the American League Central Division and lost in the first round of the American League Division Series to the New York Yankees. In 2011 they finished in dead last, and have been there ever since. I kind of want to blame the hat, but I suppose I need more conclusive evidence other than this one guy to prove that theory. Soooooooo…

#33- Justin Morneau was a third round draft pick by the Twins in 1999 out of New Westminister High School in beautiful British Columbia, Canada. He made his MLB debut on June 10, 2003 when he played in 40 games that season and 74 in 2004 where he clubbed 19 home runs along with 58 RBI and a .271 batting average. In 2005 he played his first full season as the Twins first baseman, fairing well at the plate with another 22 home runs and 79 RBI.

In 2006 Morneau dominated the AL. Despite not making the All-Star team that year (ridiculous) he managed to win his first, and only thus far, AL MVP award after going .321 on the season with 34 home runs and 130 RBI. Over the next four seasons he batting average went down and then back up again, but his power numbers stayed consistent. From 2007-2010 Morneau made four straight All-Star Game appearances and even finished in second place to Boston Red Sox second baseman Dustin Pedroia for the AL MVP again in 2008 after hitting .300 with 29 home runs and 129 RBI. When the 2010 season came Morneau started off hot. So much to the point where I flipped him the bird during a game in Oakland after he crushed a home run off of Dallas Braden on June 4^th, the third home run I had seen Morneau yak in the two Twins victories I had seen in the Coliseum. However, only a month later on July 7^th Morneau would be taken out of a game in Toronto after sustaining a concussion which took him out for the remainder of the season. At the time he was batting .345 with 18 home runs and 56 RBI, well-enough on pace to lock up the AL MVP that season. Without Morneau in the lineup the Twins continued to do well with out him, but unfortunately for himself, he was never the same player in the seasons to follow. In 2012 he got a bit of his power back, hitting 19 home runs and knocking in 77 runs, but his average hovered around .267.

What’s most interesting about this hat is that both players were wearing it when their injuries had first occurred; however, they were also wearing it when they had their largest fortunes of success in the first year it was worn. Mauer hit eight of his nine home runs on the road in 2010 and his batting average was 25 points higher on the road (.339) than at home (.314). For Morneau 14 of his 18 home runs that season came on the road, not to mention his .375 batting average outside of Target field along with his 1.205 OPS. If there were ever two guys who had the Midas touch and a drink from the poorly chosen Holy Grail from “Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade” while wearing this cap, it was certainly there two.