TWINS TRIVIA is hopefully a fun and informative site that will help you to better enjoy the Minnesota Twins and their wonderful history. “History never looks like history when you are living through it” – John Gardner, former Secretary of Health
I was a little surprised this morning when I was reading the Ft. Myers News-Press Sports section and saw the following headline: Upgrades Underway. Ace News-Press reporter David Dorsey wrote that there was still funding left over from the big 2014-2015 Century-Link Sports Complex remodel and the Twins decided to make use of some of that money for some additional updates.
The biggest change for the fans is the new shaded canopy that covers an area of the field facing concourse on the third-base side. In addition, a permanent serving area is being added to the sky deck as is some additional weather protection for the baseline concession areas. The cost for these changes is $346,531 and it is part of the original $48.5 million in funding so the Minnesota Twins won’t have to spend a dime.
The players get new infield grass but the money for this project comes out of the routine maintenance budget. You can see the entire story in the News-Press (with pictures) here.
Don’t forget that Twins spring training tickets go on sale tomorrow morning.
When I was out at the CenturyLink Sports Complex I picked a Minnesota Twins spring training schedule and I was also handed a brochure called “Spring Training Florida,” put out by the Florida Sports Foundation. Their web site can be found at www.floridagrapefruitleague.com and it is worth your time to check this site out before you head on down here to Florida to catch some spring baseball.
There are 15 teams that train in Florida (eight AL and seven NL) at this time and I thought that it would be fun to see how spring training ticket prices compare when you look at the best seat (most expensive) ticket in the house. Spring training tickets are priced all over the board and a number of teams break down their spring training games into various tiers like they do their regular season tickets. The Twins for example have two tiers and divide their games into “value” and “premium” pricing and this year they even have a lower price for their game against the Minnesota Gophers on March 4th.
It is difficult to try to use logic to explain baseball spring training ticket prices here in the Grapefruit League. Some of the teams that you might say are going to be or have been less competitive have some of the highest ticket prices. I am not sure how things work out in Arizona where the spring training sites are closer together but here in Florida visiting teams seldom send very many, sometimes you wonder if they sent any of their regulars to away games. Not counting the game against the Gophers and any “B” games, the Twins will play 32 exhibition games, 16 at home and 16 on the road but five of those road games are at JetBlue Park just a couple of miles away so you really can’t count those as real away games.
So if you wanted to really splurge and buy a ticket for the best seat in the stadium, what will it cost you this year if you come down here to warm and sunny Florida.
Average price for the best seat in the house is $38.33
I can’t really speak for the other teams but one of the benefits of coming to a Twins game at the CenturyLink Sports Complex around mid-March or later is that you can go to the back fields and catch a couple of minor league games going on. I believe that the minor league players are scheduled to report on March 10 so a few days after that you should be able to start to see them playing some games. Sometimes these games are against each other but most of the time they will play a team from the same level from another organization. Watching these future stars doesn’t cost you a dime and if you get to the park early enough you might not have to pay for parking. I believe the Twins charge about $10 for parking on days when the Twins play at Hammond Stadium and I think they start collecting money sometime between 9:30 AM and 10 AM. So if you are an early bird you can save a ten spot but don’t tell the Twins I told you to do that.
If can swing a trip to Florida to enjoy the sun and the wonderful weather you should try to take in a Grapefruit League game, it is a great way to enjoy an afternoon or evening.
I went out to the CenturyLink Sports Complex on Monday to see what Twins have reported early and are enjoying the beautiful weather here in Ft. Myers. Spring training hasn’t officially started yet but there are a couple dozen players here getting ready for the 2015 season. At this time of the year you see the players start their workouts about 8:30 AM and they are usually done between 11 AM and Noon. I was not willing to get up early and be at the park when the players first start working out so I left our condo in Cape Coral about 9:20 AM expecting to get to the park in 20-30 minutes. I don’t know what happened to the traffic but it took me 55 minutes to traverse the 12 miles. Traffic was just plain crazy, it has never taken me that long to get to the ballpark before. Then again traffic all over Cape Coral and Ft. Myers seems to be extra heavy this year, must be all those folks that are suffering from the cold and snow in the NE that must have decided they had enough and headed for SW Florida. When I finally arrived there were about 30 or so players spread over four fields. Two of the fields had batting practice taking place, a third had some infield drills going on and the fourth field was being used by some pitchers to get their running and stretching in. Since the players don’t wear uniforms it is hard to identify a lot of the players that are there. The big leaguers are easy to identify but the minor leaguers not so much. Torii Hunter was easily the most popular player out there on Monday and he had a group of fans following him and getting his autograph. Kennys Vargas was there and he appeared to be having fun both out on the field and with the fans that asked him for his autograph, the man always seems to have a smile on his face. It is amazing how much he reminds you of David Ortiz, now if he can just hit like Big Papi.
Miguel Sano
Even though has Miguel Sano has not played a game for the Twins he is well-known and loved here in Ft. Myers and everyone enjoys watching him take BP because you know he will park many a ball over the outfield fences. On this day I saw him hit one to dead center that hit the green batting out a long way out there. Sano is not getting any smaller and I really wonder how long he can stay at third base. I heard one of the coaches talking with Sano about running and Sano said he can’t run right now because he is having a problem with his foot. Hopefully that is not a serious issue because Sano needs to get as much playing time in spring training as possible. I saw Max Kepler and I almost didn’t recognize him, Max is a lot thinner this year but when I saw him in the batting cage he was hitting some nice line drives and even poked a few over the fence. I asked Max about his weight and he said that he had lost a few pounds and was eating healthier. Kepler looks ready for a big season.
There weren’t that many fans out at the ballpark but if you are hunting for an autograph and a chance to talk to some ball players then this is the place to be before the official grind of spring training begins. Hammond Stadium itself seems to have fewer and fewer construction workers around it and it is starting to take shape. The landscaping has a way to go but it is getting there. I think there is an open house slated for February 22 to show the fans the Twins updated new digs at Hammond Stadium.
I know that spring training is still a few days away but I want you to keep one player’s name in mind this spring. He might not make the Twins opening day roster but don’t forget the name Eddie Rosario.
I took a few pictures of what is going on down here and you can see them over on the right hand side of the page on the 2015 Spring Training link. They photo’s will make you wish you were down here in beautiful SW Florida in spite of the fact that by Friday morning the temps will be about 37 degrees when the sun appears over Hammond Stadium.
I have been out to the CenturyLink Sports Complex several times this week primarily to watch some baseball as about 107 men and women participate in the annual Twins Fantasy Camp which runs from January 10-17. This year there are eight teams playing each other on four fields all day long.
Stan Dickman
Stan Dickman who owns and runs the camp does a fantastic job and he has a staff of former Twins greats that coach the teams, give the players hitting and pitch tips, tell stories and just plain have fun with the fantasy campers. It is not cheap, rookies pay about $4,295 but returning veterans get by with paying $3,795. Having said that it is not cheap, I also need to say that you do get a lot for your money and you won’t get treated any better any place. Stan treats his campers like family and the fact that over 70% of his campers return year after year proves it. I am not going to list all the benefits that campers have but you can check them out on the Twins Fantasy camp website.
I mentioned that the staff is made up of former Twins greats. Here are some of the former Twins greats that I have run into this week, Bert Blyleven is the Fantasy camp commissioner and you see him going from field to field looking for players he can bring up on charges and fine at the daily Kangaroo court. Wouldn’t that be fun to sit in on? When he is not busy writing notes in his ever-present tablet he is interacting with the family members and fans that hang out at the ballpark to watch the games. Others Twins greats that I have run into this week were Tony Oliva, Tom Brunansky, Kent Hrbek, Greg Gagne, Frank Viola, Rick Aguilera, Tim Laudner, Juan Berenguer, Mickey Hatcher, Frank Quilici, Bill Campbell, Steve Braun, Phil Roof, Julio Becquer, Gene Larkin and I am sure there are others that I have not seen. These Twins greats are all willing to spend time talking with fans and family members, have their pictures taken and sign all kinds of autographs. It is like a huge family reunion where everyone knows everyone and the players and the Twins greats are all on a first name basis.
One of the Twins Fantasy Campers, Father Stan Mader watches the ball all the way to the catchers mitt as he bats in one of the games.
I noticed right off the bat that the fantasy games are a bit different then the normal games that I watch out here in the spring at Hammond Stadium and on the adjoining fields. The action is a tad slower, each of the games has two umpires, the players may not be as athletic as they would like to be, catchers have trouble getting the ball back to the pitchers sometimes, there are 10 players on the field as the teams utilize four outfielders, courtesy runners are utilized when needed, in one game I watched I noticed that both shortstops were left-handed, I saw a left-handed third basemen, and even a left-handed catcher, I wonder where he got the left-handed catchers mitt? The play is entertaining, sometimes you can’t help but laugh at a play that may or may not have been made, but you know what, the players cheer for each other and they are playing as hard as they can because they want to win, just like the Twins do. They all want to get to that championship game on Saturday that will be played in Hammond Stadium.
But you know what I didn’t see? I didn’t see pitchers stepping off the mound and adjusting their cups, I didn’t see batters stepping out to walk around and adjust their batting gloves after each pitch, I didn’t see the catchers walk out to the pitcher’s mound every few pitches, there wasn’t as much spitting as you see at a normal baseball game and only once did I see a batter complain to the home plate umpire about a call and he was a pitcher that said “I hope I get the same call when I am pitching.”
But the action isn’t always on the field, today former Boston Red Sox pitcher Bill Lee stopped by for a visit and he held court with the fans, fantasy campers, and former Twins players alike with his story-telling. The man is 68 plus years old and he looks like he could take the mound for the Twins in 2015 and win 10 games or so. Matter of fact, according to the “Spaceman” himself, he still plays ball all over the world and last year he claims to have pitched over 340 innings including a couple of one-hitters. Wish I would have taken my camera out there today so I cold have taken his picture but I didn’t. I should know better than to go out to the ballpark without my camera.
I was talking with Bert Blyleven the other day behind the home plate screen at one of the fields when Twins TV announcer Dick Bremer stepped up to the plate and of course Blyleven gave him “an easy out coming” call that got Bremer to look around and smile. Bremer ended up popping out to the third baseman this time but Bert told me that Bremer can get ahold of one now and then. He told me a story about how Bremer a few years back pulled a home run over the left field fence that was a grand slam and the ball darned near hit Bert’s car that was parked near by.
I also wandered over to Hammond Stadium to see what progress was being made on all the work being done there. Even the workers there were friendly and stopped and chatted with me about their work and didn’t yell at me to watch out for all the wet concrete that seemed to be everywhere. According to the workers that I talked with, everything is on schedule and that fans are in for a treat when they come out to watch the Minnesota Twins play their spring training schedule in the not too distant future. The landscaping has not really started but according to one of the workers that will get started in February. I took some pictures of the stadium exterior and you can see them here. Workers have been busy installing the new sign out front at the entrance and that is still not complete but it is not too far away from the looks of things.
Since I am here in SW Florida for a couple of weeks I thought I would stop by the Minnesota Twins spring training complex which has been renamed as the CenturyLink Sports Complex and see how thing are progressing on Phase II of the $48.5 million (Twins kicked in $6 million) remodeling effort.
The old Lee County Sports Complex sign at the entrance is gone and as of yet there is no new sign. The complex and a number of its fields are currently being used to host the Roy Hobbs World Series so there were a lot of cars in the parking lot with players and fans milling about. The stadium itself is a beehive of activity as you can see in some of the pictures I took while I was there. There is dust, dirt, and construction equipment everywhere.
When I looked around the fields I could see some players off in the distance with some Twins gear on running around on that new agility field that was built last year that has what looks like a little hill on it. There were about two dozen players running around throwing a basketball back and forth as they ran from one end to the other in groups of three. I didn’t recognize anyone off-hand so I asked one of the guys that seemed to be running the exercise who the players were he grunted that they were some Twins minor league players going through rehab and he did not seem interested in chatting.
I then wandered over to the new minor league player dormitory and that is really a very cool building. Right now the building is also home to the Ft. Myers Miracle offices while work at the stadium continues. When you first walk in the door you are greeted by a security guard that is sitting at a desk that has a huge TC logo behind him that must be 10-12 feet tall. The area has a very high ceiling and the entire ceiling is a huge Twins logo, the pictures I took do not do it justice because it is just too big and I could not get far enough away to get a good picture.
The security guard was very nice and seemed very proud of the complex and he spent some time with me telling me all about it. He mentioned that the dormitory has 58 rooms and 54 of them are doubles for the minor league or rehab players. The other four are used to house management and one of the units is strictly for display to other organizations or teams that may be interested in seeing what the Twins have. I asked if I could get a quick tour of the main floor to take some pictures and he was very nice about it and took me around and explained things.
Our first stop on one end of the complex was the huge theatre type room that sits I think about 260-280 people and I believe it is called the Hall of Champions. It was dark in the room and difficult to get a good picture but it was pretty luxurious with some soft leather looking chairs. Some of the recent Twins meetings after the 2014 season ended used this room. It has several big screen TV’s as well as a huge pull-down display screen. As we wandered over to the other side of the complex we passed a very nice looking large cafeteria that supposedly has some pretty good food. We then went on to the huge players recreation area that had TV’s, foosball tables, tennis tables, pool tables and a few other odds and ends. There are also various class rooms that are used for English classes and things like that. The walls are nicely decorated with uniforms of the various Twins teams ranging from rookie leagues to the major leagues and huge baseball cards of former Twins players similar to what you see at Target field. There is also a display of Twins bobble-heads and another display has the caps from all the Twins organizational teams. I did not go upstairs to see any of the dorm rooms but all in all it is a very impressive building and will serve the Twins and their players very nicely.
While I was in the complex pitcher Randy Rosario wandered in and was kind enough to spend some time chatting with me. I sure wish I would have brought my little recorder but I did not bring it on this trip. Randy is one of the Twins players that is currently rehabbing from TJ surgery. When I asked Randy how he was doing he said he was doing great and will continue with his rehab for a couple more weeks before heading home for the holidays to the Dominican and then returning for spring training. I asked him if he would be throwing in spring training and he said that probably would not happen until April which is about 11 months out from his TJ surgery in May of this year. A nice chat, thank you Randy.
Twins pitchers and catchers are scheduled to report to camp on February 22 and the rest of the team is scheduled to report on February 27. The Twins say that everything is on schedule with the remodeling and that it will be ready to go when they play the Boston Red Sox in their first official home exhibition game of the season on March 5. The actual first game at Hammond Stadium is the day before on March 4th when the Twins take on the Minnesota Golden Gophers. I added a link to the Twins 2015 Spring Training schedule on the right hand side of the home page. The pictures I took the other day can be seen on the 2014 CenturyLink Sports Complex remodel link.
I was a little surprised this morning when I was reading the Ft. Myers News-Press Sports section and saw the following headline: Upgrades Underway. Ace News-Press reporter David Dorsey wrote that there was still funding left over from the big 2014-2015 Century-Link Sports Complex remodel and the Twins decided to make use of some of that money for some additional updates.
