I just poked my head into the clubhouse a little while ago, and things are starting to pop.
Lew Ford was getting his equipment organized. Mike Venafro and Tristan Crawford, a couple of minor league invites, were unpacking.
Then, over the next 20 minutes, Mike Redmond, Jason Kubel, Chris Heintz and Michael Cuddyer all walked in. I chatted with Cuddyer, who avoided arbitration on Thursday by agreeing to a one-year deal. A couple weeks ago at the Diamond Awards, Cuddyer spoke at length to a large banquet crowd about how much the Twins organization meant to him. But he was minutes from a arbitration hearing in which clubs stop at nothing to trash players in order to win a case.
Cuddyer, in fact, said he was already in the arbitration room when the sides agreed to a deal. He also said that he wouldn’t have taken anything said during the hearing personally because it’s hard to blame a club for trying to win. I’ve never covered a player with such a balanced view on things.
As Cuddyer unpacked, he pulled out a fresh glove and said. “It’s like Christmas. Everything is new.”
That bring me to the reason for today’s entry.
This is my 10th year covering the Twins. My blood still pumps a little faster as soon as the plane touches down at Southwest Florida International Airport. Over the years, I’ve taken a lot of mental snapshots.
Eddie Guardado annually would report to spring training by tossing his equipment bag halfway across the clubhouse while playfully yelling, “unpack my crap!” to the clubhouse attendants.
Last year, while I was interviewing Cuddyer about how this group of Twins weren’t as rowdy as the ones from the Mientkiewicz era, Tony Batista reported with his arms raised in the air while yelling, “Hello everyone! I am Tony Batista from the Dominican Republic!” It was like he had arrived to save baseball.
I haven’t forgotten some of the practical jokes. One year, someone put a long rubber snake in Jerry White’s jeans while he was on the field. J-Dub nearly jumped out of his skin while changing clothes after the workout.
Then there was the all timer. Corey Koskie put peanut butter in David Ortiz’s clothes, and Ortiz put them on before discovering it. That’s not all. “Check your underwear,” Torii Hunter told him. Sure enough, Ortiz had put on his underwear not knowing that Koskie had put peanut butter in them, too. Priceless.
I remember Matthew LeCroy getting hit in the head by a Ryan Mills pitch during batting practice one year - and Cuddyer nearly getting his head taken off by a Matt Garza pitch last year.
I remember my first Twins spring training in 1998, looking at cows grazing behind the left field fence. Now there’s apartment buildings and an office park there. I remember one year when Jayhawk Owens, who rode a bike to the park each morning, being horrified at seeing an alligator sunning next to a pond behind the right field fence.
There have been injuries, players getting angry at being cut. A.J. Pierzynski getting chewed out by bullpen coach Rick Stelmaszek for dogging it early in his career (A.J. owes you a thank you, Stelly). There’s been some grief the last two camps, when Bob Casey died in 2005 and when Kirby Puckett died unexpectedly last year.
I remember Fort Myers being rather dull in 1998. Now there’s plenty of restaurants, bars, traffic jams and golf courses - although Twins players are finding it hard to get a tee time these days.
I remember Brad Radke, one of my first lengthy stories in 1998. Liked to talk about fishing and seafood, but he wasn’t loquacious. When he retired, he was the last player left from my first year on the beat.
I remember the old team that broke camp in 1998, with veterans Bob Tewksbury, Terry Steinbach, Otis Nixon, Paul Molitor, Greg Swindell, Mike Morgan and others. I also remember the 1999 team that broke camp - Hunter, Mientkiewicz, Cristian Guzman, Chad Allen. It was rock bottom baseball, but the Twins were building something.
And regardless if the team is a clunker or a playoff contender, each spring training still generates plenty of memories. I’m sure this one will too.

 

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