If you’ve ever wondered what exactly Twins players do off the field, it’s the time of year once again to find out. For the second consecutive year, the Twins Wives Organization has put together “Favorite Things” baskets featuring items adored by the ballplayers. (Last year it was put together as an auction; this year, it’s a raffle). Most of the baskets were put together in collaboration between wives and husbands. A few of the single players received special assistance, and we are told that Joe Mauer’s basket was put together by his mother, Teresa. Everyone now: Awwwwww. (Joe’s basket does seem to have some special motherly descriptions). In any event, we think this is a pretty cool idea and recently we had a chance to speak with Lisa Nathan, wife of Twins closer Joe Nathan, about the concept and about Joe’s basket (pictured). Here are a few of the things she had to say:

*The “easy” crossword and sudoku puzzle books are not an accurate reflection of Mr. Nathan’s skill level at said things. He does the Star Tribune crossword every day (good thing he re-signed; we can use the subscription) and “he would have bought medium or hard” if they were for him, Lisa said. Good to know.

*The book “Hold Tight” by Harlan Coben is not only autographed but Coben is a friend of the Nathan family who came out to visit recently.

*Per the sleeve of golf balls: Nathan loves golf — so much so that on a recent golf outing during a Twins road series in Kansas City, Nathan fired a 79 and, upon calling Lisa, had her tell seemingly every male member of her family what he shot. (Disclaimer: if we ever shot a 79, which we will not, we would do all that and more).

*There were some surprises: “I did not even know he liked Starburst candy,” Lisa said. That’s what keeps marriages fresh.

*Nickelback? “He likes all kinds of music, from Nickelback to Frank Sinatra to Dierks Bentley,” Lisa said.

*Joe was a little surprised she included Crown Royal in the basket. Her response: “Well, you love it.” Fair enough.

*Overall: “We thought it was a fun thing to do, to get the guys’ things together so fans could see what they were,” she said.

Agreed. Agree or disagree?

This entry was posted on Thursday, June 5th, 2008 at 3:36 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.