so, what do harmon killebrew, justin morneau and i have in common? none of us were at twinsfest last weekend. killer is battling cancer, morneau is recovering from a concussion and was told to stay away, and i just plain didn't go. with the metrodome roof being non-existent, the event got moved to a smaller venue in the northwest suburbs. tickets were limited and i didn't purchase any before they sold out. i didn't even think about it, really. i didn't really miss it last year and the year before was kinda tough with the weather and what not. no big deal. i did live vicariously through droidtrader, and the pictures he posted with the low ceilings and people reinforced my decision not to bother.
he noted that rollie fingers was there along with fergie jenkins. jenkins would have been nice (he was there a couple of years ago charging around $20), but i already have a rollie fingers auto on a 1978 topps card
(a hof through the mail success!) so, again, no big deal to have missed the festivities.
then, today on my way home, i am listening to the local espnradio affiliate give a quick rundown on twinsfest. no killebrew, no morneau, mauer only signing on friday, hrbek only there friday, etc. and oh yeah - rollie fingers, fergie jenkins and steve garvey were there too.
say what?!?!? the garv? in minny? and i wasn't informed? fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuh.
i have only one in person garvey auto, and it's not even on a card. i do have a few ttm autos, but i would have loved the chance to maybe get a picture like ol' mrmopar. dagnabbit.
i do have a few twinkie/dodger ttm successes from the past few months to share, so in lieu of twinsfest goodies, let's examine those. first up, dave goltz.
1978 topps league leaders
goltz also signed his 1981 fleer,
1981 topps
1982 donruss
and 1982 topps
cards for me. he was at twinsfest and i think i have run out of cards for him to sign. if he's at the summer auto party i don't know what i will put in front of him.
another dodger/twin - ron washington - signed a few cards for me ttm
1984 donruss
1985 fleer
1985 topps
it looks like ron had 'fly j' sign the cards. if you haven't seen the video of wash in the twinkies legends game last season, i would recommend it. he charges a pop fly but then forgets how to bend at the waist to field it once it hits the turf and the ball gets by him, much to the amusement of the rangers players who were watching from the dugout.
with harmon absent, the twin at twinsfest with the best signature was michael cuddyer. love his auto. he signed a couple cards ttm for me, including a 2007 bowman heritage
and a 2007 topps allen & ginter
the pose may be cliche, but the auto is fantastic. thanks to rollie, goltz, wash, and cuddy. but alas, no garvey in person auto.
well, at least i didn't have to stress while trying to figure out what to have the garv sign. now i'm off to cue up some smiths and wallow in my sorrows. good night and thank you.
3 comments:
Sorry about the missed opportunity to meet Garv. Hopefully you'll get another chance.
That sucks that you didn't hear about Garv until it was too late. My first opportunity failed and the one at the Fan Fest in 2001 was almost thwarted as well. There were two lines for autograph guests. You could get into either line and then once you scored the autograph, you could get back in that line for the next player or try your luck in the other line. Usually, you were mid-line (if you tried for both) when the next guest appeared. I luckily positioned myself in the correct line, as getting through two lines in the allotted time was nearly impossible, unless you were somewhere in the middle of one when the new players appeared. Garvey showed up for the signing and was at the head of my line. I didn't care who was in the other line at that moment and now don't even remember.
Hope you get a chance some day.
If you really want Fergie, he can be had pretty regularly throughout the year. And if you're patient enough, he ca be had for $20 with a HOF inscription!! Go get him!!
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