Meeting Dan Gladden

It's been a really long time since I've blogged. For those of you who faithfully follow me, I am likely to write a bit about my absence in the near future. I'm thinking it's time to get back on track. However, I'll get to that another day.

Today, I'll just share the AWESOME post-birthday gift I was able to set-up for my Dad. No credit to me, all credit to the Minnesota Twins and to two-time World Champion Dan Gladden. I sent an email; they made the day awesome!!

Let's begin at the beginning...
In May, my family gathered at my parents' house for dinner. I enjoyed the rare opportunity to watch a Twins game on FSN. (As you know, I love my Twins baseball. However, I haven't yet justified an FSN-level cable subscription after taking into account time available to watch vs. money left in budget vs. the high quality of Twins radio broadcasts.)

So, during the Twins game, Dad and I commandeered the recliners. (Dad always deserves priority, and it was my birthday celebration. Totally justified.) As we chatted about the game, I vividly recall Dad saying "Man, what I wouldn't give for 10 minutes to talk with Dan Gladden."

From the time I was a kid, I knew Dan Gladden. I used to sit on my brother's bed and study the framed baseball cards of the '87 & '91 World Series Twins teams. I knew Gladden was good because his picture was with both teams!

So my Dad's wish percolated for a few weeks, when I suddenly thought, "WHAT IF I COULD MAKE THOSE 10 MINUTES HAPPEN?"

It wasn't a lock, but I knew the Twins were one of the fan-friendliest organizations in baseball. So, I decided to give it a try. In brief, I emailed Twins President Dave St. Peter and explained that I am a dedicated Twins fan whose love of the game was first inspired by my Dad during my formative years, which just happened to include two Twins World Series victories. And my memories of my Dad were always connected to his recognition of Dan Gladden as one of the Twins Greats. Mr. St. Peter "cc'ed" me in an email to Kevin Smith asking his help to make this visit happen...and I almost peed my pants.

On Saturday, August 3, Dad got his 10 minutes. It may have even been 15. Danny Gladden greeted my proffered handshake with a laugh and a big hug, and his friendly, sarcastic banter took over from there. Below, you'll find pictures and a note at the end about the FANTASTIC Twins personnel we met.

My parents & I meeting Dan Gladden

The only other picture opportunity I had was with Cory Provus. I'm only including this picture to prove I met him. It was certainly not my best photo op, but the evening was all about my Dad. Meeting anyone else was a bonus for me, and I'm glad to have the evidence to prove it. :)

Many of you are aware of my new hobby, so it won't surprise you that I brought these for Danny & Cory:

Speaking of meeting other people, WOW - what a great evening! First of all, before I can even talk about Danny, I have to say a huge THANK YOU to Senior Director Kevin Smith, who might be the nicest guy on the planet. He coordinated our visit and was genuinely interested in making sure our family enjoyed the evening. I am totally indebted to him for making my Dad's day. Or year? I'm guessing it's the #2 day of the year, as I imagine it will only be second to Steve & Molly's wedding day later this year. :)

The man of the hour...Dan Gladden is exactly like you would guess - greets the ladies first, is sarcastic (in an endearing way), brutally honest and absolutely hilarious. He'd be a fun guy to have a pint or two with. My Dad got his "10 minutes"...maybe even a few more, and we each received an autograph. All of us were highly entertained.

We also had the opportunity to meet:

• We rode on the elevator to the press level with Stew Thornley, Official Scorer for the Twins. When I explained that I knew who he was, Stew got a little nervous. I tried to assure him that I only knew him from the good commentary, but I'm not sure he was buying it. Official Scorers can receive a lot of criticism, but I wasn't leveling any. I was in awe of his role. He doesn't know how much of a baseball geek I am, so I don't think he realized he's a celebrity to me.
• As evidenced above, we were able to meet Cory Provus, whose baseball commentary I have enjoyed since his final season with the Brewers. I think he and Gladden are a great match on the radio, balancing the game call, stories, strategy and humorous banter.
• Dick Bremer stopped by our group to trade predictions with Gladden. Bremer expected two Plouffe HRs; Plouffe didn't hit any dingers. It is, however, difficult to criticize a bad guess when the boys won.
• Terry Ryan walked past us as we were walking towards the elevator back to the concourse. This moment clearly showed that my Dad is much more mature and composed than I am, as he was able to coherently say "hello" while I was still picking my chin up off of the ground and doing a quadruple take as Terry said hello to the most important person in the office, Peg.
• We also met Peg, a 38-year employee who clearly makes sure everyone has what he/she needs for the evening. I bet she would have some great stories to tell. If I had been thinking more clearly, I'd have taken a picture with Peg.

In any case, my Dad enjoyed Saturday even more than I'd hoped. I don't think I can top this birthday, and I couldn't be more grateful to Kevin, Dan and all the Twins personnel!