Justin’s Casino Night Should Be a Full House! 20 Apr 12

 

Justin’s Casino Night Should Be a Full House!

Like the other statues at Target Field, the pose on this new statue looks good, but the face doesn't look much like the honoree, in this case Kent Hrbek. It stands in front of Gate 14 which was Hrbek's number. You can also see Kent's name on the list behind the statue which lists home grown Twins.

June 10^th, after the Twins play host to the Cubs in an interleague Sunday matinee, Justin and Krista Morneau will be hosting their fourth annual casino night — sure to sell out again. The event will be held at International Market Square in Minneapolis and will kick off at around 6 P.M. It is an extremely cool event, with the proceeds going to the Arthritis Foundation and earmarked for Juvenile Arthritis. For $150 you get to wander among appetizers, adult beverages, and casino games played for fun. But the kicker is: Twins players and other celebrities are doing the same. This is one event where the fan gets a real schmooze opportunity with the celebrities. To register, google: “Justin Morneau’s Casino Night.”

 

Other Acts of Good Will

Joe Mauer’s family and friends will be going to the ballpark en masse on June 26 to watch Joe play, and to raise money for several local institutions and causes. Among them are: The Catholic Athletic Association, St. Columba Church, Cretin-Derham Hall’s tuition assistance program, and Friends of St. Paul.

Paul Molitor will be joining forces with Friends of St. Paul in their annual fundraising golf event. He will be replacing Joe Mauer, who is stepping down as host. Joe’s plan was to go solo and start a golf event which would raise money and awareness for his own foundation, and then personally choose his causes. I think last year’s injuries and illnesses became Joe’s main concerns, and that’s probably why this was put on the back burner. Now that Joe has rebounded back to being a happy, healthy, and strong catcher, I’m predicting he’ll have a major event within a couple of years. And with Paul at the helm of The Friends of St. Paul’s event, it will surely have continued success.

 

Don’t Get Hair in the Ice Cream

A couple of years ago, Joe Mauer explained to me why he enjoyed doing the Kemps Ice Cream commercials: He really likes the ice cream, and on the days when they shoot the commercials, he gets to spend time with his mother. I’ve written many times: Joe is very close to his family and loves spending time with them. However, with his demanding schedule, that doesn’t happen as much as he would like. But if there is a commercial scheduled, it’s a commitment they’ve made, so they will both be there, and they have a lot of fun.

Several weeks ago, Joe got to spend an afternoon off not only with his mother, but also with his fiancée and her mother, too. Joe is a spokesman for Head and Shoulders Shampoo, and together they were working on something for them.

 

That got me thinking. When I first saw Trevor Plouffe this year, he was wearing his Twins cap. He said hello, and nothing seemed different. Later that day, he ran into the dugout and removed his cap to cool off. As he pulled off his cap, I was stunned. A head of hair that seemed twice as long and thick as before popped out. Don’t get me wrong; I’m not one who usually looks at a guy’s hair — but as a receding (bald) man, I couldn’t help but to look with envy. I don’t know how it all fit into his cap. I also think his hair was giving him Samson-type strength. He was hitting the ball hard…and many balls were popping out of the park. That was at training camp, but I think this young man is going to ignite sometime in the regular season. He has the capability to hit 30-plus home runs and play a decent right field. He is a bit shaky in the infield, but that is not his forte.

I don’t think Trevor will get enough at-bats to hit 30 homers unless someone gets injured, and I hate to say this, but that’s been the way it’s been going for the Twins. However, if he does well, and gets a little more notoriety, his hair will make him the perfect candidate for a shampoo endorsement. I met his mom last year, and she is a proud, nice lady, just like Teresa Mauer. This spring I asked Trevor how his mom was doing. He told me that he and his mom were both so busy, they hadn’t had a chance to see much of each other. So this would be a perfect solution: Trevor hits a ton of homers, Twins win a lot more games, and he gets to hang out with Mom.

Cinco De Mayo at Target Field

 

On May 5, the Gopher baseball team will be taking over Target Field to host the Penn State Nittany Lions. Tickets go on sale five hours before the 2 P.M. start, and are $5 for students and $10 for adults; cash transactions only. All seats are general admission.

If you haven’t seen Target Field yet, this would be a fun way to do it. Because it’s general admission, you can scope out the “high-end” seats that usually aren’t available to the public, although this year you can find pretty good seats for most Twins games.

But no matter what, if you still haven’t been there, you’ve got to check out Target Field. Win or lose, it’s an incredible place, and so is its neighborhood; there are a lot of places to have a lot of fun, before and after the game.

When you go, check out the new Kent Hrbek statue near gate 14.