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Greg Cleveland
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It's late, and I should head up to bed, but I'm not that sleepy yet anyway.
Tonight was the 2nd Annual Eau Claire Baseball Hall of Fame Induction. (a little history, Eau Claire is where Hank Aaron played his first year of Professional baseball after signing with the Braves. Others like Bob Uecker, Joe Torre also played in Eau Claire,) tonight was about those from the area who have played professionally. There were 41 players who played in the minors--but never made it to the majors--and Andy Pafko. Mr. Pafko is from nearby Boyceville, WI. He is currently living in Michigan in an assisted living center. His brother Lud Pafko spoke in his absece tonight. Lud told some terrific stories about growing up, playing ball together--5 brothers growing up on the farm--and Andy's days in the majors. He was wonderful!
The guest speaker for tonight was originally going to be Harmon Killebrew, but with his emergency gall bladder surgery, he had to bow out, so the Twins helped get Bert Blyleven to come over and step in, and yes, thee were jokes about Bert pinch-hitting for the Killer. Bert spoke for about 20-25 minutes, mostly telling stories and making us all laugh. Twins hitting coach Joe Vavra came along for the ride, and Bert put him on the spot talking about what does he have to do for Joe Mauer--and did Joe really sign a 10 year deal? (off the record, it was still a rumor to him. He spoke to Gardy earlier that afternoon, and it wasn't a done deal yet--but everyone knows it's all but signed) Before dinner, Bert was hanging around a table near the front, letting everyone come up and chat and sign autographs. I already have a couple of ball signed by Bert, and a few other items too, so I didn't need much. Still, I came away with these--
This is from Twinsfest a few years back when Bert was selling "Circle Me Bert" bobbleheads to benefit his Parkinson's Disease Foundation. After buying the bobble, Bert would sign it, and one of the folks working for him offered to take our picture. So I dug it out, and had Bert sign the picture tonight.
It's just a 4x6, but now I need to get a nice frame for it!
There was a silent auction of a bunch of stuff, too. Nothing like Twinsfest, but a couple interesting items were a Bud Selig signed 2009 World Series ball (sweet spot) went for $35, and a Bob Uecker OMBL went for $70. A Jennie Finch auto'ed pink softball went without a bid. No Twins items in any of the auction, otherwise I might have bid on something. Still, it was a fun night, and now I'm ready to turn in!
Tonight was the 2nd Annual Eau Claire Baseball Hall of Fame Induction. (a little history, Eau Claire is where Hank Aaron played his first year of Professional baseball after signing with the Braves. Others like Bob Uecker, Joe Torre also played in Eau Claire,) tonight was about those from the area who have played professionally. There were 41 players who played in the minors--but never made it to the majors--and Andy Pafko. Mr. Pafko is from nearby Boyceville, WI. He is currently living in Michigan in an assisted living center. His brother Lud Pafko spoke in his absece tonight. Lud told some terrific stories about growing up, playing ball together--5 brothers growing up on the farm--and Andy's days in the majors. He was wonderful!
The guest speaker for tonight was originally going to be Harmon Killebrew, but with his emergency gall bladder surgery, he had to bow out, so the Twins helped get Bert Blyleven to come over and step in, and yes, thee were jokes about Bert pinch-hitting for the Killer. Bert spoke for about 20-25 minutes, mostly telling stories and making us all laugh. Twins hitting coach Joe Vavra came along for the ride, and Bert put him on the spot talking about what does he have to do for Joe Mauer--and did Joe really sign a 10 year deal? (off the record, it was still a rumor to him. He spoke to Gardy earlier that afternoon, and it wasn't a done deal yet--but everyone knows it's all but signed) Before dinner, Bert was hanging around a table near the front, letting everyone come up and chat and sign autographs. I already have a couple of ball signed by Bert, and a few other items too, so I didn't need much. Still, I came away with these--
This is from Twinsfest a few years back when Bert was selling "Circle Me Bert" bobbleheads to benefit his Parkinson's Disease Foundation. After buying the bobble, Bert would sign it, and one of the folks working for him offered to take our picture. So I dug it out, and had Bert sign the picture tonight.
It's just a 4x6, but now I need to get a nice frame for it!
There was a silent auction of a bunch of stuff, too. Nothing like Twinsfest, but a couple interesting items were a Bud Selig signed 2009 World Series ball (sweet spot) went for $35, and a Bob Uecker OMBL went for $70. A Jennie Finch auto'ed pink softball went without a bid. No Twins items in any of the auction, otherwise I might have bid on something. Still, it was a fun night, and now I'm ready to turn in!
