Posted: 1/15/03

Twins Winter Caravan to stop in Wyoming

Berk Brown
Sports Editor

A year ago they were on the brink of elimination. This fall they were on the brink of the World Series. Now, in two weeks, they will be at Wyoming Elementary School.

The Minnesota Twins, the defending American League Central champions who played in the American League Championship Series against Anaheim this fall, are bringing their 2003 Winter Caravan to the Forest Lake area on Tuesday, Jan. 28.

The caravan will stop at Wyoming Elementary School at 9:15 a.m. that day before making its way to Pine City for a school visit later in the morning and Duluth for an afternoon stop, the Twins announced on Tuesday.

The Twins Winter Caravan started on Monday and is making more than 46 stops on the tour, including cities in Minnesota, South Dakota, North Dakota, Iowa and in Canada.

The Twinsí stop at Wyoming Elementary will be highlighted by the appearance of a pair of players, two broadcasters and a coach.

Scheduled to appear at Wyoming Elementary are WCCOís John Gordon and Dan Gladden. Twins pitching coach Rick Anderson also is scheduled to appear along with American League Divisional Series hero A.J. Pierzynski and pitcher Kyle Loshe.

This is the 43rd annual caravan, which is one of the oldest and most extensive trips of its kind in Major League Baseball. Members of the Twins will visit several cities and towns with stops at many schools, hospitals and businesses. Proceeds generated along the way will benefit local youth baseball and softball leagues.

ìItís the opportunity for us to bring our players to communities in the Upper Midwest that we arenít able to visit during the season because of the distance involved,î Peter Martin, the Twinsí director of community relations, said. ìItís a way for us to connect with the fans beyond just baseball, but also from a community standpoint. It shows how we, as an organization, value their support during the course of the season. Itís how we give back during the offseason to those fans who make the trek of a long distance.î

Other Twins news

Tickets are now available for the annual TwinsFest celebration.

TwinsFest runs Jan. 31-Feb. 2 at Metrodome and is an opportunity to get autographs of more than 50 former and current Minnesota Twins, including the likes of Harmon Killebrew, Doug Mientkiewicz, Torii Hunter, Brad Radke and Jacque Jones. Minor league players such as Joe Mauer also will be available.

Among the former Twins scheduled to sign autographs is Forest Lake baseball coach Brian Raabe.

Besides autographs, fans also will have the ability to take clubhouse tours, take part in interactive games and shop at one of the largest sports card shows in the Midwest. Single-game tickets for the 2003 season also go on sale at TwinsFest. More information is available at:

www.twinsbaseball.com.

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