1990's Metrodome Autograph Collecting
Before one of the first Twins games I went to in late 1988, I overheard some other kids talking about getting autographs before the gates opened. It was before a Texas Rangers game, and one kid was excited because he got (Rangers catcher) Geno Petralli's autograph. His mother was not impressed: "Oh, he plays for the Pirates. He's not a Twin..."
For the record, the Twins are playing Texas. Not Pittsburgh. And Geno Petralli never spent a day in the Pirates organization. Personally, I would have loved to get this autograph... I asked the kids where he was. He told me the players entering and leaving the Dome by the loading dock area under Gate D. "Watch out for Sims Security though" was his warning. He was right. They were dicks.
The only picture I can find on my hard drive of the Metrodome's Gate D, comes from it's January 2014 demolition... But that's pretty damn cool too...
After watching the Twins play Geno Petralli's Rangers, I went home and put a small box together with cards for every player on the roster I could find and several Sharpies. This would now come along every time I went to a Twins game. Before and after games I would be among the 15-30 kids (and some adults) harassing Major League Baseball players as they were simply trying to arrive or depart from their place of employment... I abandoned this practice around 1992 as security around the players entrance at the Dome was tightening. I have no idea how access is handled at stadiums today, I've never tried for ballpark autographs after the 1992 season. I'm sure it's nothing like it was in the early 1990's.
This was a huge part of my enjoyment of Minnesota Twins games from 1988-1991 I never sold any autograph I got in person, and still have every one of them from those Metrodome days. I plan on telling some of my autograph collecting stories from time to time here.
Kirby Puckett
I have to get the most famous Minnesota Twin of the period out of the way first. As a kid, I'd heard about how generous Puckett was in signing autographs at the Dome. I never saw that for myself. Perhaps he was early in his career, but by 1989, you would almost never see him outside the stadium. He typically exited through a different gate on the opposite side of the dome. If he wasn't picked up at the loading dock, away from everybody.
In all the times I hung out after a game, I only saw Puckett outside the Dome twice. The first time, he told me he had to leave right away, so I let him get into his wife's SUV without asking him to sign my card. The second time I saw him was towards the end of the 1990 season. Puckett was very quiet and trying to keep a low profile by the Vikings entrance. His wife had not yet made it, so he signed for three kids. Myself included. Just as the crowd noticed him, his escape pulled up and he was gone. Waving to the crowd through the window as he left. I was envied by numerous people for snagging the elusive signature that day.
While he was never my favorite player, I was very excited to get this trophy piece in person. I'm sure by this point in his career, he was over the whole fan autograph seeking situation. I don't blame him... But he was very classy both times I encountered him.
Gary Wayne
A Rule 5 draft pick of the Twins in December, 1988. Conditions of that pick means the player has to stay on the Major League 25 man roster, or his previous team gets him back. That's making the complicated overly simple, but as a kid, that was how I viewed the process. And Gary Wayne was my first example of how that worked. Wayne pitched five seasons in the Expos farm system until he was drafted by the Twins. Then was a serviceable reliever for his 4 seasons in Minnesota, including a role on the 1991 World Series winning team.
After a late season game against the Seattle Mariners in 1990, I was near the loading docks of the Metrodome, trying to get autographs from the Twins. Most of the fans were at the stairway, waiting to ambush the players coming up the stairs to the parking lot. Coming out of the Dome's regular gate was a tall guy and a REALLY tall guy headed my direction. It was Gary Wayne walking with former Expos minor league teammate, 6'10" Randy Johnson. Wayne signed my card, and Johnson signed my game ticket. (Though no one who looks at it would ever guess it's Randy Johnson. But I know it was... I was there...) As he was signing my ticket, Gary Wayne says to him: "I bet you can't blend in anywhere." Johnson replied: "No." as he handed me the ticket back. I don't remember the player that caused the crowd to be distracted, but Wayne and Johnson walked past the crowd unnoticed. I was ecstatic. Randy Johnson was one of my favorite players even before this night.
In March 1993, the Twins traded Gary Wayne to the Colorado Rockies for Expansion Draft pick Brett Merriman. Merriman was terrible in two seasons the Twins, but Wayne pitched the 1993 season with Colorado, and 1994 with the Dodgers, before calling it quits after pitching the 1995 season in Mexico. Had the Expos called him up before the Twins drafted him, he could have been one of the rare players to see time with the Expos, Twins and Rockies. A very exclusive list only I care about!
For the record, the Twins are playing Texas. Not Pittsburgh. And Geno Petralli never spent a day in the Pirates organization. Personally, I would have loved to get this autograph... I asked the kids where he was. He told me the players entering and leaving the Dome by the loading dock area under Gate D. "Watch out for Sims Security though" was his warning. He was right. They were dicks.
The only picture I can find on my hard drive of the Metrodome's Gate D, comes from it's January 2014 demolition... But that's pretty damn cool too...
After watching the Twins play Geno Petralli's Rangers, I went home and put a small box together with cards for every player on the roster I could find and several Sharpies. This would now come along every time I went to a Twins game. Before and after games I would be among the 15-30 kids (and some adults) harassing Major League Baseball players as they were simply trying to arrive or depart from their place of employment... I abandoned this practice around 1992 as security around the players entrance at the Dome was tightening. I have no idea how access is handled at stadiums today, I've never tried for ballpark autographs after the 1992 season. I'm sure it's nothing like it was in the early 1990's.
This was a huge part of my enjoyment of Minnesota Twins games from 1988-1991 I never sold any autograph I got in person, and still have every one of them from those Metrodome days. I plan on telling some of my autograph collecting stories from time to time here.
Kirby Puckett
I have to get the most famous Minnesota Twin of the period out of the way first. As a kid, I'd heard about how generous Puckett was in signing autographs at the Dome. I never saw that for myself. Perhaps he was early in his career, but by 1989, you would almost never see him outside the stadium. He typically exited through a different gate on the opposite side of the dome. If he wasn't picked up at the loading dock, away from everybody.
In all the times I hung out after a game, I only saw Puckett outside the Dome twice. The first time, he told me he had to leave right away, so I let him get into his wife's SUV without asking him to sign my card. The second time I saw him was towards the end of the 1990 season. Puckett was very quiet and trying to keep a low profile by the Vikings entrance. His wife had not yet made it, so he signed for three kids. Myself included. Just as the crowd noticed him, his escape pulled up and he was gone. Waving to the crowd through the window as he left. I was envied by numerous people for snagging the elusive signature that day.
While he was never my favorite player, I was very excited to get this trophy piece in person. I'm sure by this point in his career, he was over the whole fan autograph seeking situation. I don't blame him... But he was very classy both times I encountered him.
Terry Leach
I was a big fan of the former submarine pitcher from his days with the New York Mets. I remembered hearing about the June 1989 trade to the Kansas City Royals, while listening to the Twins game that night. A few weeks later, I watched him warm up in the Royals bullpen, mesmerized by his submarine motion from the high above angle of the Metrodome's right field upper deck.
The Royals released Leach near the end of Spring Training 1990, as one of the last cuts of camp. A few days later, I was listening to the Twins game at my grandfather's in Moorhead, MN, when Herb Carneal announced the Twins had signed Terry Leach, and he would be in the bullpen on Opening Day (which was just a couple days away). Minnesota had a really bad team in 1990 (finishing 74-88, last place, with only the Yankees being worse), but Leach was one of the bright spots in the bullpen. He was brought back for a second season in 1991, winning the World Series against the Atlanta Braves.
Leach also holds the record for most autographed cards acquired after Twins games. Over the course of his two seasons in Minnesota, I got 11 different cards signed from all points of his career. He was a very friendly guy, and joked with you about his games when he pitched. He not only signed every autograph requested of him, he took extra time to talk to everyone there. Once when he was swarmed by the autograph seeking crowd, he had me hold his cup of beer so he could sign for them. You could really see that he enjoyed interacting with the fans.
He filed for free agency after the 1991 World Series, then signed a contract with the Montreal Expos! Hey, if you're not pitching for the Twins, Montreal is even better in my book! Unfortunately, Leach was released by the Expos, again just before Spring Training ended. He signed on with the Chicago White Sox for the final two years of his career a few days later.
Allen Anderson
Anderson came out of nowhere in 1988, leading the American League in Earned Run Average at age 24. He turned in another good season, winning 17 games for the 1989 Twins. He was usually gracious after games, signing for everyone. In 1990, his success ended and 1991 was his last season in the Major Leagues. I don't remember him signing much those seasons. Preferring to rush to his car and disappear. I will remember Anderson's push to the ERA title however, as one of the first statistics I made it a point to study. To this day, I think of Anderson's great 1988 season whenever I look at ERA leader boards. I'm a dork...
Gary Wayne
A Rule 5 draft pick of the Twins in December, 1988. Conditions of that pick means the player has to stay on the Major League 25 man roster, or his previous team gets him back. That's making the complicated overly simple, but as a kid, that was how I viewed the process. And Gary Wayne was my first example of how that worked. Wayne pitched five seasons in the Expos farm system until he was drafted by the Twins. Then was a serviceable reliever for his 4 seasons in Minnesota, including a role on the 1991 World Series winning team.
After a late season game against the Seattle Mariners in 1990, I was near the loading docks of the Metrodome, trying to get autographs from the Twins. Most of the fans were at the stairway, waiting to ambush the players coming up the stairs to the parking lot. Coming out of the Dome's regular gate was a tall guy and a REALLY tall guy headed my direction. It was Gary Wayne walking with former Expos minor league teammate, 6'10" Randy Johnson. Wayne signed my card, and Johnson signed my game ticket. (Though no one who looks at it would ever guess it's Randy Johnson. But I know it was... I was there...) As he was signing my ticket, Gary Wayne says to him: "I bet you can't blend in anywhere." Johnson replied: "No." as he handed me the ticket back. I don't remember the player that caused the crowd to be distracted, but Wayne and Johnson walked past the crowd unnoticed. I was ecstatic. Randy Johnson was one of my favorite players even before this night.
In March 1993, the Twins traded Gary Wayne to the Colorado Rockies for Expansion Draft pick Brett Merriman. Merriman was terrible in two seasons the Twins, but Wayne pitched the 1993 season with Colorado, and 1994 with the Dodgers, before calling it quits after pitching the 1995 season in Mexico. Had the Expos called him up before the Twins drafted him, he could have been one of the rare players to see time with the Expos, Twins and Rockies. A very exclusive list only I care about!
Claudell Washington
Not a Twins player. Washington was signing along the left field line before a game against the Angels, and I happened to have his card in the box. Sometimes when I was going to a Twins game, I would also bring some cards of the opposition, just in case... This practice started because I saw Cleveland outfielder Candy Maldonado signing autographs in the left field corner before a game. He signed a piece of notebook paper, as it was all I had. Bringing opposing team's cards rarely paid off, with Texas Rangers shortstop Dickie Thon as the other other opposing player's autograph I got on a card at the Metrodome.
But I never went to another Twins game against the Angels without a Jim Abbott card along for the ride. Getting his autograph at the park was my unachieved dream of autograph collecting...
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