Minnesota Twins Daily Clips Friday, January 23, 2015 ➢ Rand: TwinsFest means baseball is just around the corner. Star Tribune (Rand) p. 1 ➢ You can buy a jar full of pieces of the Metrodome at TwinsFest. Star Tribune (Rand) p. 2 ➢ Minnesota Twins: Leadership award a highlight for Kurt Suzuki. Pioneer Press (Berardino) p. 2 ➢ Twinsights: Torii Hunter tells a great Paul Molitor story. Pioneer Press (Berardino) p. 3 ➢ Twinsights: Class A pitcher Hudson Boyd draws 50-game suspension. Pioneer Press (Berardino) p. 4 ➢ Twinsights: Twins granted fourth option year on Oswaldo Arcia. Pioneer Press (Berardino) p. 4 ➢ Twinsights: Ron Gardenhire tells Paul Molitor, ‘It’s on your shoulders, buddy’. Pioneer Press (Berardino) p. 5 ➢ Twinsights: Tommy Milone inherits Justin Morneau’s No. 33 . Pioneer Press (Berardino) p. 5 ➢ New fun for fans as Target Field set to host TwinsFest. MLB.com (Bollinger) p. 6 ➢ Twins wrap up 'awesome' Winter Caravan. MLB.com (Bollinger) p. 7 ➢ Twins aid research, honor year's best with Diamond Awards. MLB.com (Bollinger) p. 8 ➢ Twins 2015 outlook: Will Kennys Vargas back up his debut?. 1500ESPN.com (Wetmore) p. 9 ➢ Wetmore: Updated Twins 25-man roster projection, a month before spring. 1500ESPN.com (Wetmore) p. 10 ➢ Twins Caravan rolls through Willmar. West Central Tribune (Brewster) p. 13 ➢ The future is bright in Twins Territory. Wahpeton Daily News (Wanek) p. 15 ➢ Minnesota Twins players give advice to young athletes. KIMT.com (Stiepan) p. 15 Rand: TwinsFest means baseball is just around the corner Michael Rand / Star Tribune | January 23, 2015 Twins closer Glen Perkins participated in his ninth Winter Caravan last week; this weekend, he’ll be part of the three days of TwinsFest at Target Field. Between those two events, Perkins was at his home Wednesday doing two things he loves: smoking ribs and thinking about the season ahead. “It’s about getting people excited for the season and introducing fans to new players,” Perkins said of the caravan and TwinsFest. “It’s just fun to see fans’ enthusiasm, especially for me in the winter. Spring and baseball is a fresh start.” The Diamond Awards, a joint venture between the Twins and the local chapter of the Baseball Writers Association of America benefiting University of Minnesota medical research and education, continued the Twins’ run of winter events Thursday evening. The highlights of the night included a silent auction — featuring autographed Twins memorabilia and packages involving several local businesses — as well as the distribution of several awards from the 2014 season. Among the honorees: Pitcher Phil Hughes was honored as the team’s MVP and top pitcher; Danny Santana was the Twins’ top rookie; Eduardo Escobar was named most improved; Brian Dozier won for top defensive player; and Kurt Suzuki took the Bob Allison award for hustle and competitive spirit. Those players figure to be key pieces on the 2015 Twins, a group that will report to spring training next month with the intent of halting the organization’s run of four consecutive 92-loss seasons and playing what Perkins calls “meaningful games in September.” The offseason is a time for optimism, but Perkins says he doesn’t consider himself a “pie in the sky” type of person. Last year’s 70-92 team improved in some areas but the final result fell short of expectations. “I think we should have been a .500 team last year, and I think we improved from where we were last year,” Perkins said. “[Ervin] Santana is going to add depth to the rotation, and Torii [Hunter] is going to be good in a lot of ways. And obviously there’s the new staff. Time runs its course, and we’re excited to see how things are different in spring training and the season as well.” Because as much as Perkins and fans enjoy the reliability of the Twins’ winter events, the predictable on-field results in recent years are wearing more than a little thin on everyone. “It hasn’t been fun to watch. I went through the same thing watching the Twins in the 1990s, so I know what that’s like,” Perkins said. “Hopefully fans will stick with us and we’ll give them a reason to watch.” You can buy a jar full of pieces of the Metrodome at TwinsFest Michael Rand / Star Tribune | January 23, 2015 There was a market for the Metrodome urinal troughs. So why wouldn’t there be a market for other Dome leftovers? Nick Vetter and Joel Bradley are counting on it and will be selling their “Domepourri” featuring bits of the now-demolished Dome this weekend at TwinsFest. A 4-ounce jar of scraps is $5, while a nicer 8-ounce jar is $15. “It’s a nice conversation piece and we think it will bring smiles to a lot of faces,” Vetter told City Pages. “A lot of people have a lot of great memories from the Dome.” If you can’t make it to TwinsFest at Target Field, you can also make a run at one of the jars via eBay. What’s in Domepourri? A hodge-podge of old bits of the Dome, including pieces of the old roof, old turf, cup holders, seats and even bolts. (Insert joke about 1998 NFC title game tears here). Minnesota Twins: Leadership award a highlight for Kurt Suzuki Mike Berardino / Pioneer Press | January 22, 2015 Claiming the Bob Allison Award for Outstanding Leadership in his first season with the Twins is one of the personal highlights of Kurt Suzuki's career, right up there with his lone all-star selection last summer. Yet Suzuki won't mind one bit if he finds it difficult to repeat that honor in 2015. The reason? Newcomer Torii Hunter, who returned to his original organization as a free agent this offseason. "It's perfect," Suzuki, the Twins catcher, said Thursday before the Diamond Awards at Target Field. "Now I can just follow Torii around, and he can do all the work. He's got to keep doing that, and I can just tag along. Torii can make everybody else look good." 2 Suzuki also pointed to newly signed right-hander Ervin Santana as another 30-something veteran with the ability to change the tenor of the Twins' clubhouse. In search of "veteran presence" this offseason, Twins general manager Terry Ryan also signed former San Diego Padres reliever Tim Stauffer, a big-leaguer since 2005. "It's great," Suzuki said. "You can never have enough (leadership), especially guys that have won before like Torii and Ervin, guys that have been to the playoffs a lot. They know the feeling. I think that will always help any team." Suzuki, honored twice with the Heart and Hustle Award during his time with the Oakland A's, joined seven other active Twins players honored at the 10th annual Diamond Awards, which kicked off a weekend of TwinsFest activities. Also honored were Phil Hughes (most valuable Twin, pitcher of the year), Brian Dozier (defense), Eduardo Escobar (most improved), Danny Santana (rookie of the year), Brian Duensing (community service), Kennys Vargas (minor league player of the year) and Jose Berrios (minor league pitcher of the year). Signed on a one-year deal as a free agent 13 months ago, Suzuki didn't take long to immerse himself in a Twins culture desperately trying to end a run of three straight seasons of 92-plus losses. At the July 31 trade deadline, Suzuki agreed to a two-year contract extension with a third-year vesting option that could keep him in a Twins uniform through 2017. Now 31, Suzuki hopes to continue improving in the clubhouse as well as on the field, where he enjoyed a renaissance at the plate last season. "For me, that's something I take pride in is being a good teammate and showing leadership," he said. "I'm not a real vocal guy, but I just try to lead by example. I think anytime anybody gets this award, it's definitely an honor." Does leadership come naturally to the man dubbed Kurt Klutch for his College World Series-winning heroics at Cal State Fullerton? "The funny thing is I guess you could say it's natural, but it's not something I go out and try to be," he said. "I just try to go play the game, have fun and if guys look at you as a leader, it's very flattering and humbling." Making 115 starts and playing through pain last season took care of the "by example" portion of Suzuki's leadership portfolio. His position also helps. "Everybody thinks, 'Oh, he's a leader because he sees everything,' " Suzuki said as 2014 drew to a close. "You're involved with the defense, you're involved with the pitchers, you're involved with the offense. You're involved with pretty much every aspect of the game. I think that's one of the reasons why catchers (become) managers. You kind of understand." Suzuki has no plans to manage after he's done playing. For now, he's having too much playing the game. He expects 2015 to be a more enjoyable experience all the way around. "You come to a new team, you try to fit in, you want to be quiet and kind of know your place," he said. "That's how I've always been. You get a little more comfortable, you talk a little bit more and these guys respect you more. You show them that you care and how much you care, and they will understand that." Twinsights: Torii Hunter tells a great Paul Molitor story Mike Berardino / Pioneer Press | January 22, 2015 Torii Hunter wasn’t eligible to win any Diamond Awards this year from the Twin Cities chapter of the Baseball Writers’ Association of America, but the sage right fielder still managed to steal the show on Thursday night.