On Monday afternoon Aug. 5, 2019, 57 Twins fans boarded a 57-passenger coach bus behind Hy-Vee in Albert Lea driven by Dan Richter, leaving at 4 p.m., headed for Target Field. The occasion was the 26th Annual Lutheran Night at the Twins. The bus was sponsored by FROG (Fully Rely On God), an outreach ministry of Central Freeborn Lutheran Church to promote fun, food and fellowship.
As each person got on the bus, they were given an Albert Lea Convention and Visitors Bureau plastic bag with food coupons inside. The coupons were from Applebees, Arby’s, DQ, The Heritage Restaurant (Ramada Hotel), KFC, Main Street Family Restaurant and QDOBA, all in Albert Lea. Thanks to Shannon, a Beanie Baby was in each bag. Thanks to Genie, a greeting card and an envelope were in each bag.
Four people from the bus (who hadn’t led in singing the National Anthem before) led in singing the National Anthem before the game. They were in a group of about 125 led by a choir director from center field looking at the stadium crowd. The four were Joel Treptow, son Ethan (age 16), daughter Isabel (12) and son Samuel (9). They most certainly qualified as a family choir with Mom the director as they practiced at home prior to the game.
If your birthday is the same day as Lutheran Night at the Twins, your name (if you say O.K.) will be shown on the scoreboard. Eric Petsinger turned 16 the same day, thus his name was on the scoreboard. The people on the bus sang “Happy Birthday” to Eric. Sad to say, the Twins blew it and forgot to put Eric’s picture on the scoreboard.
On the bus on the way to the game, “Deal or no Deal” was played for Twins-related prizes. When your number was called, you got the corresponding prize if you said “Deal.” If you said “No deal,” the item was sold for $5 and your number was re-entered. The prizes ranged from Twins caps, Twins clothing, Twins flags and even Twins cooking tongs. Gary Schindler was the lucky winner of the no-deal cash of $15.
Just as the bus entered the suburbs, a torrential rain plus high wind was a major concern. Driver Don kept the bus moving and we pulled into the parking lot with the sun shining and no wind! There was a lot of standing water at the ballpark, even as the game started on time.
The game moved right along with the Atlanta Braves (No. 1 in their division) and the Twins (No. 1 in their division) tied 3-3 after eight innings. Some of the fans, including this writer’s CEO, were getting concerned this might be another long 13 or 14-inning game. Atlanta didn’t score until the top of the ninth. Now the concern was even greater of a long game. The first two Twins batters in the bottom of the ninth were out, followed by a single. At this point the Twins manager put in Sano to pinch-hit. Sano stepped to the plate, and the first pitch he saw he hit 443 feet over the left field fence. The crowd went wild, including those concerned about a long game, as the Twins walked off with the win.
The best comment heard on the bus back to Albert Lea was by Gary Goodnature when he said, “Winning doesn’t necessarily make a good ballgame, but it sure does help.”
The next planned activities are the No. 1 social event of the year, the Soup & Pie Supper Sept. 23 at Central Freeborn Lutheran Church. And FROG will be taking a bus to Christmas by the Lake in Clear Lake, Iowa Dec. 7.
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Bob is a retired AAL (Aid Association for Lutherans) agent, currently working on his master’s degree in Volunteering. His wife, Genie, is a retired RN, currently working on her doctor’s degree in Volunteering. They have two children, Deb in North Carolina, and Dan in Vermont. Bob says if you enjoy his column, let him know. If you don’t enjoy it, keep on reading, it can get worse. Words of wisdom: There is always room for God.