On the Beat in Ron Gardenhire's Office

The Minnesota Twins were awesome when we were at Target Field for a game in July. They gave us unrestricted access, which basically allowed us to go everywhere in Target Field and we went everywhere, including Ron Gardenhire's office for his pre-game press conference.
Everyone has a job to do (or as my friend Chuck says, "We're all professionals"), but I really don't know how coaches and players deal with the media sometimes.
It was raining and batting practice was canceled. The first question asked was about the rain. Gardenhire points to his pc screen, where he had a weather site already cued up. Again, the reporter had to ask the question and therefore Gardenhire had to answer it, but it seems silly.
Gardy seems to have magical powers in the dugout sometimes, but meteorology probably isn't one of them. Yet, there he is, answering a question about the storm's path.
The next question is about J.J. Hardy, who missed most of June with an injury. By this day though, Hardy had already been back and played in 10 games, hitting .379 with 3 RBI's and 3 runs scored. What is there really to question about Hardy. He is back and appears to be doing just fine. Yet, the question was asked and Gardy had to answer it.
Several questions were asked about various injured Twins. Gardy patiently answered them. I didn't hear any questions about the Twins-Sox series. Maybe those are asked post-game, when Gardy has to go through this whole routine again.
Don't get me wrong. Gardy has a great job and I would love to do what he does (questions and all). The reporters have great jobs, too. It all just seems like a bit of overkill. On the other hand, there might be another blogger out there writing about how some knucklehead asking questions about travel (although I save those questions for one-on-one sessions).

On the Beat with Ron Gardenhire

Sometimes the rain works against us. Sometimes the rain works for us. At Target Field in Minneapolis a few weeks ago, it poured before the game, which caused batting practice to be canceled.
Ordinarily, this would put a major crimp into our interviews. However, this time, it presented an opportunity to talk to Manager Ron Gardenhire in the dugout before his pre-game press conference.
I have always liked Gardy. Even White Sox fans would have to admit that Gardenhire is an excellent manager. He's also a funny guy. As usual, in our interviews for Global Traveler magazine, we talked to Gardenhire about travel. His answers were interesting and amusing.

Future Stars

As I wrote yesterday, at a recent game in Minnesota, pre-game activities hindered my interviewing. It was Twins' Kids Day, a day in which the families of the Twins organization have some fun on the field. While this limited my ability to get interviews, it did give me an opportunity to take some snapshots of potential future players (look for them again on Johngy's Beat in about 20 years).
Despite limiting my player access, it was cool to see the players and their families enjoying themselves on the field. Even in the middle of a pennant race, players can still just be regular people, too.

Twins Manager Ron Gardenhire pitches to the youngins.

Sons of Twins coaches (aka future major leaguers?) in Minneapolis, MN-July 2009.