Players Gonna Play

This year was the 2nd Annual Player's Weekend Celebration, where players can wear any socks they want.

Topps released a set again this year, picking a handful of players from each team - I was of course looking for the Twins' set.

La Makina is my favorite of this bunch. Apparently there were also special short printed cards (please don't die of shock) if a person purchased 5X or 10X sets. Well, that's kind of dumb. Enough re-sellers bit on that, so there are 14 Logan Forsythe short prints and 10 Tyler Austin short prints that I will never see in person.

I did, however, buy my set directly from Topps, which gave me the possibility of getting a bonus card later on... and boy it was a doozy:

It got dusty in this room all of a sudden... Joe dons the tools of ignorance one ... last ... time! Mauer's last game of 2018 just may be the last game of his career, and it was a memorable day, from his Twin daughters greeting him at first base before the game, to a opposite field double in his final at bat, and finally his brief stint behind the plate and long standing ovation from Minnesota fans.

This was nice surprise to add to the 5 card set - I'm hoping that next year will have a a Twins set that features a first place finish!

NOW With Clever Nicknames

Players Weekend was quite some time ago now - it feels even longer given the exciting finish to the 2017 season. The Twins were north of the border in Toronto, and they were struggling to keep pace with the Blue Jays bats. They did manage to have some impressive highlights.

But the appeal of Player's Weekend was the customization and flair that the players were allowed for once. Too bad the photo of Rosario crops out his socks, they were something else.

That certainly stands out! 

Joe Mauer disappointed by opting for the nickname "Mauer," so I won't bother showing the back of that one. Next year, maybe Joe could consider "Well Played" for his jersey. "Baudido" roughly translates to Bandit. The curious can read about the rest of the Twins nicknames here. My favorite was Miguel Sano's "Boqueton" which means Big Mouth. Bartolo Colon opted for a tribute to his late mother instead of "Big Sexy," I think he made the right choice.

The Players' Weekend (ok, I think I've covered all the possible iteration Players, Player's, and Players') was also a big series for Byron Buxton, who's absolutely crushed Blue Jay pitching in his young career. The ball was jumping off his bat on the Saturday game, when he hit 3 homers.

Around the same time as these cards, another Topps NOW gem arrived. Byron's been busy! I can't tell you how long it would take me to circle the bases, but I can pretty much promise you that 14 seconds would not be enough. Buxton absolutely burns up the basepaths, I don't think I've ever seen a baseball player run so fast before.