Golden Glove display at Target Field (Shotgun Spratling)

Read parts one and two of Shotgun's journey here.

It took me a while to get going this morning. Of course that happens when you get a nice comfortable bed after sleeping in a car for a couple of days.

The day began with three destinations on the docket. Instead, I did what I do occasionally and changed plans. After staying outside of Minneapolis, I headed west for the first time on my trip. I went northwest to St. Cloud to check out the Minnesota Baseball Hall of Fame Museum.

Rather than the Minnesota Twins' pair of world championships (and yes, as a Braves fan, I do still hate Kirby Puckett for what he did in 1991), I was interested in the rich amateur baseball history of the state.

What I was able to find were team photographs for each of the American Legion state championships. There were also various photographs of players and stadiums and some pieces of equipment from the period I'm writing about -- all important points of research I’ve been looking for to assure authenticity for my story.

The museum also had a specific section for the history of black players, who played for the town teams in Minnesota. There was also a book, Swinging for the Fences: Black Baseball in Minnesota, on display that I had not previously seen that I will have to check out considering a good portion of my historical fiction could be set in the small towns of Minnesota and the Dakotas.

I left St. Cloud and headed back to the Twin Cities area in an attempt to get to a small place across from the Metrodome that has what they call the “Original Baseball Hall of Fame.” On their web site, which I won’t even help them out by listing, the hours say they are subject to events downtown, so I called ahead to see how late they were going to stay open.

I spoke with the lady who ran the place. She rudely told me they were closing at 4 p.m. (about the same time my GPS told me I would arrive) and that there was no way I would make it. I politely told her thank you and, naturally, set out to prove her wrong...which I did.

I parked at 3:52 p.m. and walked in only to hear a sound of disgust from the woman I had talked to on the phone. I said hello only to be ignored -- not that she knew me or that I was necessarily anyone of much importance, but when customers come into your shop, shouldn’t you be courteous and kind with the hope that they will purchase something? Evidently not her. While I walked around the store and tried to go into the “Hall of Fame” room, in which I could only see pictures hanging on the walls near the entrance because the lights had already been turned off, the lady told her middle-aged son to go pack everything in the car.

Since they were in such a rush, and because I had other cities to visit, I graciously exited and was able to hold my tongue long enough to get back to my car, and out of earshot, to make sure I didn’t hurt their feelings. Needless to say, I was disappointed and not very happy with my visit to the crappiest mistake of a museum/not a real Hall
of Fame. I was able to appease myself with a visit to the beautiful Target Field until I saw a statue of Kirby Puckett, which is quite possibly the first statue to make someone look fatter than they already were in real life.

Back on the road, I decided to go a few hours out of my way to visit a good friend in Monmouth, Illinois because, really, when you are driving 10-15 hours a day, what’s a couple of hours out of the way?

Interesting Fact of the Day: Satchel Paige, one of the greatest pitchers of all time, pitched for three different Minnesota “town teams” (Worthington, Austin & Moorhead) in 1950. Imagine going to the ballfield thinking you are going to be
hitting against a middle-aged farmer who has been tending the crops since the break of dawn only to see the 6-foot-3 lanky frame of Paige strolling to take the mound to open the game.

Cool Person of the Day: The little sister of my good friend Gabe Turner. Cara had me laughing at her late-night antics before I got back on the road. She can also eat some watermelon.

Quote of the Day: “Everybody got dressed to the nines to go to the ball game, not like today, when people dress like they’re going to rake leaves. Negro Leagues games, especially the big ones, were THE event of the week.” –Charlie Biot (New York Black Yankees)

Part Three Tallies:
- Full Meals: 0
- Hours of Sleep: 0
- Miles: 580
- Non-Destination Stops: 2
- States: Minnesota, Iowa, Illinois
- Rivers: 4
- Lakes: 9 (Minnesota may be the land of 10,000 lakes, but I only saw 9)
- Big Rig Trucks Passed: 55
- Pictures Taken: 97
- Times Crossing the Mississippi River: 7

Totals:
- Days on the Road: 5
- Full Meals: 4
- Hours of Sleep: 20
- Miles: 2625
- States: 10
- Rivers: 15
- Non-Destination Stops: 14
- Big Rig Trucks Passed: 230
- Pictures Taken: 606

To reach reporter Shotgun Spratling, click here.