See Joe Run

Last night I saw my first inside-the-park home run in person when Joe Mauer turned it on, got a favorable bounce and crossed home plate standing up to take a 2-2 tie with the Angels
and flip it over to a 5-2 win with the rally in the eighth inning.

The things I'll remember most are whacking my Dad in the leg as Mauer approached second and yelling, "I think he can do this!" before springing up to see two runs cross the plate ahead of Mauer. I'll also never forget my dad laughing and clapping as he watched the play - I think it's the most excited I've ever seen him for a sporting event.

Considering he's a moderate baseball fan who honestly watches more games to have something to talk about with my brother-in-law (a White Sox fan) and me, it was a fun game to see.

What I'll remember most, though, is that it was probably the biggest "first" he and I were able to see together. His first game was years before I was born, my first game was an exercise in patience for him and made for a long, long day of batting practice, the game and hanging around the players' lot hoping to see three seconds of Ryne Sandberg before he slipped into his car.

It was the first inside-the-parker for both of us and that was a cool thing to share. It makes me hope that I don't see a triple play or a no-hitter before I have kids so I can share that with them.

* As a quick side note, I was happy to see a Twins-o-gram on the big screen at the game welcoming Batgirl and Baby Dash to the game. It's nice to see she got home for a game. I was the nerd who clapped as people looked at me like I was nuts.

I was OK with that, though I have to admit, I didn't stand up to claim Justin Morneau as my boyfriend for the game. Sorry if that let here down.

(Image from Minnesota.Twins.MLB.com)