Twins Blog: All The Summer Stars Fade

A forgettable season ends in an unforgettable way. Gardenhire will be missed.

It was Gardy, Dougie, Guzzie, Rivas, Torii, Jacque, LeCroy, Eddie and ALL the others who reinvigorated my absolute passion and love for the Twins and baseball in the early 2000s. It was Gardy, Santana, Cuddy, Span, Revere, Thome, Morneau, Mauer and ALL the others who kept it going.

All but one of those fan favorites are now either retired, fired, traded or did not resign. Combine that with some losing seasons, and it's hard to be emotionally vested in a ballgame anymore.

"It's all about wins and losses," as Gardy put it today.

As a fan, for me, it's about the experience. Of course, a team needs to win to have a real good experience, but it's not required.

In the midst of this forgettable season, Minnesota fans were treated to something I know I'll never forget. The All-Star Game ranks right below "163" in my personal file of MLB experiences.

Living and working downtown made it so the players, media and fans were literally right outside my doorstep. Walking by the likes of Rollie Fingers, Peter Gammons, Zach Greinke and others felt so causal and natural that I never wanted the week to end…