This year's Twins Winter Caravan started Monday, and as part of the organization's annual tour of the Upper Midwest there was a stop in Mankato.
Team President Dave St. Peter estimated there were about 750 people there, and he sensed a huge buzz in the air.
Sure, they were excited about the upcoming Twins season after last year's 85 wins and a wild-card berth. But St. Peter also knows it was more than just that.
"It was a room full of great Twins fans who are also Vikings fans and they were buzzing about what happened Sunday," St. Peter said in reference to the Vikings' dramatic 29-24 win over New Orleans. "People were in a good mood knowing their football team still has at least one game and hopefully two left."
Add in the strong start by the Timberwolves, the fact that the Wild is still in the playoff mix and the continued success of the Lynx, and the Twins have an interesting market perspective heading into 2018. On one hand, they are in a better position to capture fan attention than they were this time last year, when they were coming off a 59-win season in 2016. On the other hand, the competition for the attention and money of local sports fans has increased.
"The Upper Midwest sports fan is excited," St. Peter said. "People are generally feeling like it's a great time to be a sports fan, and we're all fighting to have a voice and attention. At the end of the day, there are more positives than negatives with that."
St. Peter said the Twins are well above 90 percent in terms of season ticket renewals, "which is about as good as we're ever going to do." He added that the Twins usually sell most of their new season tickets starting in mid-February with the arrival of spring training. More additions to the roster — including a starting pitcher — would help boost sales, he said.
Twins pitchers and catchers report to Fort Myers on Feb. 13, just nine days after the Super Bowl in Minneapolis.
"One season can bleed into the next," St. Peter said. "My sense is the Wolves are going to get that boost if they keep playing this way, and hopefully we will see that, too.
• Thursday marked a continuation of the Twins' local re-emergence from hibernation, with several players and executives in attendance for the Diamond Awards banquet at the Depot in Minneapolis. TwinsFest begins Friday and runs through Sunday at Target Field, while the caravan continues next week.
Among the awards doled out Thursday: Brian Dozier, for the second consecutive season, was named Twins MVP as voted on by the Twin Cities chapter of the Baseball Writers Association of America.
Ervin Santana took home pitcher of the year honors after winning 16 games with a 3.28 ERA, while reliever Trevor Hildenberger was named rookie of the year after his strong work down the stretch. Not surprisingly, center fielder Byron Buxton was named the defensive player of the year.
The Dick Siebert Award for Upper Midwest player of the year across all 30 major league teams went to Twins first baseman Joe Mauer for the sixth time.