Back in San Francisco, Twins’ Carlos Correa not thinking about what could have been

posted in: News | 0

SAN FRANCISCO — There’s an alternate world in which Carlos Correa is playing out the second year of a 13-year contract with the San Francisco Giants.

But even though he’s playing at Oracle Park for the first time since his agreement with the Giants fell through in December 2022, it’s not something the Twins’ star says he really thinks about.

“Not really,” he said. “Whatever happened that year happened. After that, I moved on. And I’m very happy where I’m at right now.”

So, too, are the Twins.

While the Twins were pursuing Correa in free agency after he opted out of the final two years of his first contact with them, their offer was eclipsed by the offer from the Giants, who ended up agreeing to a 13-year, $350 deal with him.

It would have been the fourth-largest commitment in MLB history and the richest for a shortstop, but the Giants ended up balking at his medical records due to an old ankle injury.

“I was excited to explore the city. I was looking for houses. That part was exciting,” Correa said. “But once it fell through, it was time to move on.”

How close was he to becoming a Giant?

“It was a press conference away,” Correa said.

Correa and his camp quickly pivoted, and he came to an agreement on a 12-year, $315 million megadeal with the New York Mets instead.

The Mets ended up having the same concerns, paving the way for his return to Minnesota, where he has helped shape the clubhouse culture and returned to his all-star form.

“Was it odd to see all the different news coming out every day, going in different directions? Yeah,” manager Rocco Bladelli said. “There were a lot of different things coming out, but I could not be happier to be sitting where we’re at.”

Castro reaction

When his manager showed up at his San Francisco hotel room on Thursday morning shortly after he had awoken, Willi Castro was fearing the worst.

“In my mind, I was thinking maybe I wasn’t hustling. Maybe he’s not happy with something,” Castro said. “I thought it was something bad. That’s the first thing that goes through your mind when the manager is calling you.”

Instead, Baldelli had some happy news to deliver to the super utilityman: He had been named to the all-star team as a replacement on the American League roster for second baseman Jose Altuve.

It’s a long way from just a year and a half ago, when he signed a minor league deal with the Twins and was fighting to just make the team out of spring training.

“I’ve worked hard for this, and being an all-star is really special,” Castro said.

A few days earlier after Correa had been named to the team, Castro said Baldelli had pulled him aside to tell him he deserved to go and to let him know that things could change.

When Altuve had to back out — coincidentally he pulled out to recover from a sore hand after Josh Winder hit him with a pitch last week — Castro got his opportunity.

“He’s a fine human being and a fine ballplayer, and he’s earned this,” Baldelli said. “I like that in 2024, you can look at a guy who plays all over the field, is productive and we can celebrate that person, we can get behind that person, we can call him an all-star.”

Castro has appeared in all of the Twins’ games thus far this season, has played all over the field, filling in for a number of his teammates when they suffered injuries, and has been among the team’s most productive hitters.

He woke Correa up with a call shortly after Baldelli let him know to tell him the good news.

“I was like, ‘Yeah, let’s (expletive) go.’ He’s a guy that deserved to be there in the first place,” Correa said. “The fact that he’s in the All-Star Game and I’m going to be able to share it with him is going to be extra special.”

Farmer injured

Kyle Farmer landed on the injured list on Friday with a right shoulder strain, an injury Baldelli said the infielder had been battling through for some time.

“It’s more than just a little sore,” Baldelli said. “His arm’s really bothering him. We’re going to shut him down right now and let him get that shoulder back to where it needs to be.”

To fill his spot on the roster, the Twins recalled catcher Jair Camargo, giving them three catchers on the roster for the final three days of the first half.

Baldelli said part of the reason for it was that the Twins are scheduled to face two lefties in San Francisco, and the move will help give them the maximum amount of flexibility.

On Friday, both Ryan Jeffers and Christian Vázquez were in the starting lineup, with the latter serving as the team’s designated hitter.

Briefly

Simeon Woods Richardson is scheduled to start for the Twins on Saturday against the Giants. The game will start at 6:15 p.m. CDT and will be televised on KMSP, Channel 9. … Jose Miranda was scratched from Friday’s game with low back tightness.

Related Articles

Minnesota Twins |


With Hall of Fame near, Joe Mauer in a reflective mood

Minnesota Twins |


Twins’ super utilityman Willi Castro named to All-Star team

Minnesota Twins |


Twins prep for three draft picks within top 60

Minnesota Twins |


Saints surrender 4-0 lead over final three innings, lose to Louisville Bats on walkoff homer

Minnesota Twins |


Twins salvage doubleheader with split in Chicago

With Hall of Fame near, Joe Mauer in a reflective mood

posted in: News | 0

In just more than a week, Joe Mauer will be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame, so the former Twins catcher and first baseman has been in a reflective mood.

His speech had to be finished before next Sunday’s 12:30 a.m. CDT induction ceremony, so he was tasked with summing up an 18-year major league career — all with the Minnesota Twins — and thanking the people who helped make it possible in his allotted 10 minutes.

“You get emotional, because like I said, it doesn’t just happen. You can’t do it all by yourself. A lot of people have helped me along the way, and I hope I can articulate that in the time I have to make the speech. … It’s hard to sum it up, but I’m going to do the best I can.”

Those interested in everything Mauer has to say will have to wait for next Sunday. The induction ceremony — also including Todd Helton and Adrian Beltre — will be televised by MLB Network. And if you happen to be in Cooperstown, N.Y., the event is free to the public.

Joe Mauer #7 of the Minnesota Twins takes a moment after coming into catch at the start of the ninth inning against the Chicago White Sox of the game on September 30, 2018 at Target Field in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Hannah Foslien/Getty Images)

But Mauer, 35, did offer a small sneak peek to reporters during a teleconference with reporters Friday evening facilitated by the hall. Asked about Dave Winfield, Paul Molitor and Jack Morris, fellow St. Paulites he will be joining in the hall of fame, he said, “I’ll be mentioning them in my speech. I’ll give you a little inside info here.”

Consider it scooped.

Among midsize cities, only Mobile, Ala., has more hall of fame players: Hank Aaron, Willie McCovey, Satchel Paige, Ozzie Smith and Billy Williams. Remarkably, the loop of houses where Winfield, Molitor, Morris and Mauer all grew up west of downtown is about 3½ miles. Winfield attended Central High, Morris Highland Park and Molitor and Mauer Cretin-Derham Hall.

“It’s pretty crazy,” Mauer said.

And it’s a club that Mauer, like many of those who grew up and live east of the Mississippi River, was proud of before he got the call himself.

“I’m a St. Paul guy, and you know St. Paul is a very proud city and proud town — especially of our baseball history,” Mauer said.

That history includes groundbreaking women such as Toni Stone and Ila Borders, the all-Black St. Paul Gophers, and the Saints, whether it was the American Association team that was the farm club, at different times, of the Chicago White Sox, Brooklyn Dodgers and the Los Angeles Dodgers — and fielded players such as Ray Campanella and Don Zimmer, the independent team that broke all the rules from 1993-2022, or the current Class AAA team of the Twins organization.

“When I was a kid, I dreamed about being in the big leagues. They were some of my favorite players,” Mauer said of his future hall of fame peers. “And as a kid, it gave me kind of a look to say, ‘This is possible.’

“Minnesota is not, maybe, the first state to come to mind when you think of big league ballplayers, but we’ve had some really good ones, really good players and really good people. And as a kid, watching three guys play at the highest level — league championships and doing some special things in the game — made me dream and made me think, ‘This could become a reality.’ ”

Mauer retired after the 2018 season, finishing the game as the Twins’ catcher, a position he hadn’t played since 2013 because of serious concussion issues. He finished with a .306 batting average and 2,123 hits. He won the 2009 American League Most Valuable Player Award, was a six-time AL all-star and won three Gold Glove and Silver Slugger awards.

Winfield (2001), Molitor (2005) and Mauer (2024) were first-ballot inductees. Morris was chosen by the veterans committee in 2018.

“Being mentioned with those guys, to be in that group, it’s pretty special,” Mauer said. “And hopefully that can help some young ballplayer in Minnesota know that, as well. A lot of things have to go right, but it definitely can happen.”

Related Articles

Minnesota Twins |


Back in San Francisco, Twins’ Carlos Correa not thinking about what could have been

Minnesota Twins |


Twins’ super utilityman Willi Castro named to All-Star team

Minnesota Twins |


Twins prep for three draft picks within top 60

Minnesota Twins |


Saints surrender 4-0 lead over final three innings, lose to Louisville Bats on walkoff homer

Minnesota Twins |


Twins salvage doubleheader with split in Chicago

Pedestrian killed in Blaine crash

posted in: News | 0

A woman was struck and killed by an SUV on Thursday in Blaine, according to the Anoka County Sheriff’s Office.

Police and EMS responded at 6:33 p.m. to the report of the pedestrian struck on University Avenue Northeast. The woman had been crossing the street westbound on 85th Street. The SUV, driven by an adult male, was traveling southbound.

The release said that life saving measures were attempted but the woman was pronounced dead at the scene.

The investigation is ongoing.

Related Articles

Crime & Public Safety |


Minnesota police watchdog group raises concerns after second deadly police shooting in Crookston in 6 weeks

Crime & Public Safety |


Deputies search ex-boyfriend’s residence in case of missing Dakota County woman

Crime & Public Safety |


Driver who died in crash that set off fireworks in car ID’d as 22-year-old from St. Paul

Crime & Public Safety |


Hastings woman dies in crash on U.S. Highway 61 in Cottage Grove

Crime & Public Safety |


Child found safe after U of M police issues missing-person bulletin

Obituary: Homeless man in Vadnais Heights believed ‘love is bearing one another’s burdens’

posted in: News | 0

Makayla Burke was never allowed to shovel the sidewalk in front of Panera Bread in Vadnais Heights if Rob Deck was around.

“Rob would say, ‘You go inside. It’s cold out here,’” said Burke, the restaurant’s team manager. “I always told him not to do it because he wasn’t getting paid, but he would always do it anyway. That’s just who he was.”

Rob Deck, of Vadnais Heights, at the American Legion in North St. Paul in May 2016. Deck, 42, who was unhoused, was found dead by suicide at a self-storage facility in Vadnais Heights on June 29, 2024. (Courtesy of Heather Manske)

Deck, who was homeless, loved Panera’s cinnamon-crunch bagels, but his go-to order was a classic grilled cheese sandwich and a cup of creamy tomato soup, Burke said.

Deck, 42, used to walk around town with a shopping cart and wagon full of his possessions. In addition to spending time at Panera, he was a regular at Perkins, Holiday and Kwik Trip in Vadnais Heights.

“All of the customers loved Rob,” Burke said. “I loved Rob. He was everyone’s friend. He never caused any problems, never caused any issues with anybody. Rob was always a good soul to have around. I would see him sometimes talking with someone he’d just met, and it was like they’d known each other for years. He was just a really genuine soul. Despite his circumstances, he went out of his way to cheer people up and really listen to them and get to know them.”

On June 29, Deck was found dead by suicide at the iStorage self-storage facility in Vadnais Heights, family members said.

Friends of Deck have erected a memorial on the corner near Panera with a wooden cross, flowers, stuffed animals and handmade signs. “God Bless You Rob in Heaven,” reads one. “Rob, You are loved and missed,” says another. Someone named Aaron wrote: “RIP, Brother Rob. Wish U wouldn’t have left so soon. Rest in Paradise, Brother.”

Vadnais Heights Mayor Mike Krachmer said Deck was a beloved member of the community. “Rob was really a good citizen,” Krachmer said. “He was a community asset. He helped me to connect with other people who were experiencing homelessness. He was very helpful to people in general. He was always in our commercial areas. If he saw someone who needed help, he helped them. He picked up trash. He was not a burden.”

Deck never panhandled or bothered people, Krachmer said.

People who saw Deck would often reach out to him and try to help, Krachmer said.

“I had people who don’t even live in Vadnais Heights who would call me and see if there was any way that they could help him,” he said. “He was a warm guy. He was a nice guy. So many people supported him. There were just people who felt for him.”

Deck was a favorite at Perkins on County Road E, where he would often sweep the walk or shovel the sidewalk in exchange for a free meal, waitress Wanda Simonson said.

“He liked our cheeseburgers in particular,” Simonson said. “If we had a cheeseburger that was a mistake, we would bring it out to him, and his eyes would just light up.”

Customers would sometimes see Deck outside and then come in and order him a meal, she said. “Everybody knew him,” she said. “We all knew his name. He had a lot of connections here. We were all very saddened when we heard the news. I just wish that some intervention would have happened to get him help.”

Many residents of Vadnais Heights got to know Deck and would look forward to catching up with him at one of his regular “corners.” When Doug Loos saw last fall that the clothesline that Deck used to tie his shopping cart and wagon was fraying, Loos went to Ace Hardware and bought him a new one.

“I always enjoyed chatting with him,” Loos said. “It was always, ‘How are you, Rob?’ I would check in and see how he was doing. ‘What’s going on? Anything new?’ Just small talk. I didn’t want to get too invasive. I would offer him 5 bucks for laundry and any sundries that he might need, and he would accept that.”

Loos said he had been looking for Deck recently to give him a patchwork quilt made by his late mother.

“It was old,” he said. “It had been stored. It just would have been a nice blanket to keep him warm in the winter as a little bit of extra warmth for him this fall. I wanted to show it to him, but planned to store it for him until the fall, but then we didn’t see him. Both my wife and I were very upset when we heard what happened. I will miss him.”

Family touched by tributes

Deck’s half-sister, Heather Manske, said she has been touched by the memorial and tributes to her brother posted on social media.

A memorial for Rob Deck, of Vadnais Heights, outside the Panera restaurant in Vadnais Heights. Deck, 42, who was unhoused, was found dead by suicide at a self-storage facility in Vadnais Heights on June 29, 2024. (Courtesy of Heather Manske)

“I want people to know his story and know that he was loved and cared about and the impact that he had on the people who crossed his path,” she said.

One woman posted on social-media app Nextdoor that she once offered Deck some bottles of water on an especially hot day. “He was so polite,” she wrote. “He said, ‘No thank you, I have all that I need.’ He was sitting next to his grocery cart of life’s belongings.”

“Yes,” responded another. “He was always helping others, but didn’t like accepting the help of others. So sad.”

Deck grew up in Five Star Mobile Estates in Vadnais Heights and graduated from White Bear Lake High School, Manske said. He never married, but was the father of three children “who were the light of his life,” she said.

“Anyone who truly knew my brother Bob knew he was the most awesome, nice, giving, helpful, goofy person who was always there for everyone who came across him,” she wrote on GoFundMe, the online fundraising site.

“My brother came across some hard times a few years ago. He had so many people try to help him, but my brother wouldn’t ever swallow his pride, accept the help, or admit he needed help, so it led to him experiencing homelessness for many years. We still tried to help him. It just pushed him further away. He knew he was truly loved no matter his struggles or choices he made in life.”

Related Articles

Health |


Commentary: Pain doesn’t belong on a scale of zero to 10

Health |


Do you have COVID? Here’s how long the CDC recommends you stay home

Health |


When you need help caring for an aging parent or family member, read this

Health |


More than 6 in 10 U.S. adults support protecting access to IVF, poll finds

Health |


Lack of affordability tops older Americans’ list of health care worries

Family members suspect Deck, who had been through treatment for drug addiction, had again started using drugs in the years preceding his death.

“He would stay awake for days on end,” Manske said. “He wouldn’t let us help him. It just kept getting worse and worse and worse. In the last couple of years, he got more distant and more isolated. We tried and tried to get him to go get help, but he was in denial. He didn’t think he needed it.”

Her brother loved to laugh and was a wonderful father and uncle, said Manske, who said she had on many different occasions opened up her house to her brother.

“The last place he stayed was with me, but he didn’t stay long,” she said. “He had a huge heart and would give the next homeless person he saw whatever he had. He never begged for anything. He never asked for help. He would even turn down help.”

Breaking point

Deck had worked at different fast-food restaurants and convenience stores in Minnesota and at a bar and at a waste-management company in North Dakota. “He kind of did a lot of everything,” Manske said.

Deck’s three children, Angel, Isabella and Peyton, who live with their mother, “were his No. 1,” Manske said. “He would do anything and everything for them. He always did the best he could for his kids. They were his pride and joy.”

Deck lost contact with his children in 2016 – an event he never got over, she said. “Who my brother was at the time of his death isn’t who he was then,” she said. “Losing his kids was his breaking point. Once he lost his kids, he lost his home and he lost his job.”

Friends and family members created the GoFundMe online fundraiser (gofund.me/73322327) to help cover Deck’s funeral expenses. A celebration of Deck’s life will be held sometime later this year, Manske said.

“I wish he had swallowed his pride and taken the help,” she said. “I am glad he is no longer struggling. I just don’t like the way he went out.”

Deck was “focused on survival” the last few years, Krachmer said.

“He was trying to get work, but without an address and a way to keep himself presentable, that’s an overwhelming challenge,” he said. “Rob had had traumatic experiences early in his homelessness in shelters, so he refused to stay in a shelter. He slept outside a lot. On several occasions, just over the last couple of years, he ended up being picked up by the sheriff and taken to the hospital for exposure. … He wanted so much to be in a different place, but the burden became just too much.

“Every homeless person I have ever met has a complicated set of circumstances that keeps them from finding their way into a community,” said Krachmer, who has been mayor since 2022. “There is no one solution.”

Bearing burdens

Deck helped raise awareness about homelessness in Vadnais Heights, said Jason Darst, general manager of Panera Bread, who got to know Deck about two years ago.

Deck would often pull weeds and pick up trash outside the restaurant, he said. “He felt like it was his place,” he said. “He helped keep things looking nice around here. Everyone knew who he was.”

Customers would buy gift cards for Deck and leave them with restaurant staff, he said. “They could just tell he was a good person,” he said. “A lot of people would go out of their way to help him. Maybe they recognized him, maybe they didn’t, but they got a good vibe off of him.”

People would bring in boots, winter coats, snow pants and other warm clothes for Deck, he said. “They just wanted to make sure he had what he needed out there because they knew it was bad,” he said. “People always thought of him whenever the opportunity came up because they knew he was a good person and that he was worth investing in.”

If Deck saw anyone causing trouble near the restaurant, he would chase them off, Burke said. “He would say, ‘No, this is not the place for that,’” she said. “It was, ‘Go figure out where else you need to go, but don’t do that here.’”

Since Deck’s death, customers have talked repeatedly about what an impact he made on them, Burke said. “It’s so sad because he impacted so many lives and yet he had no idea,” she said. “Unfortunately, it’s too late.”

Deck had recently started videotaping some of his nighttime adventures in Vadnais Heights, and employees at Panera were saving up to buy him a GoPro video camera, she said.

Related Articles

Health |


Shelley Duvall, star of ‘The Shining’ and ‘Nashville,’ dies at 75

Health |


Rubén Rosario, New York crime reporter, Pioneer Press columnist and journalism mentor, dies at 70

Health |


The Rev. Jo H. Campe III, who ministered to recovering addicts, dies at 79

Health |


Donald Sutherland, the towering actor whose career spanned ‘M.A.S.H.’ to ‘Hunger Games,’ dies at 88

Health |


Retired Sartell police chief, 74, fatally struck while bicycling

“We talked about having him post them on TikTok,” she said. “I don’t think he knew what TikTok was, but we were, like, ‘You could be famous for this.’ He was, like, ‘Oh, maybe I should look into it.’”

Burke said she and Deck shared many long conversations through the years.

Deck had recently started attending a Bible study and believed that “love is bearing one another’s burdens,” she said.

“I think that’s something that he did really well,” she said. “But it makes me sad because I don’t think any of us realized how many burdens he was actually carrying. There will never be another Rob.”

Suicide prevention information

If you need help: If you are in crisis, call 988 or text “Home” to 741741 for free, 24/7 support from the Crisis Text Line. Or, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255).
If you want to help: Five steps to help others as well as yourself at Take5tosavelives.org.
Please stay: Read survivor stories at Livethroughthis.org: “Our stories can save lives. You are not alone. Please stay.”
Local resources: More local resources at Suicide Awareness Voices of Education (SAVE) at Save.org.