twinning i guess

i recently received some "bonus" cards from an ebay seller. as we have most likely all experienced, this happens from time to time. two of these cards are from 2021 topps series 2, and they are both twins. such is the fate of living in the twin cities.  anyway, i did a double take at this first card

which features jorge polanco and marwin gonzalez plus outfielders jake cave, byron buxton, and max kepler in the background. the text on the card purports that polanco and gonzalez are mimicing minnie and paul, but if that were really the case, they would be shaking hands. their typical celebration ended in a different fashion (seen here). maybe they told someone it was their fresh take on the logo. who knows. that's not why i did a double take anyway. 

no, i wanted to know what polanco had written on his hat. here's a closeup:

i think teammates of darryl kile's were the first i knew of to take marker to their hats for makeshift memorials, and we've seen it a few times since. i was curious to find out if this was another example of a memorial for a player who may not have been "patch worthy". as i think you know, i have a mini-collection of cards featuring memorial patches and armbands, and i am always curious to find more examples of players honoring those that came before them and are no longer with us.

after checking the date of the game in the photo (september 23, 2020) and doing a quick google search, i found a tweet from carlos gonzalez that noted polanco's hat text was in honor of ozzie virgil, who is still very much alive (at least as of july 9 when i drafted this post). i did not realize that virgil was the first player from the dominican republic to make the big leagues, but he was and that is what polanco was celebrating. the text of his hat says "ov #17 1956", as it was on september 23, 1956 that virgil suited up for the new york giants and made his debut. it's a nice tribute to a forefather of dominican baseball, and i am happy to acknowledge his milestone achievement, which took place just over 65 years ago.

the other free twins card was miguel sano's

he's sprinkling some crushed clay as he takes the field at target field prior to a game. too bad it's not pixie dust - the twins could use some magic this year.

there was a time when i considered starting a target field mini-collection (it really is a great ballpark and i encourage you to check it out sometime if you are able - hey let me know if you do!). i decided against it, but it does offer a great background for baseball photography, and these two cards are good examples of that.