Kent Hrbek's Tales from the Minnesota Twins Dugout [Hardcover]

Kent Hrbek (Author), Dennis Brackin (Contributor)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 1, 2007 | Series: Tales

Imagine a story in which a young man grows up so close to a major- league ballpark that he can see the stadium lights from his front yard. He pretends to be the team's star during neighborhood ball games and fantasizes about one day playing for his hometown team. Stop imagining. Kent Hrbek made those childhood dreams come true. Hrbek was born and raised in Bloomington, Minnesota, site of the Twins' first Minnesota home, Met Stadium. The kid who dreamed about being a Minnesota Twin played 14 seasons for the franchise, helping the club win two World Series titles. His jersey is now one of five retired by the Twins, hanging alongside the likes of Tony Oliva, the hitter he emulated as a child. It's a fairytale story. But it's only part of Kent Hrbek's Tales from the Minnesota Twins Dugout. There's a cruel reality to the story as well. Hrbek was a 20-year-old playing in Class-A ball when he learned that his father was dying of Lou Gehrig's disease. He endured two serious knee injuries before playing a full minor-league season. And he played hurt most of his career, downing Tylenol as if they were M&Ms. Kent Hrbek's Tales from the Minnesota Twins Dugout is the story of those dreams and realities. Enjoy the humorous tales of pranks pulled by him and his zany teammates, revel in the personal dreams that came true and ponder what might have been had Hrbek not shown such disdain for conditioning and diets. Savor the story of the hometown hero who remains to this day fiercely loyal to his Twins. Savor it, because the reality for modern-day baseball fans is that larger-than-life characters like Kent Hrbek have all but passed from the scene.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Kent Hrbek played 14 seasons for his hometown Minnesota Twins, helping the franchise to World Series titles in 1987 and 1991. A .282 career hitter with 293 homers, he's one of five Twins to have his number retired. Since retiring, Hrbek has been active in charity work for Lou Gehrig's disease, hosts the Kent Hrbek Outdoors TV show and is a special assistant with the Twins.

Dennis Brackin has worked at the Minneapolis Star Tribune since 1981, winning several national APSE (Associated Press Sports Editors) awards for reporting. He covered the Twins throughout Hrbek's career, and the two are native Minnesotans who share the same birthdate (May 21) and fondness for practical jokes. Brackin is currently an assistant sports editor at the paper who oversees Major League Baseball coverage.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 186 pages
• Publisher: Sports Publishing LLC (May 1, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1596702524
• ISBN-13: 978-1596702523
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.8 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,041,830 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Kent Hrbek... A Credit to the Integrity of Baseball, June 14, 2007

By 

Toby Martin II (aka R. Howe) "rchowe" (Erskine, Minnesota United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Kent Hrbek's Tales from the Minnesota Twins Dugout (Hardcover)

As a Minnesota Twins fan for some forty years, this may be perceived as a somewhat biased view...but I truly don't believe it is. Most of those who follow the game closely, and appreciate its significance on the national psyche for more than a century, will respect this straight-arrow summary--of Kent Hrbek's team, in particular; but, even more importantly, for the significance and integrity of the game in general. Though an unsung hero in terms of individual awards, he was, in the eyes of many objective baseball observers, as good as any--and better than most--first basemen to play the game. And he was an excellent clutch hitter (e.g., his grand slam homerun in the sixth game of the 1987 World Series) who knew the strike zone, and rarely swung at a bad pitch. But, as he emphasizes in his book, his two World Series rings, and the undying support of true baseball fans in the upper Midwest, and throughout the country, totally overshadow the fact that he was, inexplicably, overlooked for the individual honors which, in the view of many, he so richly deserved. He and others refer to his approach to the game as that of a throwback...the type of player from the game's glory days. This is arguably as high a tribute as can be given a player. And, because these qualities are, sadly, in short supply in today's go-for-the-money atmosphere, Kent Hrbek--nearly thirteen years after his early retirement--is still missed by those who love the game... for the game. And for all of those, "Kent Hrbek's Tales from the Minnesota Twins Dugout" is highly recommended. --Ron Howe / Erskine, Minnesota

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Must Read for Minnesota Twins Fans!!!, May 28, 2007

By 

Brandon Verzal (College Station, TX) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Kent Hrbek's Tales from the Minnesota Twins Dugout (Hardcover)

This book was a great, quick read of antecdotes from Hrbek's career as a Twin. He reveals a lot of suprising off-the-field information that baseball players rarely reveal in career retrospectives. If you were a Twins fan in the glory year runs of 1987 and 1991, you have to check this out.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Hrbek keeps you hooked and entertained, June 14, 2007

By 

E. Calhoun "SketchyPidgeon" (Seattle, WA USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Kent Hrbek's Tales from the Minnesota Twins Dugout (Hardcover)

After reading 'Tales', I felt like I had actually been in the dugout with the Twins. The book keeps moving, doesn't well on any point too long and provides just the right amount of detail. Hrbek and Brackin have delivered a baseball classic.

Hrbek's antics and honesty come through as genuine. He seems like a guy were he your neighbor you could just walk up to and have a nice, casual conversation. His views on baseball provide insight for the fan from the other side of the stadium fence. I remember watching him as a kid whenever the Twins came to Seattle, and he was always an impressive player. We ran into Hrbek on the street in downtown Seattle one day and he lived-up to his friendly guy image in person too.

I really enjoyed this book and highly recommend it for anyone with an interest in baseball or the Minnesota Twins in particular.