Saturday, March 28

FORT MYERS, Fla. -- Hard as it is to believe, it’s been 14 years since Johan Santana pitched in a Major League game, and 19 years since he pitched for the Twins. Long enough ago that he never got to share clubhouse time with his son, Johan Jr., who is a junior in high school.

Last week the two made up for lost time.

With Johan Jr. on his winter break from school in the Fort Myers area -- “Winter break, as you can see,” the elder Santana quipped on an 80-degree Florida day -- and dad serving as a special instructor in camp, they got to experience baseball life together in a different and special way.

Johan Jr. spent several days in camp with his dad, seeing as much of the inner workings as he could.

“Nothing better than to spend the time here at the ballpark,” said Johan Sr.

Mind you, it wasn’t just vacation. The time together was special, but Junior also did work. He shadowed media relations employees, served as an interpreter when beat writers interviewed Orlando Arcia and generally got as much of a feel for the team as he possibly could.

“It’s amazing,” said Santana Jr. “I’m blessed that I have the opportunity to be here and learn from everyone who works here. It’s really amazing. It’s a great learning opportunity. I’m so grateful I can be here.”

Dad shares the sentiment.

“It is great,” said Santana Sr. “As a parent, you always want the best for your kids. Just because he’s got my name and I played the game, he doesn’t have to be like me. Not at all. Not in my house. That’s not how we do things. But at the same time, he has the opportunity to see … how we do stuff beyond those lines. And to me, that’s important.”

Johan Jr. loves baseball, but he may not have a playing career, so experience like this is invaluable.

“If you think that you want to get closer to this game, it doesn’t have to be as a player,” the elder Santana said. “There’s a lot of things you can do. So right now he’s learning and he’s open-minded to see what’s next for him. He’s a junior in high school, so trying to figure it out. I don’t know. Right now he’s into sports, management and all that stuff. But I’m his dad. I’m not his boss. Whatever he wants to do. But I think being around and seeing what’s beyond those two lines is important.”

And then, of course, there’s the family aspect. The opportunity would be cool for anyone. For a young man getting to spend the time with his legendary father, at a place he called home for years, that’s something extra special.

“It is,” Johan Jr. said. “It’s awesome. It’s very neat.”

Byron Buxton headlines the list of Twins players who will soon be departing for the World Baseball Classic, but he’s far from the only one.

A total of seven players from the organization, including five currently in Major League camp, are scheduled to participate -- though that number includes Joe Ryan, who likely will miss at least the round-robin phase of the event due to some lower back soreness.

In addition to Buxton and Ryan, both selected for Team USA, the list of Twins currently in camp who will be heading off to play in the Classic is heavy on pitchers. Relievers Dan Altavilla will pitch for Italy, Matt Bowman will pitch for Israel and infielder Gio Urshela will play for Colombia.

Urshela has played for Colombia before and is eager to return.

“Really exciting,” he said. “Representing your country is always something that makes me proud to be Colombian. There’s not many Colombians in the Majors, so I’m really proud to represent the country.”

The Classic starts on March 5, with exhibitions between WBC teams and Major League teams set for March 3 and 4. The Twins play Team Puerto Rico at Hammond Stadium at Lee Health Sports Complex on Wednesday, March 4, at 12:05 p.m. CT and the game will be carried on Twins.TV.

Twins single-game tickets went on sale last week for all 80 home games at Target Field (there’s also the Field of Dreams game, which is why the number is not 81 this year). This year’s specials include pregame happy hour deals on Fridays, free kids ice cream on Sundays and $2 pregame beers on Friday and Saturdays. To buy single-game tickets, visit this link.

I was able to sneak over to Orlando on Monday night to see one of my favorite live acts, the great Frank Turner and the Sleeping Souls. So here are five favorites from that show.

“I Still Believe”

“Photosynthesis”

“One Foot Before The Other”

“Get Better”

“Four Simple Words”

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