This story was excerpted from Matthew Leach’s Twins Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.
NEW YORK -- Taylor Rogers knew the date was coming. He didn’t know everything that was coming along with it.
The Twins feted Rogers on Tuesday in honor of his reaching one of baseball’s most sacred milestones within the clubhouse: 10 years of Major League service time. Technically, he reached the number on Monday’s off-day, but he was honored in a pregame ceremony Tuesday.
However, even though he of course knew the exact day, there were still some surprises in store. With the Blue Jays and his twin brother, Tyler, coming to Minnesota next week, Rogers had suggested that members of his family wait until then to come celebrate with him. It only made sense, he figured, to have everyone there at once.
Manager Derek Shelton had other ideas. Shelton made sure that Rogers’ parents, his sister-in-law and his nephews were present to take in a special moment. And Tyler even got to be a part of it, too, via FaceTime.
It all touched Rogers so much that he couldn’t make it all the way through his planned remarks.
“I kind of told everybody that the coolest part was the acknowledgements from each guy, people around the league, kind of how the respect from your peers is looked at,” Rogers said. “That’s kind of what means the most about it. I was not expecting that aspect of it, that’s for sure.
“I was doing pretty good and then I thanked my brother, and that’s when I decided to [stop].”
Rogers’ teammates and the organization set him up with a suite of lovely and personal gifts. He was given a personalized golf bag and a trip to Pebble Beach, where he said he’s never played before. He received a Rolex from the team’s principal owner, Tom Pohlad, a bottle of fine wine from his brother and a bottle of Ace of Spades champagne from Shelton.
And making it all more meaningful was that it came with the same organization where Rogers began his Major League career. He was drafted in 2012 alongside Byron Buxton, who hit 10 years earlier this season.
“I was just trying to chip away at the next milestone,” Rogers said. “Just trying to stay -- you want to get a debut, and then try to stay, stay a couple years and I don’t have to get a job right away. And then just trying to chip away at the milestones throughout the 10. And then obviously when last year ended and I knew I was close, I wanted to do it somewhere where I wanted to be. And that’s just … hell, I’ve got to be the luckiest guy around, starting in a place that I liked, playing with my brother for two years and then coming back to that place. That’s got to be a storybook thing.”