MINNEAPOLIS -- The Twins announced details on Thursday for their annual Winter Caravan, which will feature stops in more than 40 communities in the Upper Midwest from Jan. 16-26.
The event, which is now sponsored by Mayo Clinic Sports Medicine, has five different routes over a two-week span with stops in Minnesota, South Dakota, North Dakota and Iowa. It includes visits to schools, hospitals, businesses and service clubs, while also featuring a nightly Hot Stove program where fans can interact and ask questions.
Twins manager Paul Molitor is on the first leg of the Winter Caravan, and current players scheduled to make appearances include Brandon Kintzler, Ryan Pressly, Eduardo Escobar, Héctor Santiago, Trevor May, Byron Buxton, Taylor Rogers, José Berríos, John Ryan Murphy and Joe Mauer. The legs will be led by broadcasters Bert Blyleven, Dick Bremer, Dan Gladden, Cory Provus, Jack Morris and Kris Atteberry.
"The Minnesota Twins are proud to have Mayo Clinic Sports Medicine as the presenting sponsor of Winter Caravan," executive vice president of business development Laura Day said in a statement. "Twins Caravan offers both organizations a chance to connect with communities throughout the Midwest."
Molitor will be joined by Kintzler, Pressly and Bremer on the first route that ventures into Iowa and South Dakota, traveling a total of 1,034 miles. The night stops will be in Mankato, Sioux Falls and Aberdeen, S.D., and Willmar.
While that route mostly stays south of the Twin Cities, the second leg heads north with Escobar, Santiago, Morris and Provus. All four of the night programs are in Minnesota, and will be in Duluth, Grand Rapids, Bemidji and St. Cloud.
The second week of caravan begins on Jan. 23, and the first route of the week features May, Buxton, Rogers, Blyleven and Atteberry. The first night is the annual St. Paul Hot Stove event before they head to Rochester and Cedar Rapids, Iowa. The final stop is in Winona, Minn.
Berrios, Murphy, Blyleven and Gladden are on the second leg, which heads directly to North Dakota with its first two night stops in Fargo and Grand Forks. The 999-mile trip also features night programs in Detroit Lakes and Brainerd.
The final route is a one-day trip on Jan. 25 that includes Mauer, Rogers, Bremer and Morris. It has stops at three different local schools in the Twin Cities area before finishing with a free night program at the Red Wing/Treasure Island Resort and Casino.
More information can be found at twinsbaseball.com/caravan.