Snoopy, Charlie Brown and the rest of the Peanuts gang are donning Twins jerseys in honor of MLB All-Star Game.
The Twins announced Wednesday 10 new statues featuring the iconic comic strip characters in baseball-themed attire will be positioned around the Twin Cities – first at St. Paul’s Rice Park, from now until June 16, then the Minneapolis Convention Center through July 15.
Each statue stands 5-6 feet tall and weighs 200-300 pounds.During the second half of the regular season, they’ll be put up for bidding through the MLB.com Auction. Earlier Midsummer Classics have also featured collectibles, including Gateway Arches in St. Louis, cowboy boots in Houston and cacti in Phoenix.
Miniature replicas (5-7 inches tall) of the statues will be available for purchase at the MLB.com shop starting Thursday, and Peanuts-themed memorabilia for all 30 MLB teams will also be unveiled in the coming months. A Peanuts Day at Target Field for the June 6 game against the Rangers will provide the first 10,000 fans with a limited-edition Snoopy figure.
Twins president Dave St. Peter said in a statement the team is “proud” to work with MLB and Peanuts Worldwide to create the collectibles.
“To be able to unveil these in St. Paul – our capital city and hometown of the original artist – is truly special for the Twins’ organization,” he said.
10 Peanuts statues unveiled in Rice Park today for the 2014 @AllStarGame. #MNTwins pic.twitter.com/KYiTtMgBGW
— Brace Hemmelgarn (@bracehemmelgarn) May 28, 2014
Here's the giant @Snoopy statue in St. Paul. @Twins pic.twitter.com/w1mXKoA2Ok
— MLB Communications (@MLB_PR) May 28, 2014
More All-Star News
Also, in case you missed it, MLB announced a first wave of participants for the Celebrity Softball Game – and there’s a big batch of Minnesota flavor in there.
Leading the way on the Taco Bell Legends & Celebrity Softball Game rosters is a quartet of Minnesota’s elite athletes: Kevin Love, Maya Moore, Zach Parise and Adrian Peterson.
Former Twins Jack Morris and Jim Thome are also in the lineup.
Joining the athletes on the roster will be actor Jon Hamm, best known for his role as Don Draper on “Mad Men.” He’s also in the baseball movie “Million Dollar Arm,” and as a St. Louis native is a well-known devout Cardinals fan. Minnesota native Andrew Zimmern, best known as a general foodie and host of “Bizarre Foods,” is slated to participate. As is “Desperate Housewives” actor James Denton, who lives in Chanhassen with his Minnesota-raised wife.
For the actual All-Star contact, Twins manager Ron Gardenhire will be one of the American League’s coaches.
