An era ends.

I am a HUGE baseball fan. As gaga as most guys get over football, I am about baseball. I grew up in Chicago with the Cubs and the White Sox, but I was never as big of an American League fan as I was National League. That is until I moved to Minnesota. Tom Kelly and Ron Gardenhire have done an admirable job of putting together a team of talented players that most parents have no problems with their kids admiring (unlike say Barry Bonds). Which is why yesterday was such a sad day for Twins fans everywhere.

"This was the basement room at the Metrodome where Kirby Puckett announced his retirement in the summer of 1996, and Tom Kelly announced his retirement in the fall of 2001, and now the task had fallen to Brad Radke.
The room was jammed with a few Twins legends, most Twins employees and much media. For 12 years, Radke was as quiet as any prominent athlete we've had in these parts, but on Tuesday, he bordered on the loquacious in making the retirement announcement."

Brad Radke was one of those rare players who was maybe not blessed with the most talent, but he showed up every day and worked hard. He pitched many days last year through some pretty bad pain. He was a staple for the team for 12 wonderful years.

However, it was what he did off of the field that made him even more special. When he was done at the ballpark, he gave back to the community. His Radke Family Foundation helped kids in need with financial and personal support. His community efforts earned him a nomination for the Roberto Clemente Award in 2004.

While Radke's pitching will be hard to replace, I have a feeling he will find a good way to fill in all of that newly found free time.