Twins notes: Waseca ballpark fire 'disturbing news'

BALTIMORE – Gene Glynn doesn't know exactly how many baseball games he played at Tink Larson Field in Waseca, Minn.

"It's a lot," the Twins third base coach said. "But a lot of people played there a lot more than me."

Still, Glynn said he was distressed to learn the grandstand of his hometown's 78-year-old ballpark was destroyed by fire Wednesday.

"To me, it's always been a real special place, someplace where you share moments in time with your coach and teammates and townspeople. Spring, summer and fall, there was a game going on there just about every night, growing up," Glynn said. Between high school, college, VFW, Legion and town ball teams, he said he knows of players "who got their start on that field at 15, and played until they were 40. … A lot of people's lives have been spent in and around that ballpark."

Glynn played on high school, college and town teams in that ballpark, most of them coached by Larson, the park's namesake who lived across the street and devoted hours to maintaining the field.

"A lot of why we feel so bad is that not only did we lose a special place, but because we know how much it meant to Coach Larson," said Glynn, who exchanged several texts with friends and relatives back in his southern Minnesota hometown Thursday. "People know him as 'Tink,' but most of us [ballplayers] call him 'Coach' or 'Seven [his number],' out of respect."

Twins manager Paul Molitor, another native Minnesotan, said "it's disturbing news, in that some of those small-town parks in our state have large traditions." He said he hoped the park will be rebuilt "so they create more memories."

So far, however, the South Korean getting the most attention this week isn't Park, but Baltimore rookie outfielder Hyun Soo Kim — and he hasn't even played yet.

During Monday's introductions of the Orioles roster, a number of fans — not an overwhelming number, but noticeable — booed Kim as he jogged down the orange carpet, a reflection that's been taken as backlash against Kim's refusal to accept an assignment to the minor leagues.

"It was kind of surprising. That doesn't happen in Korean baseball. Fans don't boo, and especially the home-team fans don't boo their players," said Park through an interpreter. "But it's hard for me to make any comment on it. I'm not from here. I'm still learning the culture. Fans have every right to do whatever they want."

Still, Park said he was happy to hear Orioles teammates had stuck up for Kim. Adam Jones told baltimorebaseball.com that, "It was very, very, very disrespectful to a man who is just going out there trying to make a name for himself, coming over from Korea. … That's not who the Orioles fans are, especially to their own kind. That right there is just showing me a side I didn't like seeing."

Said Park: "I heard that Baltimore players stuck up for him, which is a good thing. Players should support each other."

Park was out of the lineup Thursday, not because of his play in the first two games (he's 1-for-6 with a walk), but because Molitor wanted to find a way to play Danny Santana. Santana started in right field, with Miguel Sano serving as designated hitter instead of Park.