The Twins started a Hall of Fame in 2000. As someone who had watched them since the first-ever game at Met Stadium, I felt as if the Twins Hall of Fame was a hollow place as the years went by without Camilo Pascual being elected as a member.
That was rectified in 2012, when the Twins' original ace and curveball master finally made it past the voters without the strong tie to major league baseball's first decade on the Bloomington prairie.
Camilo was inducted, and I'm now at peace with the Twins Hall of Fame.
A year ago, we decided to vote in Chuck Knoblauch, ignoring his link to steroids, his demand to leave the Twins and the ugly reception given to him as a Yankees' left fielder by Metrodome customers with cheap hot dogs to spare.
The voters decided to recognize Knoblauch as an excellent Twins player, while also providing an opportunity for a Minnesota reconciliation.
No surprise, Knobby messed it up, getting charged with domestic assault against an ex-wife. The honor and the induction ceremony were canceled (not postponed).
The new ballot arrived last week with 16 names and a limit of five selections. I voted for one: Cesar Tovar, the marvel of versatility here for seven full seasons from 1966 to 1972.
The headline on most Internet searches of Tovar is that he played nine positions on Sept. 22, 1968. That was a desperate attempt to sell tickets at the end of a noncontending season.
