Jim Souhan: Herrmann's first homer is a magic moment

Chris Herrmann didn't try to hide his joy when he rounded first base and realized he had hit his first home run. He clapped and sprinted all the way back to the Twins dugout. "I sat down on the bench," he said, "and I thought, 'Wow, I just hit my first big-league home run. This is a moment I'm going to cherish the rest of my life.' "

We contextualize everything in sports. Sometimes we shouldn't. Sometimes a home run doesn't win a game or change a season or improve someone's trade value. Sometimes a home run is just a moment. Sometimes a home run is one of the best moments of someone's life.

And sometimes the guy who hit it knows it, and acknowledges it, and does nothing to diminish what it means to spend a whole life imagining hitting a ball over a fence in the big leagues, and then actually doing it.

"I have other great moments in my life that I cherish," he said. "This might be No. 1. I don't know.

"This is a good day. This is a really good day."

Herrmann is 25. After he had two hits in the Twins' 10-0 victory over Seattle at Target Field on Sunday, he changed into canvas sneakers and a green T-shirt and pulled his surfer-type baseball cap on backward.

He's a kid who grew up playing catcher and then found himself drafted by the Twins in the summer of 2009, when the Twins' catcher, Joe Mauer, was in the midst of an MVP season. Months later, the Twins signed Mauer to an eight-year deal worth $184 million that included a no-trade clause.

Mauer is Herrmann's role model. Ryan Doumit, a catcher who can play in the outfield, should be his role-playing model.

When Herrmann woke up Sunday morning, he couldn't have known what the day would bring. He's in the big leagues because the Twins needed a third catcher. When Justin Morneau wound up sick for a second consecutive day, manager Ron Gardenhire shifted Mauer to first, put Doumit behind the plate and made regular left fielder Josh Willingham the designated hitter.

That left the start in left field open for a bench player on a team short of outfielders. Gardenhire sent Herrmann out there for a day he will always remember.

In the second inning, Herr­mann topped a ball that rolled about 10 feet. In the fourth, he smacked a line drive to left. "I never saw it," he said. "When I heard the crowd roar, I knew it was gone."

Gardenhire joked that the team traded a Mauer jersey for the ball. He found out later that the ransom was actually a baseball autographed by Mauer.

He held the ball in a small sandwich baggie. "My first call will be to my parents," he said. "I was lucky that my girlfriend was here with me for this. I got so many text messages from friends and family members. I feel really lucky to have so many people who support what I do."

There may be difficult times ahead, everything from 0-fers to demotions. It's a hard game, and if you're not a star, it can be a worrisome life.

Herrmann had the sense to enjoy his moment Sunday. He held the baseball and a buzzing phone. His girl was waiting for him on a sunny day in Minneapolis. What more could he want?

"This is every kid's dream," he said. "And I'm living it."

Jim Souhan can be heard weekdays at noon and Sundays from 10 to noon on 1500 ESPN. His Twitter name is