Max Kepler thought he was being called into the manager's office Monday night to deliver a championship memento to Doug Mientkiewicz, hard-driving leader of the Double-A Chattanooga Lookouts.
"I was going to go hand him the game ball," Kepler said Tuesday on his first day in the major leagues. "He did not want the game ball."
Instead, with Twins farm director Brad Steil standing by, Mientkiewicz told his 22-year-old outfielder/first baseman he was headed to the Twin Cities. Fresh off his fourth championship in the past four years, including an Arizona Fall League title in 2014, Kepler grew emotional.