Welcome Back Chuck Knoblauch

Recently, Gina and I made our triumphant return to Twitter. We signed up a few years ago, but never really got into it. So around April of this year, we came back. Gina starting following the Backstreet Boys and New Kids on the Block and I starting following the Glee cast and all the nerd outlets, but most importantly, we both started following all of our Yankees guys: Teixeira, Joba, Swisher, DRob, Hughes, Martin, Granderson, Robinson, Bernie, and Chuck Knoblauch.

Most of the time, none of the celeb/athlete’s answer you back.…except of course for Chuck Knoblauch. #11 is always good for a response, even if it’s just “good morning.” So, every once in awhile, we get on Twitter and tell Chuck how much we love him…and he says “thanks.”

Lately, Knobby has been having contests on Twitter. Each time he reaches his next 1,000 followers, he gives out 10 autographed photos. When he hit 10,000 I won one. Here’s a pic:

Sidebar: This Chucky Knobs resurgence prompted Gina and me to head to the archives, namely the storage boxes in my closet at home labeled, “Yankees clippings & school papers.” We found stacks of New Haven & New York papers from the 98-00 World Series runs, as well as clippings and home-made collages of Yankees that used to hang in our lockers in high school. At one point, we found an old student planner of mine that amongst the homework and due dates for assignments had the score of each playoff game. Bottom line: we were just awesome!

So, let’s talk about Chucky Knobs. First of all, as much as I L-O-V-E Knobby and all the guys from the dynasty teams, I can’t pretend that he was MY MAIN MAN back in the day, that honor goes to Tino Martinez and is for another blog post (I played 1st base all through little league and school). But he was definitely my sister’s #1 man. I told her I was writing this, so she submitted a little piece. Here it is:

“Upon hearing my sister had won Chuck Knoblauch's autograph...what can I say? I was happy for the broad. If I was Twitter obsessed I'm sure I would have gone after it too...so Dana, congratulations, I can't wait to see your Chucky Knobs autograph on display in your crib...besides, I'd much rather have Chuck, circa 1998, in his chunky white turtle neck sweater that he wore on Good Morning America after the Yanks won the World Series...talk about drool, that image is forever burned in my memory. And besides that too, I honor Chuck every time I step to the plate, curl my fingers around the handle of the bat and cock it ever so slightly towards the umpire. Yes Chuck, sincerely, Your Biggest Fan, Erica :))”

I swear everytime we have a conversation about Knoblauch or the Yanks, my sister and my mom mention that GMA interview! But I think it is really cool that Erica bats like Knobby. In fast-pitch softball, all the girls are sort of expected to have the same quiet stance -- bat rested flat on your shoulder until the pitch is on its way and you lift it ever so slightly -- but try as the coaches would, they couldn't get her to stop batting like Chuck :) Here's a pic of Erica still at it in her slow-pitch league:

Rookie of the Year, Silver Slugger, Gold Glove, All Star and World Champion. When you play professional baseball, those are the things that you’re striving to achieve, and Knoblauch has gotten all of them. Knobby was a great player for the Yanks, he fit into the hotness of the infield (I swear that’s part of the Yankee contract) and was a staple in the lineup during our most recent “winning” years. A hottie among hotties in New York when it was standard fare to see our guys jumping all over each other on a big pile of pinstripes in the middle of the field, champagne flowing and ticker tape streaming through the air.

During the recent Yankees dynasty years, Gina and I were 12-16 years old. So, when we think about all that was awesome in our lives...no work, no bills, summer vacations, being a kid...we think about baseball and hotdogs, perfectly manicured green grass and a bright blue sky, we think about the Yankees...and we think about Chuck Knoblauch. We do, we think about Chuck…and Tino, Derek, Jorgey, Paully, Bernie, Andy, and the rest, because those were “our” guys -- as I’m sure everyone thinks back to the times when they just used to watch and enjoy baseball without worrying about the trade deadline or the DL or whatever topic was hot news on talk radio, and just tuned in for the players that they watched and loved every day as a kid. So, we just want to say: “Thanks Chuck” for putting yourself back out there and coming back into our lives. We truly appreciate it.

Follow Chuck on twitter: @chuckknoblauch and visit his website

-- Dana