Do you have a burning desire to hang out with Matt LeCroy? Then follow around esteemed Twins blogger Will Young.

Now, it's important to note that Justin Morneau is Will's girlfriend Laurie's boyfriend, and--after meeting Will and said girlfriend at Spring Training--that seems to be fine by Justin. As for Will, well, see for yourself:

Our Story Begins In Baltimore:

I did see Matthew LeCroy sneak into the dugout so I moved over in his direction. Eventually, I was right above him as he was getting a glass of water. I called his name and got his attention and unfurled the “Matthew LeCroy is my nonsexual mancrush” shirt that I purchased via BatGirl’s website. He paused to read it, and then smiled at me and gestured for me to toss it down to him. He caught it and began showing all the guys in the dugout (my roommate told me the list included Morneau, Gardenhire, Tiffee, LEW!, and Newman) and let each of them have a chance to read it. Then, he let me toss down a Sharpie and he signed it for me. Tomorrow night, I’ll be wearing it proudly.

The Next Day:

I should also mention that the Matthew LeCroy man-crush shirt was discussed by several people on the field today. Al Newman’s eyes bulged out of his head and he said, “Matt told me about that in the locker room yesterday and I thought he was joking. That thing’s for real!” Gardenhire paused, reread it a second time, and muttered, “Well, if you want to be wearing that I guess you can.” Bert also did a double-take at the shirt and he, too, was both surprised by its content but willing to approve its message.

Finally, on his way into the dugout after the game, I hollered out, “Matt, thanks for signing my shirt yesterday.” He paused, looked up and spotted me. Smiling, he responded, “Anytime…anytime.”

A Couple Weeks Later:

While I was away from posting, I was spotted by Matthew LeCroy in the Mall of America last Monday. Yes, I didn’t spot a player, he spotted me. As Greg, Justin Morneau’s my girlfriend and I walked through the concourse, a large, graying man waved at me while standing with his wife and daughter. The story, of course, started when I had him sign the man-crush shirt back in Baltimore. Then, on Saturday when I arrived in Minneapolis, I was driven to the Twins ProShop to get a picture with him while I was wearing the shirt.

There wasn’t a line, so we spoke for a few minutes about where I got the shirt and when he was told about Batgirl’s great site, he said, “Somebody sent her music video (Oh Five!") down to the locker room one day. I was dying when Justin was singing. It was great!” Then, I began trying to explain all of the nicknames, but the only one he really grasped was Little Nicky Punto. “He’s little alright,” he agreed. Anyway, I thanked him for the picture and thought that our paths would not cross again for the season.

So anyway, two days later I’m walking through the Mall of America and he recognized me. At first, I just saw somebody waving at me from across the concourse before I looked closer to see who it was. So, there you have it. Laurie is now recognized by her wannabe boyfriend while I am recognized by my faux man-crush.

And then, last week:

I’ll end with a slightly humorous story. As you may recall, on an off-day two months ago my brother Greg and I (along with Laurie) bumped into Matthew LeCroy at the Mall of America. Steve, my other brother, was not able to join us on that fateful day because he was still down in St. Peter studying for his finals at Gustavus.

So anyway, Steve is back in the Twin Cities for the summer. Yesterday, he was driving out of Southdale (note that this is a completely different mall), when he looked over and saw Matthew LeCroy in the car next to him. Steve promptly rolled down his window, got Flounder’s attention and gave him a wave. The moral of this story is quite simple. If you would like to have the opportunity to meet Matthew LeCroy at some point outside of a baseball field, I suggest that you pick an upcoming off day. Then, coordinate a time to meet with my sister (the only sibling left who has not graced his presence) and choose a local mall (if he keeps moving in the same direction, I would suggest Ridgedale). Then, keep your eyes peeled for a large, graying man and tell him that I say hello!

Posted by Batgirl at July 18, 2005 11:00 AM