Autograph Tales:Joe Nathan

A few years ago, my friends and I went to Minneapolis to see the Twins play. I couldn't get press creds for the game, but I wanted to talk to a couple Twins. One of them was Joe Nathan.
Nathan is a friend of one of my softball teammates, Pete Z. When I saw Nathan playing long toss in the outfield before the game, my friend Chuck and I called out to him.
This was well before game time and the crowd was minimal. We were standing (in the seating section) along the left field line and nobody was around us.
Nathan came over and talked to us a bit. Within two minutes, Chuck and I were practically crushed by the rushing mob of fans trying to get Nathan's autograph.
We apologized to Nathan for causing the chaos and we left. To his credit, Nathan stayed there and signed a ton of autographs.
The Twins beat the Oakland A's 4-3 in a comeback victory. Nathan did not pitch. I wonder if he was too tired.

Joe Nathan at the MetroDome in Minneapolis, MN-July 2007.