Sleds and snow make for a high-octane spring training
by Dan Gunderson, Minnesota Public RadioTwin Valley, Minn. — February is the time Major League Baseball players start spring training, in sunny climes like Florida. Minnesotans who love softball need to wait at least a couple of months.
But a few hardy souls in Twin Valley, Minn., play an annual softball game in mid-February. This is high-octane softball. No running around the bases, though -- these players are astride very powerful, very fast snowmobiles.
Players say it's just a chance to have a little fun and beat back the winter blahs. They don't take the game too seriously. In fact, many of the players don't play organized softball in the summer.
This game is played on a broad open field tucked into the woods near Twin Valley. It's organized by members of the Moonshiners Snowmobile Club, who have been playing this annual extreme softball game for the last nine years.
MPR's Dan Gunderson took in yesterday's game and put together this audio postcard.
