Robles big Japanese fan; Rosario returns

MINNEAPOLIS -- Let's get one thing out of the way first: Hansel Robles will flat-out say that Kenta Maeda is funnier than Shohei Ohtani -- and he would say it to Ohtani's face, too.

"There's nothing wrong with that," Robles said. "[Ohtani is] just not funny."

Robles still loves them both -- and that's a love he holds for anything to do with Japanese culture, which he said "calls [his] attention." In a recent Zoom conference with the media, Robles proudly wore a white headband with handwritten Japanese characters, which he revealed were the words "Caballo Blanco" -- referring to his nickname, the "White Horse" -- translated into Japanese.

Those words were written there by Dai Sekizaki, Maeda's interpreter with the Twins, as part of a fun, burgeoning tradition of sorts between Robles, Sekizaki and Maeda.

"One day, he asked me how to write his name in Japanese, so I wrote it on a piece of paper and he really liked it," Sekizaki said. "So whenever I see his water bottle, I'll write his name on it. If he's eating to go, one of those styrofoam to-go boxes, I'll write his name on it. And then, one day, he's wearing the headband without anything on it. He just brings it to me and just lays it on the table."

Robles claimed that Maeda will decide what will be written on the headband on any given day, with Sekizaki executing the writing -- but Sekizaki clarified that it's not necessarily an everyday occurrence, and instead, something that comes up when the opportunity presents itself.

It started during Spring Training, when Maeda -- ever the jokester -- wrote "Kenta Love" in Japanese on one of Robles' headbands. It's continued from there.

"Robles, he had no idea," Sekizaki said. "He had no idea what was written on it. He does love Kenta, so it makes sense."

Robles said he can't quite explain what draws him to Japanese culture, but it's something that has always interested him, to the point where he said he'd love to pitch in Japan for two seasons at some point in his career. When he's not wearing his blank white headbands with the Japanese writing, he's usually seen wearing a Japanese flag headband gifted to him by Maeda.

And though his English and Japanese are both still developing, Robles tries to bridge the gap to his current and former Japanese teammates as much as possible -- to the point where he refers to Ohtani as "Caballo Rojo" -- the "Red Horse" -- and to Maeda as "Caballo Azul" -- the "Blue Horse" -- both in nods to his own nickname.

Just three horses, playing baseball and having fun together.

"His love for Japan is -- I think since the day he's been in Anaheim with Shohei and [interpreter] Ippei [Mizuhara], his love for Japan is just pretty unbelievable stuff," Sekizaki said. "Anything Japanese, he's got interest in."

Rosario returns to Target Field

Eddie Rosario's eyes lit up at the mere mention of the "Eddie! Eddie! Eddie!" chant that he might hear from the Target Field faithful for the first time in two seasons starting with Thursday's series opener.

"That really pushed me in the big moments," Rosario said. "The moments that I really needed to perform, that’s when it really pushed me."

Considering his strong attachment to the fans in the left-field bleachers through six seasons in Minnesota, Rosario was hoping for a warm reception in his first taste of Target Field as an opposing player -- now, with plenty of fans in the stands.

That added to his excitement to be back in the stadium where he has plenty of fond memories: the three-homer game in 2018 capped by a walk-off blast in front of his family, and, of course, the home run in his first career plate appearance.

"He has a lot of moments," manager Rocco Baldelli said. "Eddie's kind of a guy of moments. He does a lot of big things and you remember those things."

Though he reiterated that he's "really happy" to be in Cleveland this season, Rosario won't soon leave those memories behind -- and he was excited to relive them for four games.

"I like playing here a lot, you know," Rosario said. "I have a lot of good memories on this field, so I feel happy to come back here."

Twins to reinstate Ballpark Pass plan

The Twins announced on Thursday that the "Twins Pass" ticket plan will return in July, which will offer fans standing room access to the final 40 home games through the end of the season for $59 per month. They can be purchased at twinsbaseball.com/twinspass or by calling 1-800-33-TWINS.

Target Field will expand to 100 percent capacity on July 5.