Twins fans sport unusual gear ... the coaches' jerseys!

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If you look around at the jerseys being sported by fans at a typical Twins game, you’re sure to see a lot of the usual suspects: Joe Mauer, Byron Buxton, Carlos Correa, Max Kepler, Royce Lewis and Pablo López -- along with some less-seen but still familiar names represented by fans who want to stray a bit from the beaten path.

But one day, Twins bench coach Jayce Tingler saw a photo of jerseys that were so surprising that he made it his personal mission to bring these fans into the clubhouse -- because that seems to be the only fitting reaction to seeing a pair of fans sporting the jerseys of first-base coach Hank Conger and third-base coach Tommy Watkins together in the stands.

“I think Tommy and Hank were a little baffled,” Tingler said.

On Sunday, those two fans -- Chin-Yen Liang and Ben Theesfeld -- made it into the clubhouse to meet their jersey namesakes and answer the important questions of our time.

For instance: What on earth possessed them to get jerseys of the base coaches, of all people?

“We just wanted to support the coaches, man,” Liang said. “I think the initial thought was, like, ‘Hey, the players are out there every freaking day. But you know who else is out there, on the field, baking in the sun?’

“Tommy Watkins and Hank Conger, OK!?” he said as he answered his own question, clapping for emphasis. “We're like, ‘They're on the field, too! So we've got to get their jerseys, man.’”

These aren’t the only jerseys owned by Liang and Theesfeld, who have been friends since they attended middle school together in the western suburbs and began to attend Twins games together around 2016. Theesfeld, an accountant, already had jerseys for Correa and Jose Miranda, while Liang, an engineer who now lives in San Jose, Calif., estimates he has five.

But when the friends attended the unveiling of the Twins’ brand refresh at the Mall of America together ahead of the 2023 season, they agreed they should get a paired set of the cream jerseys -- and, on a whim, they settled on Conger (Liang) and Watkins (Theesfeld).

“It's really cool,” Conger said. “It's a lot of money to dish out for a jersey, especially nowadays. So when somebody gets my jersey, it's actually more flattering now than it was back when I was a player. … For somebody to actually root for me at first base high-fiving players, that's a little different.”

This phenomenon is perhaps a bit more familiar for the gregarious and popular Watkins, who once came up as a Twins farmhand, has long been nicknamed “The Mayor” in his hometown (and the Twins’ Spring Training home) of Fort Myers, Fla., and has coached in the organization since he retired as a player.

Watkins remembers a fan in Rochester, N.Y. -- longtime former home of the organization’s Triple-A affiliate -- who would wear his jersey, but he was still taken aback when a friend forwarded him a picture of Theesfeld wearing his jersey in the stands.

“Like, ‘Why us?’” Watkins said.

To find out why, Tingler dispatched Bally Sports North sideline reporter Audra Martin to trawl the fanbase and locate these mystery supporters -- and on Sunday, with Martin’s help, they got to meet a delighted Tingler and manager Rocco Baldelli, who showered them with Twins merchandise and met with them in the clubhouse.

“I don't know what you would call it,” a gleeful Tingler said. “Utopia? Amazing?”

And, of course, Liang and Theesfeld got to meet Conger and Watkins, taking photos with the coaches and standing in the base coaches’ boxes together alongside them. Might they become trend-setters through this experience?

“You'd think that these are the only ones, but I think I have seen one other person around the ballpark wearing a Hank Conger [jersey],” Theesfeld said. “I've never seen another Tommy Watkins, but I was telling Tommy that I did see a [hitting coach] David Popkins jersey last year.”

But none of those fans have caught the attention of those in the clubhouse in the way that Liang and Theesfeld have -- and with the Twins’ help, they’re going national, too. Since Liang now lives in the Bay Area, Theesfeld will fly out for the Twins’ upcoming road trips to Oakland (in June) and San Francisco (in July) to represent.

“Honestly, we've been pretty much fangirling for the last two weeks,” Theesfeld said. We're texting each other like, ‘Dude, we're going to meet the coaches. Like, Tommy is going to shake my hand.’ It's like we're dreaming. Pinch me and I'll wake up.”