I grew up here, and I grew up cheering for the Twins and you idolize them. You always think you can't talk to the players, you can't approach them. You think that person is untouchable. I think that's why I like Twitter so much. You can interact with them. What I hate more than anything is when I go eat lunch at Chipotle or I go to Target, and an hour later I get a tweet that says, "Hey, were you at Chipotle?" Or, "Were you at Target?" I always think, "You should just come up and say, 'Hi.' " What I strive to do is relate to the fans because, hell, 10 years ago I was a fan.

I like to be approachable because it's so easy to make someone's day -- just like giving that kid tickets (who had told Perkins on Twitter about paying for tickets that never came, so Perkins left him four at Target Field.) It cost me like 80 bucks. I've gotten one or two requests for tickets since then. I haven't even replied because I'd like to believe humanity as a whole is better than that. It's definitely something where I'll pick my times. For whatever reason, that one I replied to struck a chord with me. I was pumping gas and killing time reading Twitter, and it popped up and I read it and I was like, "What the hell, why not?"

He bought tickets from a third party and ended up not getting his tickets. I left the kid tickets, and by the time the game ended, I had a thousand messages from people saying, "That's awesome what you did." It didn't even occur to me. I thought it would just be left between him and I. I'm glad they got to enjoy a Twins game. It wasn't my intention to get attention from it. It's not about that. It was about a kid who wanted to come to the game and got the short end of the stick. So I was able to help him out. You get paid so much money to play this game that $80 to me -- that means a lot more to him than it does to me. It's cool how it worked out. It seemed so easy to me. It seemed like a no-brainer. I didn't even think twice. I went right on my phone, went to the website and put my ticket request in.

I always wanted to play. I guess I was nave and thought I would just keep playing. And it worked out. When I graduated high school, there was the question, "In 10 years, what will you be doing?" I said, "I'll be playing major league baseball." I was good, but I wasn't that good. It's not like I was drafted out of high school. I just always assumed this was what I was going to do. No one has ever taken the jersey off my back, so I'm still playing.

I take all losses hard, but there's an expiration date on being upset over a loss. That's one thing I do well and maybe why I fit into the position I'm in. If we lose, it's an hour or two and I'll hang out in the clubhouse. By the time I leave, I don't want to be thinking about it anymore. You just can't hang on the negative.

I was a history major in college. If I could time travel, I definitely would go back. Maybe it'd be cool to go back in time and see baseball games when everyone dressed in suits and it was day games. Or maybe see what it was like during World War II. Compared to that, everything is easy for us now. I'd get to see what it was like when your family is gone, when your family is fighting, when they cut production of vehicles because they need all that metal and need all their supplies for the war. I'd see what it was like for the country.

I always loved "Tom and Jerry." Still do. I watch that with my kids. I probably was 10 when I started watching "The Simpsons." I've always been a huge fan of "The Simpsons."

I'd fly, if I could have a superpower. I don't watch any of those superhero movies. I don't even know what "Iron Man" is. I have no clue. I'm not into sci-fi, but I think it would be cool to fly.

I like anything that's funny, something that will make me laugh. I like "Major League." It's something that's relevant for me. There are a lot of lines in that movie that are pretty funny to a baseball player.

I really like George Clooney and Matt Damon. I'll watch anything they come out with.

My mom used to work nights. She was a nurse at the prison at Oak Park Heights. My dad was a mailman, so he worked in the morning. One of them would be home. My dad would sort the mail, and then he'd come home and make breakfast for my brother and me. He'd get us off to school, then he'd go back to work and deliver his route. He made us chocolate chip pancakes. I had a lot of chocolate chip pancakes growing up.

Besides baseball, I did intramural basketball in high school. I was never big enough to play football. I got asked every year to play basketball and never did. I didn't have the time to commit every day to it. I liked baseball too much. All I did was pitch. I even got DHed for. I think I was the only high school pitcher who got DHed for.

My parents had a big influence on my life. They were great parents. I hate to slight them, but probably the guy who had the most influence on me was my college pitching coach, Todd Oakes. When I got to college, I was the best player on the high school team. I was cocky. My parents were very lenient with us and let us do whatever we wanted as long as we didn't get into trouble. I got there, and he taught me discipline. He taught me responsibility -- him and (Gophers head coach) John Anderson. I learned a lot from those guys when I was there, and I've learned even more since I left. I was only there for three years, and I've been gone for nine. I left in 2004. I'm closer to those guys than I ever was.

There are so many things that drive me nuts. Right now, my blood pressure is going up, thinking about what bothers me. Like people who drive slow and people who don't say, "Please" and "Thank you." General rudeness gets to me. It doesn't take much to be nice.

I like to be someone my friends can talk to about anything, someone who has fun and can take a joke. I know if you talk to (fellow Twins pitcher Brian) Duensing, he will say I go over the top when I pay back. I'd like to be described as fun and someone who's caring, someone who will give you the shirt off his back.

Of all the stuff I've ever gotten in my career, the only thing I kept was a Jim Thome signed picture when he hit his 600th home run.

Alisha and I will be married eight years in December. It's actually a really funny story how we met. I was living at this apartment. People who worked at the apartment wore name tags. One of the people who worked there was named Alisha. I was too scared to talk to her. I knew she was a student at the U, so I ended up trying to track her down on the umn.edu website. Found this Alisha. I didn't know her last name, so I threw her an email. Well, it happens to be not the one who worked at the apartment I was living at. It was my now-wife. We started talking through email. Then there were four times we crossed paths randomly. One time, we had a keg race between the pitchers and position players at one of the baseball houses after a game. I was inebriated enough not to remember meeting Alisha and apparently hitting on her. Finally, we met when I was cognizant and aware, and we haven't spent a day apart.

I'll jump off the cliff. I'll do anything. I'll try anything. I'm impulsive. I'm very impulsive.

I liked "Moneyball." I've read a couple of Joe Posnanski's books. They were great.

I'd want my last meal to be a deep dish from Giordano's in Chicago. It probably would kill me, anyway. I'd eat a whole sausage and pepperoni.

I don't hardly ever listen to music, but if I do, I'll listen to country.

I watch a few things with my wife. I'll watch anything with a plot that stretches out over multiple seasons. We're really big on "Scandal" right now.

I'm pretty lucky. There are two guys here who get to live at home and do this for a job (Perkins and Joe Mauer.) I have healthy kids and a healthy wife. I don't think I'd change anything.

My kids are 6 and 4 -1/2 . Addison is the oldest one, and Lyla is the youngest.

Best advice? My college coach said to control the controllables. It's simple and straightforward. If you can't control it, don't worry about it. I'm pretty carefree. The vast majority of things in life, day to day, you have no say over and can't control it. I can't control where a guy hits the ball. So if a guy hits the ball, he hits the ball. Move on to the next guy. The other advice comes from a Bible verse, Jeremiah 29:11. God has a plan. You're in his hands. You can't really change fate.

Worst advice? (Twins pitching coach) Rick Anderson keeps telling me to throw a changeup. I think that's bad advice.

I'd like to go in space. So if I could trade places for a day with anyone, it'd be an astronaut. I'd like to be up there. I'm intrigued by flying and being weightless. I think that's a cool thing.

It's not about stats or money. When I'm done playing, I want to be remembered as someone who went out there and gave a hundred percent every time out, win, lose or draw -- good or bad. I want people to say, "Yeah, I remember him. He was fun to watch."

Follow Bob Sansevere at twitter.com/bobsansevere.