Sue Nelson discovered baseball as a little girl in southern Minnesota when she would go to her grandpa and grandma's farm.
"They were one of the only ones with a TV," she says. "I would sit and watch baseball in the early days. My parents would say, 'Oh, that's so nice you want to go visit grandpa and grandma,' and I really didn't. I just wanted to go watch baseball."
Nelson, 72, laughs as she tells the story, something she does often when discussing her lifetime love of baseball, hockey and music. She knows she's fortunate to have combined those passions for decades.
She's been the Minnesota Twins' full-time organist since 1999 (even though she made her MLB debut in 1998, filling in for Ronnie Newman when he had arthritis) and has one of the best seats for every game at Target Field. She also played the organ for the Minnesota North Stars NHL team from 1981 through 1992, the outdoor and indoor versions of the Minnesota Strikers soccer team in the 1980s and at hundreds of high school hockey games in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area.
She's a fine classical pianist who made her living by performing and teaching, but when it comes to playing the organ for the Twins, she says she's a fan first and a musician second. Her job isn't to show off what she can do, but rather to help create a fun atmosphere and keep fans involved.
"What I do is cheerleading," she says. "I'm not that much of a musician. I mean, I can play stuff, but I'm a cheerleader. That's my specialty."
Though she doesn't play the organ for the NHL's Minnesota Wild, she works for the franchise in the winter as "the food and drink police," keeping fans' refreshments out of the team's main store.
Nelson is a people person first. She leaves her home in Roseville, a Twin Cities suburb where she lives with her softball-playing husband, and arrives at the field about two hours before every game to visit with fans. She loves having fans around her as she plays and getting the chance to talk about the game and the importance of music with them.
Nelson shares her thoughts about her career as an organist for the Twins and others:
Setting the tone
I was a cheerleader for basketball in high school, and I always say that it's up to you to try and get people to put their hands together. As the organist, I'm a cheerleader. I don't always hit the right notes, but it's always the rhythm, the rhythm. The rhythm is always absolute.
The opportunity
I worked in a music store. I played demo things and I taught music lessons and played piano bar. A guy came in one day in November of 1980, on a day I wasn't there. He said, "I'm having a nervous breakdown and I need somebody to take my job." So that job (with the North Stars) went up for audition. And the guy (at the store) called me and said, "Sue, Sue, there's a really good job for you." So I went and auditioned. There were some fabulous musicians, but of course they weren't looking for a musician, really. They thought they were, and they hired a really good one. But he didn't like hockey and he didn't want to stop his song in the middle, and he didn't want to watch the game. So I got a call the morning of March 18, 1981, and he said, "I know this is short notice, but do you want to play the game tonight?"
North Stars farewell
My last game was in April of 1992. That last season (1992-93, before moving to Dallas) they decided not to have an organist. They had a band that started and stopped during the game. It was the fiasco of the world. It was so stupid. I still stayed with the team and sold merchandise and tickets because I loved the North Stars.
Upgrade from indoors
At the Metrodome I was in the football press box, in a small room. But the ushers always sent people up and my door was open, and sometimes the room was full. We could get 20 people in there, but it was really stuffed.
Target Field is just so much nicer. It's so beautiful. And my place is honestly the best seat in the house. I'm right above home plate on the terrace level, which is the middle level, and I'm in the bar. I look right out the window at the batter. There's a lot of people in there. I mean, it's a bar. I'm in the middle of the bar, and it's so much fun. You stay completely in the game that way.
Talkin' baseball
My favorite part of the job is just going to baseball games and talking to fans. The people that come, they really care about the team, the players, baseball and Target Field. It's such a joy. At exciting moments, I'm high-fiving all around, and hugs.
Duties
During the announcement of the rules and the umpires and the other team's lineup before the game, I have about 2 1/2 minutes to play. It's very much in the background. Then in the top of the sixth, I play for about 35 seconds. We have a lot of games with the fans, and if they win I play for them. And I do get to play "Take Me Out to the Ball Game" almost every single game. I play all during the game to get people cheering.
No shade for the umps
I have a lot of freedom. I can play a lot of songs. I like "Walk of Life," "Livin' La Vida Loca," "Hungry Like the Wolf." The only thing I can't do -- and I wouldn't do -- is "Three Blind Mice." I would not do that. My son is a (hockey) referee. I have a feeling for the umpires and referees.
Musical duo
Our DJ is arguably the best. He knows all the new music and plays it at just the right times during the game. I'm supposed to be doing all the cheerleading. He plays the walk-up music for the batters. He'll play things when a guy moves up a base, or after a foul ball, things like that. I'm on the headset with him. He says, "I'm going to take the next one" or "I'll take the next foul ball" or something like that.
The iron woman
I haven't missed many games. In 2002 my daughter got married on a game day, and I said she was not the favorite for a while. In 2011, I think it was, I had my appendix out. I missed a whole week, about five games. When we had the All-Star Game in 2014, I broke my left arm about 2 1/2 weeks before the game. I can play without the left hand, you know. I almost only use my right hand and my foot. I thought I could do it. I remember asking my husband to please come along with me (to the park) to see if I could play "Take Me Out to the Ball Game" on the organ. I could. I played "Take Me Out to the Ball Game" for the All-Star Game, which was a huge thrill because they hardly ever say my name, but they did that day. They said, "Join Twins organist Sue Nelson in the singing of baseball's national anthem, 'Take Me Out to the Ball Game.' That was exciting."
The good guys
I've had some favorite players. Torii Hunter was so dear. And LaTroy Hawkins. And oh, Jim Thome is such a nice man. Michael Cuddyer was so friendly and nice. Before the season they had a rally or something and he was there and from then on he introduced me to his wife. And Harmon Killebrew was just a wonderful man.
No bobblehead, please!
That's mentioned every once in a while and I would just hate that. That would be the worst. I love sitting here and visiting with anybody, but I don't want to be on the screen, and I don't want anything like that.
Treasured moment
It was the final day of the 2006 season at the Metrodome. We were going to the playoffs either as the wild card or the No. 1 in our division. We won and we were watching the game between Kansas City and Detroit. Everybody stayed because that game was going to determine whether we were going to be first place or get the wild card. The game was on the big screen, and I said, "Can I play? Can I cheerlead for Kansas City?" I played the organ, and people cheered with the TV. When the game was over, our guys ran around and high-fived and everything (for clinching the AL Central). It was an unbelievable time.
