A tribute to Twins' ambassador Peg Imhoff

The games are too long. So is the season. Bad teams play dozens of meaningless games.

There are weather delays and interminable doubleheaders and any game can be decided by the luck of a bounce or a bloop.

The beanballs and brawls are ridiculous, and the umpiring can make you scratch your head until your scalp bleeds, and the Twins have chased tens of thousands away with their poor play most of this decade.

There are plenty of reasons for fans to avoid or dismiss Major League Baseball games, especially when the local team falters, but when you write about the game the game is not all that matters.

Other sports are about Big Games and Intensity and Pressure. Because baseball is a game of skill contested daily, such pretenses would ring hollow at a ballpark. When you cover a baseball team on a daily basis, you find that the best moments are those spent around the regulars.

Chuck, Rita and Art, the press box attendants. Elaine and Tish, who run the dining area. The cooks and groundskeepers and security guards become friends over the years, so when you get to the ballpark, even in the midst of a 100-loss season, you feel lucky to work in this place and around these people.

Thursday, we lost one of our favorites. Peg Imhoff worked for the Twins for 42 years as a press box attendant. She worked at Met Stadium, the Metrodome and Target Field.

She died on Thursday morning from cancer. She was 79.

Her desk remained empty on Thursday night at the game, although friends left flowers and a cake. The Twins served cake, her favorite, in her honor in the snack bar that is named ``Peg's Cafe.''

I last saw Peg in August, before we learned of her condition. We chatted a few times, per usual. She offered some self-deprecating humor and offered me candy, per usual.

I got to know her in 1993, when she manned the hot dog grill at the back of the Metrodome press box. This was not exactly glamorous work but like many stadium workers she was thrilled to be in the ballpark.

This Twins season feels like a renaissance of sorts, although you can never tell. Amid the winning and the pursuit of a playoff spot, many fans have stayed away.

For baseball regulars, the game is never just about winning. Unique among major sports, baseball offers downtime, chances to talk about something other than baseball.

Peg wasn't just known to press box denizens. She befriended Tom Kelly, who was always a champion of behind-the-scenes workers. Peg one time scolded me for writing something about Kelly with which she did not agree.

She was loyal and treated us all like family, whether we deserved it or not.

Rest in peace, Peg.