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Parise, Mauer Share Friendship of Parallels

06/20/2017, 11:15am CDT
By Devin Lowe; Courtesy Wild.com

Twins, Hometowns Draw Twin Cities Sports Stars Together

Credit: Courtesy Wild.com.

Credit: Courtesy Wild.com.

Wild forward Zach Parise's friendship with Twins first baseman Joe Mauer wasn't born out of a shared kinship over their Minnesota roots.

It didn't spring from the coincidence that they grew up playing on fields and in rinks that were a quick drive up I-494 from each other, all those days spent honing their crafts before they began playing on the most significant field and ice sheet in the state.

What drew Parise and Mauer together initially was -- what else? -- a conversation about strollers.

"I remember texting them and asking them something about twins, knowing we were having twins," Parise said. "I think I asked them something stupid like what kind of stroller they had because my wife wanted to know."

"The first conversation we really had was, 'Hey, what kind of stroller do you have?'" Mauer said. "Probably not what you'd expect."

You don't have to look far to find the parallels that bind Parise and Mauer. As home-grown Minnesotans, they feel the weight of the state's expectations and dreams more acutely than the average pitcher from Kansas or defenseman from Ontario. Mauer married his high school sweetheart, Maddie, and Parise met his wife, Alisha, while he was attending the University of North Dakota.

And, of course, there's the twins: The Mauers welcomed Maren and Emily in July, and a little more than six months later, the Parises added Jaxson and Emelia to their family. 

Hence the stroller talk.

"Our kids do a lot of those kid activities together. They did some gymnastics together, then they do these camps together," Parise said. "My wife and Maddie are friends. [And] when we get together, we don't talk about hockey. We don't talk about baseball."

As their families have bonded, Parise and Mauer have become good friends who certainly have no shortage of things in common. Growing closer, Mauer said, was "a lot of fun, because I always admired him from afar and the player and person he is.

"It was fun to have that connection and get to know him better."

Read more at Wild.com.

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