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Thursday, May 13, 2010

My tardy recap of Target Field




That sums up my Target Field experience.  The Minnesota Twins fans are awesome and truly love their team. I've been to 20+ major league stadiums/cities, and I believe the Twins are in the top 3 of the best fans in baseball if they aren't the best.

I went to the Saturday night game of a day/night double header versus the Orioles. The pitching match-up was Scott Baker vs Kevin Millwood. I was hoping to see Liriano work, but he threw the day game and Scott Baker threw very well so I can't complain. (FYI, click on any of the pictures to make them bigger)

The Good:
  • Again, the fans were terrific. They applauded the "little things" and made them "big things." 
    • The standing ovation for Mauer's pinch hitting appearance was one of the coolest things I've seen live at a ball game
      • Even after he struck out, there were many cheers as he walked back into the dugout
    • The only time anyone booed all game was when a person in a Green Bay Packers sweatshirt was on the scoreboard
  • Target Field is very clean and the wide concourses make it easy to navigate around the stadium.
    • I love the positioning of the bullpens and how you can watch the pitchers warm up from a "bird's eye view"
  • All the Twins employees were friendly and really wanted to make it a positive experience.
  • Scott Baker had no-hit stuff early, but lost it due to poor communication between Span and the RF
    • Luke Scott hit an absolute bomb later in the game to get rid of the "what-ifs"
  • Sat in section 112, row 26. It was close enough to the heaters that even though it was mid-40s temperature, I didn't feel cold with just a sweatshirt.
    • The TVs in the sections really aided to the ballpark experience, especially being able to see replays of close pitches/plays. 
    • Here is a view from the seats

The Bad:
  • I understand the Twins felt the need to tidy up the ball park after the first game, but they didn't open the gates until 6PM for a 7:00 start, and the lines to get in were long at every gate.
    • Being my first and probably only time going to the new stadium, I wanted as much time as I could to examine each of the features of the park
  • The concession lines were very slow, as I missed an inning plus of the game to get a Murray Steak Sandwich 
    • For those who plan on going to Target Field, you can skip the Murray Steak Sandwich. It's overpriced and didn't even taste good. Disappointing
  • Something needs to be done about exiting on the light rail after the game
    • It's great that it's so convenient and literally 100 feet from the stadium, but it was quicker to walk a mile and get the train at the next stop or two then to wait on the line just to get on the rail.
Overall, it was a very positive experience and the Twins and the city did a nice job with the ballpark, especially placing it near plenty of restaurants downtown. It is not my #1 ballpark as some analysts have said over the past few weeks, but it is an enjoyable place to watch a game.

Here are a couple other pics from the game, enjoy!










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