Target Field: The inaugural visit

Last night I made my first visit to Target Field to watch the Twins in their second night game at their new digs. Yes, it was awesome. The whole experience was amazing and had this brand-new, first-experience kind of feel to it.

I went to the game with my friend Cassie (kudos to her for getting us tickets). We're both big Twins fans, so we knew we wanted to go to a game together. Now, let me start from the beginning and try to pack in all the details I can from the night.

Getting there
Since Target Field is on the opposite side of downtown Minneapolis from the Metrodome, figuring out how to get there and where to park was a big challenge for two suburban girls. Coming in off of I-94 used to be the "back way," so we reversed our driving strategy and took I-35 instead.

We drove around trying to pick out a ramp to park in, and we eventually ended up in the 5th Street ramp right next to the stadium. Literally. That wasn't our intention since we wanted to avoid traffic issues. But if you don't mind paying the $15, then milling around for awhile after the game, parking here isn't bad.

Unfamiliar surroudings
As we walked along the plaza area near the main Gate 34, we were surrounded by Twins fans. For some reason it gave me the feeling of being at the State Fair, although I can't really pinpoint why. We continued to walk around to our gate and entered the new ballpark.

It didn't take us long to join the rest of the herd and make our way around the huge open-air concourse to try and find our seats. While walking I took note of the new surroundings: The souvie shops, various food stands and looking to my right and being able to see the field.

Our seats were down the third baseline, looking out into the middle of left field. Being in the lower level was amazing and the view from our seats was great. Of course, they came with a price, but I honestly forgot all about that when I sat down.

Gotta have the food, nice weather
After taking in the sights for a few minutes and still having that surreal feeling wash over me, it was time to sample some of the much-hyped cuisine (since we forgot to grab something before we entered Target Field, like we had planned). It was off to the pizza stand, and by the way, Pepsi is the beverage supplier. Both get a thumbs-up from me.

While we waited for the game to start, there was more staring and picture-taking from our seats. It was also nice to enjoy the weather. It was a beautiful 70-degree April day in Minnesota. The weather gods really have been with the Twins this spring. I was comfortable in my short-sleeved jersey until the final out of the night. Gorgeous.

Oh yeah, there was a game too
Amid all the excitement over the brand-new park, there was a baseball game that night. The Twins against the Cleveland Indians. Kevin Slowey pitched an absolute gem of a game, going eight innings with nine strikeouts.

Many out there (myself included) would make the arguement that Slowey should have gone out in the ninth, but he had 98 pitches. By the book, by the book. His only mistake of the night was a pitch that Twins-killer Travis Hafner drove into the right-field bleachers.


If you missed the third inning last night, you missed out. It wasn't a great offensive night for the Twins. Jason Kubel struck out three times, Joe Mauer was 0-for-4 and they left the bases loaded yet again this season. But that didn't matter because the Twins took advantage of Cleveland's mistakes.

The Tribe's shortstop let a double-play ball slip through his legs, which was the costly error of the inning. In a 1-1 game, the Twins scored four runs in the third. One came on a bases-loaded walk, two on a wild pitch and one on a sacrifice fly. It was certainly an unconventional way of scoring runs.

In one of the later innings, a towering foul ball came back toward our section. It bounced off of some spectators just a few rows up, then landed in the hands of a gentleman just behind us in the next section over. That was something to get used to; I didn't get a lot of foul balls my way up in the cheap seats at the Metrodome. Go figure.

It went out of style 30 years ago
My eye-roll moment of the game came in the Twins half of a late inning. Some lower sections along the first baseline made a few attempts at starting The Wave. Unfortunately, they were successful. I did not participate; Cassie and I just sat there shaking our heads. To make matters worse, I also spotted a beach ball near where the wave started.

There were no home runs, although Justin Morneau came close. I believe that means the Twins have yet to hit a homer in a night game at Target Field. We wanted to see the illuminated Minnie and Paul shake hands after a bomb, but we settled for the handshake after the Twins sealed the 5-1 win over the Tribe.

We obviously wanted to hang around after the game to let traffic thin out, so we left the park in search of Hubert's. Lucky us, we stumbled onto the newly-moved, Twins-themed establishment not far outside the plaza. It was a great way to end the night.

Well, to sum up...
Target Field is awesome. Watching outdoor baseball is a treat we Minnesotans can get used to, I'm sure. Of course, it's much easier to enjoy the experience when the weather cooperates; we really lucked out.

I've been a huge backer of a retractable roof, especially in Minnesota. But on perfect nights, I admit there's nothing better than watching the Twins put on a show in a beautiful, outdoor ballpark. Simply glorious.