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| Cassie and me at our first Target Field game. |
I'll never forget the very first Twins game at the new ball park. I was home watching the pregame festivities on TV, the whole time asking myself why I didn't try to score tickets to opening day. I watched part of the game from home, but then I had to leave for work, as a sports copy aide at the Star Tribune.
Luckily, I knew the game would be on in the newsroom. But I still had about a half-hour drive to get from TV to TV. I know, I know. I had such big problems. You know how people remember exactly where they were when they heard about Pearl Harbor, the JFK assassination and the 9/11 attacks? Well, I have 9/11, but I also remember exactly where I was when the first home run was hit at Target Field.
Jason Kubel hit a ball to the right field bleachers. I heard John Gordon's radio call as I was driving on Hwy. 10, along the righthand curve just before merging onto 35W South. I was excited yet at the same time disappointed because I wasn't able to see it. Maybe that's lame, but I don't care. Call it a weird sports fan thing or whatever.
Visiting the new ballpark
My first game at Target Field was one of the first night games, April 20, with my friend Cassie. We had seats down the third-base line, so we had a perfect view of that gorgeous Minneapolis skyline. I remember getting to our seats and just standing there, looking around at all kinds of different parts of the ballpark. We just took it all in.
What I really loved was that it, unlike the football-field Dome, was built for baseball. The seats down the line all angled to face home plate, rather than the outfield. What a concept! The Twins won that game against Cleveland 5-1.
I went to a few other games that first season, too, with family and friends: May 28, 2010 Twins beat Texas 2-1, July 20 Twins lost a close game to Cleveland 4-3, Sept. 7 Twins beat Kansas City 10-3, Sept. 19 Twins lost to Oakland 6-2.
We didn't run into a lot of bad-weather luck like I thought we would. I remember being so worried about the open-air stadium in cold, snowy Minnesota. I thought for sure there would be a lot more snow-outs or freezing games in April, especially. There's still time for that, but overall, I'd say the weather luck has been great.
Target Field highlights
I attended Bert Blyleven day July 16, 2011 on a very hot, humid evening when the Twins retired Bert's jersey number 28. On June 29, 2013, I had a blast at the ballpark with my Austin Post-Bulletin family. It was a reunion for us (since I had moved to Fergus Falls a few months earlier), a celebration of our dear friend Kay's birthday and the first trip to the ballpark for my friends. The Twins beat the Royals 6-2 as Kyle Gibson made his major league debut. That was such a great day.
Of course, the only playoff appearance so far for the Twins at Target Field came that inaugural season. They had home field advantage, but once again faced the Yankees and couldn't make it through the Divisional round. Sigh.
It's been four years of sub-par baseball for the Twins, with 90-plus loss seasons, a managerial change and something called bilateral leg weakness. Whatever that is.
Something amazing in 2015
This season was supposed to be more of the same. The Twins were supposed to hold the basement position in the AL Central and probably finish with 90 losses yet again. This theory seemed to be confirmed with the first series in Detroit to start the season. The Twins couldn't do anything. It had Twins fans saying, "There's going to be 150-some more games of this?"
The Twins surprised everyone with an outstanding month of May. They started winning, giving Kansas City a run for its money and then holding a Wild Card spot for awhile. They had all kinds of momentum going, though that seems to have disappeared with the All-Star Break.
The best part about this season, for me, is that I got a job with Major League Baseball. I watch all the Twins games, from the press box at Target Field and from my couch during away games, and post to social media with game updates. I'm combining my passions for sports, writing and social media, and it's been amazing.
I've had such a blast getting back into baseball again, I mean, really into it. I love what I'm doing. I've met a lot of great people. Of course, it's always more fun when the team is doing well and winning, so I can have more to update. But still, this job is one of the greatest opportunities I've had. I feel very blessed to be doing something I really love.
My journey as a Twins fan part 1: A bite from the sports bug
My journey as a Twins fan part 2: Dougie and division titles
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