I grew up in northern Minnesota thinking that professional baseball was an outdoor sport. I saw my first Twins game at the old Metropolitan Stadium in Bloomington (which is now Camp Snoopy at the Mall of America). For most of the latter part of a season outdoor baseball in Minnesota was no different than just about anywhere else. Early April, though, was another story, as anyone from Minnesota can tell you. The Metrodome, opened in 1982, took weather out of the equation- but it was a crummy, artificial environment to watch a ball game. Everything was straight and perfect and clean. Artificial turf, no wind, always 72 degrees. Not a bad bounce to be had…unless you counted the mile-high bounces off the Metrodome’s artificial turf. Minnesotans enjoyed the comfort, but no one really thought that the Metrodome was an ideal baseball environment. Still, it was what we had, and if there’s one thing that Minnesotans are good it, it’s making do. And so we did.
It wasn’t all bad, of course, Though the Twins sucked when I was in college, the did win two World Series titles (1987 and 1991) in the Metrodome. Even with that legacy, Minnesotans knew that the Metrodome was little more than a collection of running jokes to the rest of the country- the opaque roof, the “baggie” on the right field wall, the turf that turned baseballs into Super Balls. Yes, it was weatherproof, but it was a lousy baseball environment.
Yesterday, all of that changed. The Twins opened Target Field in downtown Minneapolis with a 5-2 victory over the Boston Red Sox. I watched the telecast on ESPN with a mixture of wonder, awe, and jealousy. Finally, in their 50th season, the Twins have a worthy ballpark. It’s modern, it’s beautiful, and I imagine that in person it’s even more awe-inspiring. I was jealous, because, after seeing many a game in the Metrodome, I wanted to be there for Opening Day. It would have been an awesome experience…in the unlikely event that a ticket could have been scrounged. Good luck with that, though- the Twins entire 81-game home schedule is sold out. Every. Single. Game. Damned impressive, especially when you consider that I used to go to weekend games in the Metrodome when I was in college, when 1500 fans would decide they had nothing better to do than watch the Twins take one in the shorts.
I’m beyond happy for people in Minnesota, because they finally have a baseball park they can be proud of. Even better, they have a quality team to play there. Ten years ago, Commissioner Bud Selig Satan was giving serious consideration to shutting down the Twins. At the time, it made sense. Trapped in a crummy stadium with a crummy lease, and with one of the lowest payrolls in baseball, Twins owner Carl Pohlad had a no-win (albeit self-created) situation on his hands. Few revenue streams made for a challenging financial environment. Combine that with the reality that few quality free agents wanted to play in the Metrodome, and you had a recipe for contraction. At that time, one could have reasonably argued that the Twins weren’t even a decent AAA franchise.
My, how things have changed, eh? Ten years on, and the Twins have a new playpen and a far brighter present and future. Once Major League Baseball’s equivalent of a Dollar Store, the Twins now have the 10th-highest payroll…and the talent to match. As unthinkable as this may seem, the Twins have a bigger payroll than the Los Angeles Dodgers. Grab your shades, y’all; the future’s looking pretty bright.
Yes, I realize that it’s still only mid-April, but it’s not hard to feel good about baseball in Minnesota. I may just have to make a pilgrimage to Target Field this summer….
Game on, eh?
