Right on Target?

When I showed up for the first day of law school a couple of years ago I found out that I needed to learn how to write. Apparently, meandering, flowery prose are unacceptable in the legal/business world. My professors and advisors have spent the past two years drilling out of me what was ingrained throughout my time in high school and as a liberal arts major in college. Despite Villanova’s best efforts, I plan on digging down deep inside of me and dragging these new blog updates on for as long as possible. Get straight to the point?? Bah! Who wants to do that? That’s boring. This blog has been and will continue to be an outlet of creativity. So, without further ado…

When I was in Minneapolis to review the Metrodome back in 2008 I found out the Twins were constructing a new stadium to be opened in 2010. It was clear the Metrodome was not well-suited as a baseball stadium but I also found out the new park would be an outdoor facility…in Minneapolis!! The Twinkies have been perennial playoff contenders for at least a decade now and I can’t imagine baseball being played outside in Minnesota late into October; or, for that matter, in the first weeks of April every year. Luckily, the game I went to was in July and weather (at least cold weather) wasn’t a concern. I flew out to the Twin cities to visit my friend Ellen and her dad Chris hooked us up with sweet suite seats (jeez, say that three times fast!) – so first, a big THANK YOU there for the seats and the hospitality!

As far as Target Field was concerned, it was new, it was modern, and it was…nice. I may catch some flak for this, but compared to some of the great stadiums in the country, it just didn’t blow my doors off. Obviously all of these reviews and impressions are completely subjective and many different factors affect each visit, but for this particular park I just found it to be lacking…je ne sais quoi. There was no “it” factor for me. Plenty of people are going to disagree with me though. Check this out:

http://espn.go.com/sportsnation/teamrankings/_/category/stx#table

ESPN The Magazine ranked Target Field the number one venue in all of sports. This, while my favorite baseball stadium in the country – the Padres’ Petco Park – was ranked 43rd. So what do I know? Regardless, my trip to the Twin Cities this summer certainly was very different from the first time around!

Game Notes:

One of the reasons I may not have taken more away from the stadium was the fact that we simply weren’t there for very long. The game lasted only an hour and fifty-two minutes!! Yes, 1:52. At the time, it was the third-shortest game in the majors for 2010. Also, due to factors beyond our control we didn’t get to the stadium all that early so we didn’t get to catch BP or walk around an empty stadium either. By the time I completed a lap around the park we were already a few innings into the action. The trade-off, though, was that for this game we had a “suite” view from the Land O’Lakes suite!


Quite a different experience from my typical “I’ll have one of your cheapest tickets, please.” All of the suites at Target Field are named after lakes in Minnesota. For those of you keeping score at home, we were in the “Farm Lake” suite. We were greeted with a great spread of food and drink and a tremendous view of Minneapolis. I will say, the sightlines around the park were pretty well thought out and from the third base side, this is what we got to look at:


The field views from around the rest of the park were a bit…quirky. Not good or bad, just quirky. The dimensions of the concourse are really different from most other parks and there are a lot of sharp angles as you walk around the stadium underbelly. That concourse, though, is something the Twins really improved on compared to the Metrodome. Two years ago the game I went to wasn’t very crowded but moving around in the concession areas was still a nightmare. At Target field there was TONS of room to walk about freely. Kudos to them on that one.


In walking around the concourse I found some unique things. First, unlike St. Louis or especially one of the new New York stadiums (I won’t spoil which one!), the seats all over Target Field feel really close to the action. The plot of land the stadium is built on isn’t a huge sprawling area so all the seats ended up being decently close to the field. Second, the gates are all named/numbered after famous players in Twins history. Also, and I’m sure I’m forgetting other stadiums that did this, but like Baltimore, the Twins have a light-rail train that pulls RIGHT up to a gate, which is tremendously convenient for people who want to take public transport to the game. Two other local tributes that were kind of subtle was this wood engraving of Kirby Puckett behind one of the bar areas in the suite section. I didn’t even notice it the first time I walked past. Then there was a salute and pub dedicated to “Townball.” Apparently this is kind of an informal league around the state where people just get together to play every summer and there are over 300 active teams.

At the main entrance gate I found two cool things. One was this farmers market:


Small but effective? I guess it’s just a nod to the local produce producers (yeah, I just went there). The other thing was this weird metallic “wind thing.” I don’t know how else to describe it and this picture does it no justice at all but when the wind blew, these metal plates moved in random wave formations. It looked really cool, you’ll just have to take my word for it.


What else…food? You should all know I always love checking out the food/prices. The Twins stepped up their prices from a couple of years ago but overall it was still more reasonable than many of the other parks around the country. Of course, they had more “brats” than you could shake a stick at, a hot dog runs ya $4.50, 16 oz. beer for $7.00, $4.50 for nachos…then they had these “tator tot boats” that I was too intrigued by to write down the cost! Also, I completely forgot to get the cheese curds again. Oh well, next time, yeah?

Finally, before we get to some high and low points, we saw “Wally the Beer Man” on our walk around the park! For those of you who don’t know, apparently he’s been a staple at Minnesota sporting events and especially Twins games since the Metrodome opened. If you’d like to know more, here’s a Sports Illustrated article from 23 years ago!

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1066153/index.htm

High Points:

-As mentioned, the intimacy of the seats at Target Field stood out and virtually everywhere in the park that I walked to felt pretty close. Also, they have real-live metal bleachers for that extra-special, traditional, back-cramped-by-the-fourth-inning baseball experience!

-The Land O’ Lakes suite, complete with food/drink spread and fully stocked dessert cart certainly was a high point of the day. On a related note: the bathrooms in the suite section were immaculate but I neglected to check out the regular ones. 1000 pardons for that, please.

-The scoreboard(s) at Target Field may have taken over as the best in the country. I remember that Arizona’s and Washington DC’s scoreboards had previously been up there in my book, but the amount of information you could get at a second’s notice in Minneapolis was truly impressive.


Between the main scoreboard above, and the two below, fans have at their fingertips all kinds of “modern” numbers (please tell me you know what OPS means by now), the current pitching line, the batter’s season stats, who was due up, and virtually any other info you could want. Finally, have a look at the right-hand side of the picture. Ellen and I tried to recreate the magic of “Minnie” and “Paul” shaking hands but I don’t think we got it quite right…mostly cause we turned out way more blurry than they are in real life.


-The aforementioned open concourse was a definite plus.

-The retired numbers at Target Field took up about 1/100th of the space they did in the Metrodome.

-The highest point of the game was probably when Chris took me down to the VIP area behind home plate. They have a separate club down there with all the food and drinks you could want. There is a little peephole for fans to watch players take BP inside before the game. And, I’ve said it before, but Major League Baseball is just a completely different game from down at the field level. It was only for a couple of innings, but boy was it worth it!


(See also more scoreboard information in straightaway centerfield. I’m telling you, this place was a wealth!)

-The last high point was probably the bullpens. Tons of fans in the left field bleachers can easily peer over a short wall and check out players from both teams warming up. But when I checked them out, all I could picture was the amount of trash talk that must happen between teams. I guarantee you it’s not “hey, how are you, how’s the family” type stuff. It has to be pure venom that is spit back and forth between competitors, separated only by a few millimeters of chain-link fence, ready to do battle in front of an arena filled with thousands of screaming fans, all calling for blood and…what? No? OK, maybe that’s just me. Here’s what I’m talking about:


Vicious, huh?

Low Points:

-Despite the very “new” feel and modern décor that accompanied my visit to Target Field, the stadium left some things to be desired. First, the condiments at this brand new stadium really let me down. We all know I loves me some spicy mustard yet the best the Twins could do was the generic Heinz products (yellow mustard, ketchup, and sweet relish). Wait till you see what one of the New York teams did…

-The fan-to-scoreboard interaction was a little metza metz. Granted, it’s the Midwest, but even accounting for that, the scoreboard was doing a lot of cheerleading throughout the game. Also, the Twins got rid of the “No Rules Fish Race!” (see Summer of Matt, post 27, para. 11 “One Day Honey, One Day Onion” discussing general awesomeness of said race). Sorry, sorry, I know I said no more of those. So the in-person fish race was replaced by a computer generated, rigged to win, cartoon sports car race featuring Babe the Ox and other indigenous Minnesota creatures. Lame.


-I again was swindled into drinking Michelob Golden Light. Luckily, because of the “suite” perks, I didn’t waste money on it this time around. But I clearly didn’t remember the marketing lesson Dad gave me two years ago. Those guys are good!

-The Bud Deck was closed off to fans without tickets to the Bud Deck. Jerks.

-TC the Bear is the Twins mascot. He showed up a few times throughout my notes. First, on the left, he can be seen absolutely demolishing the competition in the pre-game home run derby. Random fans are selected to try to hit softballs over the outfield fence. Then this TC character comes out of nowhere and obliterates the high score. I would LOVE to have that guy’s job. To just be some washed up minor leaguer or college player who gets paid to come in and ruin the hopes and dreams of random fans before every game. Haha, sounds awesome! On the right is “Creepy TC.” Creepy because he’s wearing a skinny mustache and huddling around a group of unsuspecting youngsters…yikes.












-The pregame field grooming guy did not drag his mat in perfect circles. Obviously a low point.

-Another low point, and obviously this is the Twins’ fault, was the game time. An MLB game lasting under two hours is just unacceptable, especially when I’ve got a ticket to a suite! Luckily, it started pouring (and I’m talking big, strong, Midwest rain – not some little drizzle like back home. Seriously, hardest I’ve seen it rain in years) after the game so we got to hang out a bit while everyone else had to unsuccessfully dodge the sheets of water on their way out of the stadium.


-The Twins kept their old-school, campy intro music but, unlike 2008, didn’t mix it into something new and fresh. Lame.

-Whoever sang “Take Me Out to the Ballgame” was pretty off key!

And just for the heck of it, here’s a few more pictures:


The illusive “Bud Deck” and Twins retired numbers


Trippy painting


John, Ryan, Brenda, Ellen


Land O' Lakes Jersey!

OK, I reckon that’s all I’ve got for Minneapolis. On to Citi Field in New York!

Overall Grade: B+

Game Stats:
Teams: Twins vs. White Sox
Final Score: 3-2 Twins
Extra Innings: 0
WP: Carl Pavano
LP: Mark Buehrle
Time: 1:52 (?!?!)
Announced Attendance: 40,637 (102.9% full)
Ticket Price: $0 (Thanks, Chris!)
Parking Price: N/A

Trip Stats:
Home team record: 23-8
Best Anthem: Tropicana Field
Miles Driven: 10,702
Speeding Tickets: ZERO!
States Visited: 27
Countries Visited: 2
Districts of Columbia Visited: 1
Beds slept in: 34
Highest Gas PPG: $4.19 [$4.81 if you count Canada]
Next Stop: Mets (Citi Field)
Favorite Park: Petco Park (Padres)

Stadium Grades:
Marlins: D
Rays: B
Braves: B-
Rockies: B+
Mariners: B
Giants: A-
Athletics: C
Angels: B-
Dodgers: B+
Padres: A
Diamondbacks: B
Rangers: B-
Astros: B-
Blue Jays: C
Tigers: A-
Indians: B-
Reds: B+
Cardinals: B
Royals: B
Twins (2008): B-
Brewers: A-
White Sox: B
Cubs: B+
Pirates: C+
Orioles: B
Phillies: A-
Nationals: B
Mets: C+
Yankees: B
Red Sox: A-
Twins (2010): B+