(Monday, July 18, 2011) – What a magical place it is, with the perfectly manicured grass, the buzz of the crowd, and the many vendors selling various items. I found myself suddenly feeling like a kid again, as I took a trip to watch a ballgame on a hot summer day. It brought back memories of the times watching games in old Cleveland Municipal Stadium, except nicer surroundings, as this was brand new Target Field – a fantastic ballpark! As a kid, I’ll always remember the first time I laid eyes on the perfect green field, with the perfect lines painted & batters box – it was magical & the ballpark brought back these magical memories on this day!
I was able to acquire a couple of premium seats, in the “Legends Club”, due to this being a makeup game – the noon game on a Monday as part of a day/night doubleheader. Interestingly, they call these “doubleheaders”, as they are two separate games, with the ballpark cleared out and the fans leaving, with about 3 or 4 hours in between. They are not doubleheaders, but instead are two games played in the same day. A true doubleheader is when you watch two games for one ticket, with about 30 minutes in between games. I digress, as I was saying, the Legends Club tickets were awesome, right along the first baseline with a great view of the field!
Legends Club had some murals of past Twins greats, Harmon Killebrew & Kirby Puckett, in the indoor confines of the club level.
The noon game on a Monday was the makeup game from the April 22nd rainout on “Earth Day”. Therefore, all fans were treated to both teams, the Twins & Indians, wearing green hats. The green hats were not kind on the eyes for three hours of baseball.
It’s always a treat to watch Jim Thome at the plate; he never gets cheated on a swing. Thome had his most productive years as a Cleveland Indian, and is now finishing his career as a Twin. He had smashed career home run #596 yesterday, against KC, and it traveled an estimated 490 feet!
Hopes were high in the Twin Cities, as the Twins were within 5 games of the first-place Cleveland Indians, entering this key 4-game series in Minneapolis. If the Twins were to win three or four, they would be right in the middle of the Central Division race. Hopes were dashed, however, as this day belonged to David Huff, a AAA call-up who handcuffed Twins hitters all day, keeping them scoreless through 7 innings as the Indians built a 4-0 lead. The Twins scored a couple in the ninth, but the Indians were the better team this game and won 5-2 in a wonderful day at the ballpark!
