July 14, 2012
Who would have thought that the hottest game I have attended (up until this point) would be in Minneapolis, MN? That was of course until I attended a Brewers game 3 days later in 98 degree heat.
I will get to the game in a little bit, but here is a brief summary of the trip.
With my wife and kids out of town visiting her sister in Maryland, I decided to drive over to Minneapolis and meet up with a college buddy of mine, Chris Petersen. He was in town for a family reunion and was kind enough to let me tag along to a Twins game with 25+ family members.We started the weekend off renting bikes to tour the city and surrounding lakes - we road by Target Field, crossed the Mississippi at St. Anthony Falls and checked out many of Minneapolis' terrific bike paths. In total we spent 4 hours and about 35 miles on the bikes. Oh, and did I mention that it was 95 degrees....luckily a lot of the bike paths were in the shade.
After lunch and a nap, we took the train to Target Field to meet up with the rest of the family. Game-time temperatures were in the mid-90's and our seats were in the blazing sun with very little cloud cover. For that reason, we spent a lot of the game walking around the stadium exploring all of the concessions, observation decks and concourse levels which is definately part of the fun of my sports tour. For many of the games I'm not that invested in who untimately wins; the object is to get to the stadiums / arenas / fields and check them all out and see how they compare to one another.For some reason I really liked this picture of the "Twins" in the outfield. It is Minneapolis and St. Paul shaking hands over the Mississippi River.
This is the 3rd season for the Twins in the new ballpark - Target Field. I definitely recommend seeing a game here as it is a great new park. The design is terrific with views of the city from certain angles, excellent layout for easy viewing and plenty of room to move around while visiting the concession stands or walking around under the seats. It didn't ever feel crowded or as if we were fighting our way from one part of the stadium to another. There is a nice standing room area in right field, with monuments and great views of the game. Down the left field line is a large closed-in area for restaurants. I tend to like ballparks that are not symmetrical, and Target Field is a perfect example.
In my opinion, for what it is worth, it is a bit surprising that they would build a baseball stadium this far north that is not enclosed. Of course for this game in the middle of July, it didn't matter as the weather was maybe even a little too hot, but I imagine that there are some very cold games in April (and October if they make the playoffs - which will not happened this year, they stink). As a friend of mine said, "Minneapolis is great in the summer. Both weeks."They had some interesting food options. I settled for the pork chop on a stick, but they also served walleye, which is the first time I have seen that at a game.
As I mentioned, the Twins stink and this game was no exception, but despite the heat and the fact that the Twins are 15+ games under .500, the crowd was still really into the game. At times it looked like batting practice for the A's against the Twins' pitchers. In total, the A's hit 4 home runs, including one that landed in our section on the second level over the right field wall. The A's won 9-4.
Thanks a lot Petersen for letting me tag along. I had a blast. You can see many more photos on my facebook page if you are interested.
Also, please visit my fundraising page as I continue to try and raise money for cancer research. I encourage you to donate. http://www.firstgiving.com/fundraiser/christopher-apel/christopherapel
