Take us out to the ballgame!

After a 5 1/2 month stretch without baseball in Minnesota, Skyler and I were able to enjoy an unbelievable day at Target Field to share in the 2011 Home Opener! The day started bright and early as we bravely left the house at 5am to go watch the Mike-and-MIke in the morning show (ESPN radio) at the stadium. I had received an invitation to attend this event the day before, and after asking if Skyler had any interest in going, she courageously responded, "if we're going to go, let's GO!" Just one of things about her spirit I love...

We got up close and personal with quite a good number of "big names." Rod Carew, Tony Oliva, Bert Blyleven, the Polads, David St. Peter, etc.

We consumed a delicious complementarty breakfast while enjoying this national sports broadcast. Of course, throughout the morning we snapped numerous pictures as we had TOTAL access to to Target Field from 5-9:30am! We saw "the greats" all over - hall of famers, owners, players, etc. And despite the early hour, we did have a bit of celebrity craze. I think there was only once or twice where I looked over at my wife and saw her eyes glazed over a bit. A favorite part of our morning, however, was watching the sun rise sitting over home plate with a "Twins" cup of coffee. This setting produced quite a feeling!

Notice the new HD screen next to the plaza for the left and center field viewers.

Once the morning event ended at 9am (although we already felt like it was the afternoon), we spent a couple hours strolling downtown enjoying the weather and each other before the field "officially" opened. 


We headed over a bit early to watch the unveiling of the Tony Oliva bronze statue. Oliva, a native of Cuba, is the 4th Twins player to have a bronze statue made of him. He played for Minnesota 15 seasons (1962-76), where he posted a .304 career batting average with 220 home runs, and 947 RBI's. Tony O. was the 1964 AL Rookie of the Year, a Gold Glove Award winner (1966), and an 8-time all star. It was fun hearing retired players and Tony himself!

Skyler and I then officially entered Target Field. The heat of the sun made our skin tingle and the smell of the grass was simply awesome! This feeling signified that baseball was back! Maybe Skyler's favorite part of the afternoon was when we camped out on the first base foul line to interact with and watch the Twins take batting and fielding practice. My wife was like a kid in a candy shop as she shouted at the players, asking (cutely) for them to toss her a ball. She quickly became jealous though that she couldn't compete with the 6-year old boys with gloves that could say, "Mr. Nathan, Mr. Nathan!" I think I heard, "sigh... it's hopeless..." about 5 times.

Joe Nathan

Jim Thome and Jose Mijares

And what would a game be without some classic ballpark food? Yes we indulged, and yes it was worth it! After consuming our game-time grub, a unique national anthem and Air Force fly-over set the tone for the remainder of the afternoon. We continued to soak up the 60-plus degree sun as we watched a pitching battle at its finest. 

The A's had a 1-0 lead until the 8th inning when the Twins received a clutch 2-out hit to grab a 2-1 lead. This is all Joe Nathan would need to close his first ever game at Target Field. I think I can say that we both got goosebumps watching Joe jog that valient run from the bullpen to the pitching mound, while the stadium roared. Get's your blood and Twins spirit pumping!

We hope the Twins can start winning consistently, but no matter what, this will be an occasion we will never forget and a team we will always cheer for!

Go Twins!

Jared