While we visited the Twin Cities, we took in some local baseball fun.
One little known item is that the Mall of America is built on the former ball park for the Minnesota Twins. Metropolitan Stadium stood from 1956 to 1981. The home plate’s location is commemorated in the mall’s amusement park.
Way far away from home plate is a marker for the longest home run in Metropolitan Stadium. Harmon Killebrew knocked one into the stands, a feat marked by a sign and a lone remaining stadium seat attached to the wall.
We also went to a game at the new stadium, Target Field. It was a Friday night game, a night that had rain in the forecast. We walked over to the field hoping that the game would start on time.
It was nice to be a ten-minute walk from the stadium. We saw that the light rail goes right to the stadium, so it must be very convenient for locals who don't want to drive. When we got inside, the field still had a tarp on it showing lots of rain still falling.
The rest of the stadium is nice, with a lot of outfield seating and a really cool sign.
We bought some cotton candy and saw the announcement that the 7:05 game was delayed at least until 8:20. We hoped the rain would stop in time and saw some guys squeegeeing off the tarp.
By the time 8:10 came around, they started moving the tarp off the field and getting it ready for action. We were very happy.
The game started around 8:20 and was very exciting, with the Twins scoring six runs in the second inning before the Texas Rangers had any score.
The first six innings saw Texas scoreless. During one of the inter-inning intervals, they had the mascot come out and shoot t-shirts into the stands. We didn't catch any.
At the end of the sixth inning, they had the "kissing cam" where the jumbo-television showed various people in the park, expecting them to kiss. It worked for just about everyone (they showed one set of teenagers that looked more like siblings--they didn't kiss). The finale was a guy proposing to his girl, who said yes. They were both Texas fans. That next inning, Texas scored five runs. They were still behind 9-5, but it looked like a comeback. The bottom half of the inning had another three runs from the Twins, so things looked okay. We left at the beginning of the eighth inning when the score was 12-6.
The next day we found out the final score was 15-6, so we didn't miss an upsetting ending. The park is great and we had a fun time. It's the fourth major league park that my son visited, hopefully we can get more parks in as we travel.
One little known item is that the Mall of America is built on the former ball park for the Minnesota Twins. Metropolitan Stadium stood from 1956 to 1981. The home plate’s location is commemorated in the mall’s amusement park.
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| Where the home plate was |
Way far away from home plate is a marker for the longest home run in Metropolitan Stadium. Harmon Killebrew knocked one into the stands, a feat marked by a sign and a lone remaining stadium seat attached to the wall.
 |
| On the wall over the log chute |
We also went to a game at the new stadium, Target Field. It was a Friday night game, a night that had rain in the forecast. We walked over to the field hoping that the game would start on time.
 |
| Almost at the field |
It was nice to be a ten-minute walk from the stadium. We saw that the light rail goes right to the stadium, so it must be very convenient for locals who don't want to drive. When we got inside, the field still had a tarp on it showing lots of rain still falling.
 |
| Not conducive to playing a game |
The rest of the stadium is nice, with a lot of outfield seating and a really cool sign.
 |
| Outfield and stands |
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| A fun sign |
We bought some cotton candy and saw the announcement that the 7:05 game was delayed at least until 8:20. We hoped the rain would stop in time and saw some guys squeegeeing off the tarp.
 |
| Getting rid of water |
By the time 8:10 came around, they started moving the tarp off the field and getting it ready for action. We were very happy.
 |
| Folding a large tarp is a large job |
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| The fans file in as the field is finalized |
The game started around 8:20 and was very exciting, with the Twins scoring six runs in the second inning before the Texas Rangers had any score.
 |
| Game start |
The first six innings saw Texas scoreless. During one of the inter-inning intervals, they had the mascot come out and shoot t-shirts into the stands. We didn't catch any.
 |
| Free t-shirts |
At the end of the sixth inning, they had the "kissing cam" where the jumbo-television showed various people in the park, expecting them to kiss. It worked for just about everyone (they showed one set of teenagers that looked more like siblings--they didn't kiss). The finale was a guy proposing to his girl, who said yes. They were both Texas fans. That next inning, Texas scored five runs. They were still behind 9-5, but it looked like a comeback. The bottom half of the inning had another three runs from the Twins, so things looked okay. We left at the beginning of the eighth inning when the score was 12-6.
The next day we found out the final score was 15-6, so we didn't miss an upsetting ending. The park is great and we had a fun time. It's the fourth major league park that my son visited, hopefully we can get more parks in as we travel.
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