In 1961 the Washington Senators, who had played since the 1800s in the American Association, then the National League when the AA was absorbed, then moved to the new American League as a charter team in 1901, gave up on DC and moved to Minneapolis and became the Twins.
The franchise, which had not been in the postseason since 1934, made it to the World Series in 1965, losing to the Dodgers. They originally played at Metropolitan Stadium, which was built in 1955 in an effort to lure a Major League team. Which it did six years later. Then in 1982 the team moved to a new multipurpose domed stadium called The Metrodome, which they shared with the Vikings. It was okay, not great, for football, but one of the worst ballparks for baseball. In right field they had a blue plastic sheet that covered the football stands that were folded in. People called it the Baggie. It was supposed to be their version of the Green Monster, but failed badly.
With many old or crappy (or both) ballparks being replaced with nice new ones starting in 1993 with Camden Yards in Baltimore, the Twins got theirs in 2010. Real baseball on real grass with no roof, even though Minnesota has winters as bad as anywhere.
Kara and I had been to the last Red Sox series at the old Metrodome the year before, so we decided to take in the first Red Sox series at the brand spanking new one. It was home game #2. I could have gone to the Home Opener a couple of days earlier, but 1) it was tough to get decent seats and 2) after 28 years of playing in the crappy dome the good folks of Minnesota deserved to enjoy the inaugural game without having to put up with a couple of out-of-towners wearing enemy ball caps.
So Game 2 it was. As I parked in the outdoor garage next to the ballpark I spotted a car with a Nebraska plate.
People in Minnesota are very friendly, don’t ya know, and we probably could have worn Sox hats to game one without any issue.
Inside it was great. Interesting touches like the big Minnesota-shaped sign in center field. Great sight lines, comfortable seats. No vendors to throw you peanuts – go to Fenway for that – but there are concession stands aplenty. On the day of game 2 the concessions were overwhelmed, As in a two-inning delay to get a couple of Twin Dogs. I presume they got a rhythm down by mid-season. They didn’t have any special music and if they did a mustard vs. ketchup vs. relish race I missed it. May it was while I was in the long, slow line at the concession stand.
38,164 were on hand. That was actually 20 more people than went to the Inaugural Game two days earlier. John Lackey was the Red Sox starter and got the win. In left they had Jeremy Hermida (there’s a good trivia question for you) and in center was Mike Cameron. Why, you ask? Because the Red Sox signed Cameron, who was 40 and in his 16th year in the majors with his best playing days behind him, to play center. He had played center in almost all of his 1900 games. They moved center fielder Jacoby Ellsbury to left – something that annoyed him and probably contributed to him bailing on Boston and signing with the hated Yankees a few years later. They also had Adrian Beltre playing 3rd. Beltre, a guy who could hit homers while down on one knee, was also a tough defender. He was built like a linebacker and he’d go after a ball like one. A week or so earlier he crashed into Ellsbury near where the seats jut out by 3rd base. Ellsbury wound up with three cracked ribs and only played 18 games that year. His batting average in 2009 was .301 and dropped to .192. He came back in 2011 and hit .321. That’s why Hermida was in left. To be fair, he did double and get 3 RBI that day. Dustin Pedroia put on a laser show. He doubled and homered with 2 RBI. David Ortiz also doubled, but was also caught stealing. Kara and I looked at each other when Papi took off for 2nd and said, “Nooo, Papi, DO NOT STEAL.” But he tried and was easily nailed. The reason he tried is because of the Twins, his original MLB team. They gave up on him in 2003. Boston quickly signed him for a song and the rest is history. But Big Papi always wanted to stick it to the Twins because they stuck it to him.
The Twins starter and losing pitcher was Kevin Slowey. That’s a bad name for a pitcher. Cy Young‘s real first name was Denton, but they called him Cy because he threw like a cyclone. Delmon Young and Michael Cuddyer provided the offense for Minnesota. Cuddyer took Daniel Bard, the Sox 8th-inning flamethrower, deep in the 8th. In the 9th Jonathan Papelbon walked two to bring Joe Mauer to the plate, representing the tying run. But he got Mauer to fly out and picked up his 3rd save of the year as Boston won, 6-3.
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