August 16, 2017

We traveled 1,600 miles to see the Twins and the game was rained out

Wednesday’s game against the Cleveland Indians was rained out almost immediately after a Northwest-like storm swept through the area, including flash flood warnings. But it’s not a total loss: The makeup game is set for Thursday, which means we will still be able to see a game before we leave.

And Wednesday’s experience, despite the rain, wasn’t so bad either. That’s because right before the tarp was pulled across the diamond, Hall of Fame pitcher and broadcaster Bert Blyleven pelted me with a grape to get my attention, then threw an autographed baseball to us. Thanks, Bert!

Blyleven won 287 games over his 22-year career, including 149 with the Twins. He was elected to the Hall of Fame in 2011.

Target Field is smaller than I imagined, but it also fits snugly into downtown Minneapolis and appears to offer fans great views of the field from any seat. The Twins also have done a nice job with the team’s history, offering plenty of player and team information inside and outside the ballpark. I took several pictures, including these:

Thursday’s wish? No rain!

COMMENTS

Hi, I’m Rolf Boone, Twins fan.

I became a fan of the Minnesota Twins after a friendly wager in the early 1980s. I survived Ron Davis, the meltdown in Cleveland, Phil Bradley at the Kingdome and then marveled at a rising generation of stars and two World Series wins in 1987 and 1991. Brad Radke made the 1990s bearable, while Kirby Puckett’s eye injury, exit from the game and eventual death made it almost too much to bear. The new century ushered in more talent — Joe Mauer, Johan Santana, Joe Nathan, Torii Hunter, Justin Morneau — and consecutive seasons of playoff baseball, followed by consecutive seasons of losing baseball. A winning season returned in 2015. So here we are. Go Twins.