Target Field, Minneapolis (MLB #3 - Renewing connections, and trying to figure out what makes a game enjoyable)

One of the joys of doing a trip like this is reconnecting with people. This week we're spending time with Randy, who was my best friend in junior high and high school and best man at our wedding, but whom we'd seen very little in the last 45 years. More about that in a minute, but first a little about Target Field and the game.

There are a lot of things that I like a lot about Target Field, which is why I found it surprising when Kerry said it was her least favorite stadium so far, and I found  myself basically in agreement. However, our complaints were specific enough that we're going to resell our tickets for this evening, and buy a different set, because just sitting in a different area might help.

Some of the nice things about Target Field (some of which I only know because we took the official ballpark tour before the game):

It's a pretty, quirky park. It's asymmetric, which is the style in the newer parks. In the 1960s, there were a bunch of ballparks built that were very symmetric playing fields, in concrete bowls (Cincinnati Riverfront, Pittsburgh Three Rivers, St. Louis Busch #2). There were also a number of stadiums built in suburbs. The next generation of parks, starting with Baltimore's Camden Yards in 1992, has tended to be in the heart of downtown, less symmetric, and to incorporate more elements related to the locale. Target Field (opened 2010) represented a move from a not-well-liked domed stadium in the suburbs to an open-air stadium downtown.  There's an overhanging porch in right field whose facade is in play, the kind of local touch that adds entertainment value.

The park is very landlocked, so the field is the footprint of the available land, and much of the stands expands over streets and railroad tracks. Minneapolis has a good system of pedestrian skyways connecting several blocks so you can get to the stadium from a restaurant a few blocks away without going outside. Here, that's mostly a feature for the winter. In Phoenix, it would be nice in the summer.

Since the snow often isn't melted by Opening Day, there's a heating system under the field, partially supplied by the trash-burning plant across the street. And there are drains under the dirt under the turf, so that excess water from watering the turf ends up in getting filtered and piped to stations throughout the stadium to refill water bottles, as well as being used for the washdown of the seats after the game. That makes the park quite green, which is appropriate for a 21st Century park.

And the view of the Minneapolis skyline is nice, as you can see from the picture of us with Randy and Jan. 

So what's not to like?

We sat right behind home plate, a couple of rows in front of the concourse. That sounds like nice seats, but we were close enough to a loud loudspeaker that it was difficult to have a conversation between innings or between batters.  I thought maybe it was just the hearing aids that I was trying out, but others complained, too. This is definitely the loudest stadium we've been in.

And the stadium is designed so that the concourse will stay warm, even if it's cool near the field. That's good in April in Minnesota, but is not so good when the temperature is in the upper 80s. 

We had bought seats in the outfield for this evening, but that will be in the sun, and we'd forgotten that this far north, at the Summer Solstice, and with daily savings time, the sun basically doesn't set on an evening game. And it's supposed to be even warmer today. So we're going to try seats in the same basic area, but 20 rows closer to the field, and farther from the loudspeakers. 

And we hope that it will be a more competitive game.

The game:

Boston beat the Twins 10-4, but it wasn't as close as the score sounds. Going into the bottom of the 8th, it was 10-0. 

The best pitcher the Red Sox had was Kutter Crawford, who started the year pitching in relief, but was moved into the starting rotation when the planned starters were injured or ineffective (more on that later). He hadn't pitched more than 4 innings in a game this season, but pitched five scoreless innings, didn't walk anyone, and while he gave up six hits, he was never really in trouble. Second baseman Christian Arroyo had a homer, a double and three singles to supply all the offense Crawford needed, but the whole Red Sox offense was effective.

Ironically, the most effective pitcher the Twins had was Willi Castro, who never threw a pitch faster than 49 mph, at least of the pitches where I checked the scoreboard display of speed. Normally, the slowest pitches you see are in the 70s, and fastball usually top out in the 90s. But if a team is behind by 8 runs or more, they're allowed to have someone who isn't usually a pitcher on the mound. So Castro, the Twins' starting center fielder, pitched the 9th inning. He gave up one single, but got a fly ball and a ground ball double play. Sometimes a non-pitcher will get absolutely shelled, but I think he threw so slow that it completely messed up the timing of the hitters.

Meanwhile, the Red Sox brought in Corey Kluber in the 7th inning. He's making more than $10 million per year, making him the highest-paid pitcher we saw, and he was certainly the Red Sox' least effective. He's getting paid big money because he has been a successful starting pitcher in the past, and they expected that to continue. But he hasn't had success this year, and it's clear they were trying to give him some innings in a game where the outcome wasn't in doubt to find his pitching mechanics, his confidence, or whatever the problem has been. Last night, he didn't find whatever he was looking for. He pitched a scoreless 7th, but gave up four runs (and three home runs) in the last two innings. 

Randy:

The best part of the game was talking to Randy (when we could hear each other).

Randy and I spent many, many hours playing baseball, wiffleball, tennis, ping-pong, basketball, and anything else we could. In fact, in the first four years our hometown, Macomb, had a junior tennis tournament, I won it twice and he won it twice. But I think baseball was where our real passion was. He ended up playing on the high school baseball team, starting at second base. I didn’t try out for the baseball team, because I had made the basketball team, and had decided I’d focus on the first sport where I made a school team. He also started on the football team; I ran cross-country – we were both competitive enough that it was probably good that we were never competing for a spot on any team.

One of my favorite baseball seasons was the last organized baseball I played (there were decades of slo-pitch softball to come), one summer in middle school. Macomb didn’t have Little League, so the baseball leagues for kids were organized by the YMCA. They were always grouped by two years’ worth of players, and when I was in the younger group, I’d be a good-field/no-hit (but get some walks) infielder, and when I was in the older group, I’d be one of my team’s pitchers, because I could throw strikes. I couldn’t throw hard, but I could throw strikes, and at that level, that will bring success.

The final year of YMCA ball, Randy and I were on the same team, coached by his father. We were playing 7 inning games, but pitchers were limited to 4 or 5 innings in a game, so you had to have two pitchers pitch a significant amount in every game. Randy and I were the pitchers. When Randy pitched, he tried to emulate the star of his favorite team, Bob Gibson, so he threw as hard as he could. It wasn’t always over the plate, but often was, and when he missed, it was often inside. We made a perfect pair. Although I might have trouble with the good hitters, I didn’t walk many, so I wouldn’t give up many runs, but by the second time through the lineup, the opposing hitters would start to get comfortable and dig in. Then Randy would come in, and their timing would be completely shot. Or he’d start, and they’d get nervous around the plate, but by the time they figured out that they shouldn’t dig in, I’d come in and throw soft strikes and mow them down. We had one no-hitter that year, and won most of our games. I never could have pitched at a higher level, but it was fun.

There was one downside to that season that I didn’t know about until later – Randy’s parents were splitting up. I was too dense to figure it out at the time, and I’ve always wished I’d been more observant and been a better friend. But we can’t go back and change our 13-year-old selves.

Randy went on to get an MD, and retired after a successful career as a doctor in Minnesota. I went on to get a PhD, and retired after a successful career as a university professor in Arizona. Kerry and I have been married 46 years, he and Jan for 38. He has four daughters, I have two sons. Our paths diverged, but we find we still have a lot in common. Including a love of baseball.