One Fewer Crappy Ballpark

Considering they play in the AL Central, it might be a little too soon to throw dirt on the Twins' playoff chances and hence another trip to the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome. However, we might as well touch on it now while the experience is fresh in our collective minds, just in case.

It's great that the beat writers found the place to be a nice work environment. Tyler Kepner enjoyed the climate control and the open air press box. Peter Abraham appreciated the view from the box, the fact that it situated only a few flights of stairs from the field and the friendly employees of the Metrodome.

Bully for those gents, but you guys aren't baseball writers, are you? Do you live in Minnesota? Google Analytics says a few of you do. But by and large, to us fans, the Metrodome was nothing more than a gigantic set that one of the TV shows that we like to watch used one or two times a year. And it was a tremendously shitty one at that.

As usual, Cliff from Bronx Banter nails it:

Baseball simply wasn’t meant to be played indoors, on artificial surface, under a baseball-colored roof that disguised fly balls, in front of huge air conditioning vents that mysteriously blew harder when the home team was batting, with a oversized Hefty bag for an outfield wall.

Next year, the Twins will be playing outdoors, on grass, in an actual ballpark rather than a multi-purpose dome. Had that been the case on Thursday, the game would have taken place on a lovely, warm, sunny afternoon. Instead it took place inside under gloomy artificial light.

I'm not sure that Target Field is going to be the greatest place to play in April or October, when the average highs are in the mid-fifties and the lows are in the 30's, but getting to watch a few more baseball games played outside will be a cosmic leap forward. So good riddance to the baggy, and the vampire seats, and the field turf. The aesthetics of watching baseball on TV just got better.