Twinkie Time! Taking in the Twins at Target Field

Minnesota Twins

Target Field

Tampa Bay Rays vs. Minnesota Twins

Date of Game: Saturday, June 11, 2022

Time of Game: 1:10 PM CST

Final score: Rays-6, Twins-3

Section 118, Row 26, Seat 1

For our visit to Minneapolis to see the Twins play, we stayed at Radisson Blu Mall of America, which is about 11 miles from Target Field. As much as I wanted to stay close to the stadium, I felt being closer to the airport would work better for us because we had an early morning flight out of Minneapolis the day after the game.  This Radisson Blu was also attached to the Mall of America which I thought might be fun to broaden our experience for our short stay.

We chose to drive to the stadium and use their parking field rather than investigate other modes of transportation to the game. If I had planned for more downtime in the area, I would have scoped out public transportation. Although public transportation can frequently be more time-consuming than driving, I find it offers the opportunity to see and experience the area that I am visiting.

The game started at 1:10 PM, so we left the hotel parking lot around noon. The directions showed it should take less than 20 minutes, but I’d rather arrive early to the game than late, plus I read that it was recommended that we arrive early for the game, so that’s what we did. In general, I try to give us plenty of time to account for possible side adventures (mishaps). We parked on B Ramp, level 5. This parking area is one of the three closest parking areas and is connected to the stadium, the others are A Ramp and C Ramp. I’ve read that C Ramp has a longer walk.  

On our way in, we were able to spend a few minutes reading the Twins Hall of Fame board without interference. We have a photo too. It’s rare that we are this early to a baseball game to do anything like that!

Having no time to grab even a quick bite before the game, we were famished when we arrived inside the stadium. Although we could have stopped at a concession stand straight away, we waited until we were near section 118 before we got on a line. The game was just about to start; I heard the anthem while we waited to purchase hot dogs and soda. We even got a pretzel to share.

As we descended to our seats, food in hand, I thought the stadium seemed cozier than some of the others we’d been to. Our view of the field was great; we were sort of to the left of home plate. From where we were I could see that most of the seats on the upper deck towards the outfield were empty. The lower level where we sat didn’t seem to have any covering. That must be a drag when it’s raining or if it’s super sunny.  Luckily, we had a nice day, the weather was in the high 70’s but we had some cloud cover.  

The first few innings, each team got runners on the bases. This seemed like a “small ball” type of game. More strategy than power. Which makes sense because even though it was early in the season, these teams were neck and neck in the overall standings. There were so many singles and players getting on base.

In between innings we saw T.C. Bear, the Twins mascot, motoring around the outside of the field on what looked like an ATV. At other times we saw T.C. walking around in the stands.

While the game kept my attention, and the entertainment in between innings was enjoyable, it is rare that I can sit through a whole game. I get restless. At around 3:30PM, we went back to the concession area to buy ice cream in a Twins souvenir helmet. Although later than we’d normally go, we were still content from eating when we arrived, we also knew that there was a stand close by to our seats. That was good too. We kept it simple, two soft serve vanilla. This let us get back to our seats quickly to watch the final innings of the game.

Below are some of the highlights of the game:

Top of the first, the Rays got a runner home after four runners got on base. (1 ground out and 3 singles). A fifth batter, Yandy Diaz singled, and sent two runners’ home (now at 3 runs). Rays, Kevin Kiermaier tried to steal 2nd base at the top of the 2nd but that made the third out for the inning. Bottom of the third, bases loaded by a single, wild pitch and a walk. Luis Arraez hit a grand slam and the score was 3-4. A wonky situation happened during the bottom of the 3rd inning, the ball was hit into center field, but the ball landed on the shelf which delayed the fielder a few seconds from fielding it properly. This mishap allowed the Twins to score an additional run; the score became 3-5. The Rays collect another run in the top of the 6th. The score is now 4-5. The Twins send another run home at the bottom of the 6th the score is now 4-6. The Rays (Kiermaier stole a base) got another run in the top of the 7th, score now 5-6. At the bottom of the 8th Byron Buxton, was called in to pinch-run for Nick Gordon who got on first base.

The game ended after the top of the 9th due to the Twins were already leading in runs. Although the stadium stayed moderately filled for a Saturday afternoon, those that did attend the game definitely showed their appreciation for their home team loudly. It was nice to be surrounded by it.

Minneapolis, MN was the last stop on our weeklong road trip which included seeing the Colorado Rockies the previous Saturday as well as driving in the states of Wyoming, South Dakota, Nebraska, Iowa, and North Dakota.

Some information, such as baseball game information and directions were sought by using ChatGPT or Perplexity.

Written March 31, 2025

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