Yesterday, the Twins finished playing one of the greatest games of baseball I've ever seen, to finish an unlikely run for the playoffs again. They forced at least one more game in their lemon of a stadium, the HHH Metrodome, after already extending their by one. No matter how much we hate that place, it, much like theTtwins just refuses to die.
It is hard not to get nostalgic about the old clunker. As a child, I loved visiting the dome and its vast domeness. It may be ugly, but it is an awe inspiring place. It may cause neck cramps from turning sideways in right field, but you can't help but love it. This is a popular blog topic, looking back at fond memories, but that is really all we can do. We can't just look at the dome and say "wow, what a charming place!" like Cubs fans can about Wrigley or Red Sox fans can about Fenway. All we can do it look at the great things we've seen in the dome.
One cannot deny that some of the best baseball ever played happened in the dome. Look at all the classic Dome moments in the 1991 World Series (aka Greatest World Series Ever): seeing the short and stalky Kirby Puckett jump 15 ft in the air the steal a home run, only to step up to bat later and hit one of the greatest walk off home runs of all time. Then the next day, seeing Jack Morris do the unthinkable, pitch a ten inning complete game shut out in Game Seven, I repeat, Game Seven of the world series. I need not mention last night's game, an instant baseball classic, the type of nailbiter that only seems to happen at the dome.
It isn't just the obvious big moments. Who doesn't love it when an opponent loses a ball in the ceiling or misplays a ball as the Murphy's Law of Astroturf changes the bounce. The noise. Who doesn't love the sheer noise of the place when packed to the rafters...or er teflon during playoff games. I'll never forget Game 3 of the 2002 Divisional Series, when the the deafening roar flustered Barry Zito so much, he threw the halfway between home and first base. That only made us louder.
The last eight years have been especially fun, we've had some great teams that seem to do unlikely, amazing things every season, this one being no exception. Since moving to Minneapolis, I've never been further than a half an hour bus ride from the dome. I took well advantage of that, randomly hitting up baseball games on my way home from work or on a boring Sunday afternoon. It seems as if the dome conjures up exciting baseball, to make up for all of its many shortcomings. Such wacky baseball could only come from a wacky stadium like the dome. I'm looking forward to outdoor Twins baseball , but it is hard to separate the team from the dome. The Twins have always seemed at home there.
1 comment:
"It seems as if the dome conjures up exciting baseball, to make up for all of its many shortcomings."
well said. it feels exactly like that.
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