TheBanyanTree: Real Baseball

[Mark Funk]

>>> NancyIee at aol.com> 05/23/05 08:11AM >>

I remember watching the Minnesota Twins play such games in years past, at an open stadium long since torn down to make a mall.

I don't go to ball games these days. I don't like the domed stadiums and the fake grass.

Ah, the seemingly never ending "Minnesota new stadium debate!"
 
I went to my first game in old Metro Stadium shortly after the Washington Senators became the twins and moved to Minnesota in 1960.
 
My uncles were avid baseball fans even before the Twins arrived.  They took me to many games of our local "city" team both in the local ballpark and other ballparks throughout the region.  We followed the team.
 
When the Twins arrived we listened to most games on the radio, watched them on the rare occasions when they were on TV, and made several trips each year to the Twin Cities to catch a "live" game.  Personally, I liked the games "under the lights," when the weather was good but I hated the sun baked "matinee" games.
 
My brother-in-law was involved with the management of the Kicks soccer team and we attended many of those games which were also held at the met.  It was a great place for an evening soccer game.
 

We "moved" with the team from the old Met to the Metrodome.  The Kicks folded because they did not think their fans could afford the higher ticket prices which would result from the new stadium.  Baseball in the dome was not as good as baseball outside on a nice evening but we watched many games that would have been rained out at the Met and many others that were more comfortable inside than they would have been outside.  I went to a December 10th Bears v.s. Vikings game where I got so cold, due to the 20+ below temperature, that I swear my teeth still chatter.  I feel we definitely needed a dome stadium for football and I still enjoyed the Twins games, even though they were played inside.
 
To me, the stadium makes little difference if the overall "product" is good and affordable.  I can watch a softball or baseball game at our local park.  Some of the area towns still have city teams and I can watch one of them.  Another option in this area is the Saints minor league team.  They play in a natural grass, open air stadium.  And yes, I can still catch an "indoor" game at the Metrodome.
 
The current bill before the state legislator may bring a return to outdoor baseball but it may also bring higher ticket prices and more perks for the corporate customers at the expense of the "regular" fans.  Will it improve the game?  What will it cost?  Will it add to or take away from our enjoyment of "the boys of summer?"
 
Mark