Game #19-Target Field-Minnesota Twins vs. Toronto Blue Jays

WHAT A DAY!!!! On Saturday, May 27th we set out from our RV park in Mystic Lake to get to the game early. It was a day game with first pitch at 1:10pm so we planned on an 11:00am arrival. Target field opened in 2010 and has a capacity of 38,544 and today 29,111 were in attendance, but I am sure none were as excited as Jim and I on our 19th ballpark visit of 30. Several statues are just outside the gate, Tom Kelly who was the manager of the Twins, and players Harmon Killebrew and Kirby Puckett. There is a big golden glove just outside Gate #34 that is exactly 520 feet from home plate commemorating the longest home run hit by Harmon Killebrew. We sat in it for our picture. See our Instagram @ourfieldofdreams2023. We arrived at the Main Gate #34 which is a tribute to Kirby Puckett. In fact all the admission gates are numbered according to former Twins legends and located close to the positions they played. The left field gate is #6 honoring Tony Oliva, center field gate is #3 honoring Harmon Killebrew, right field gate is #29 honoring Rod Carew and home plate gate is #14 honoring Kent Hrbek. We entered the main gate which led into the Target Plaza. This plaza was full of energy with fans and families playing corn hole and a DJ playing great music. The energy was electric! Most of you that are following our journey on this Field of Dreams know that I wrote letters to all of the MLB Guest Relations explaining our trip and asking for any recommendations or tips on making our visit to their ballpark a home run. Well I have to say the Minnesota Twins knocked it out of the park, or shall I say Patrick Forsland, Senior Director, Guest Experience hit a grand slam! Patrick called me as soon as he received my letter back in January. There was no generic email or canned response, he picked up the phone and personally called me! I must admit there were three other teams that called me, but Patrick, well he was different. He was so personable and took a great amount of time asking questions about our trip and working with me to ensure our visit to Target Field was amazing. He gave me his contact information and said as the day drew closer we would be in touch. Patrick was good on his word because the day before the game Patrick called me to make a plan on where to meet before the game. We sought out a person who looked official and asked if they could radio Patrick to let him know we had arrived. We were directed to a wonderful man, Ryan who asked us if Patrick was expecting us. We told him yes and he quickly radioed Patrick to let him know we were at the main gate. We chatted with Ryan who agreed with us that Patrick was one of the best ever at connecting fans to the Twins. Patrick has been working for the Twins for 25 years and it definitely shows that he is passionate about this team. When he arrived we quickly exchanged our greetings and were gifted with Twins baseball hats and Purple Twins Prince Jerseys. We set out on a walk around and through the ballpark. We saw so many great parts of the stadium and were taken to places that the general public do not have access to. Target Field is the smallest in Major League Baseball with a footprint of only 8.5 acres. Due to this they really did not have room to create a Hall of Fame or special place for recognizing some of the greats of Twins baseball. Therefore, the Twins placed memorabilia in several places throughout the stadium. This was done exceptionally well! Please see our Instagram for a few photos of these treasures, @ourfieldofdreams2023. Next stop the Champions Club where members enjoy complimentary fine dining and the best seats in the house. The front row seats are at field level just 50 feet from home plate. After our time in the Champion Club we moved through the hallways and stairways to the most thrilling experience....a trip to the field. Patrick put wristbands on us so we would be official and let us walk out from 3rd base to home plate. We were able to see inside the dugouts and look at the stadium from the players vantage point. It was remarkable! We snapped several pictures and just took it all in. I loved the nostalgic Minnie and Paul 46-foot tall sign that stands over center-field and lights up after every Twins home run. Oh how I was hoping to see this happen! Also, new this year is the dugout celebration of the Twins when a player hits a home run. Players get welcomed back into the dugout with a tan "Land of 10,000 Rakes" fishing vest. Twins starting pitcher Pablo Lopez started this as a unique way to have fun and also as a way to represent Minnesota, the land of 10,000 lakes. It just kind of adds a little spark to the celebration of a home run. I was hoping to see this after having read about it. We also had a bird's-eye view of the retired numbers just below the left-field Budweiser roof deck. Retired numbers are: # 3 Harmon Killebrew, #6 Tony Oliva, #14 Kent Hrbek, #29 Rod Carew, #34 Kirby Puckett, #28 Bert Blyleven, #10 Tom Kelly (manager, leading Twins to their first World Series Championship), #7 Joe Mauer, #36 Jim Kaat and #42 Jackie Robinson. Patrick left us for a while and came back to offer us seats in the Champion Club, 2 rows behind home plate. WOW!!!! He then walked us up to the Champion Club only to find out that he was given the wrong tickets and that they were for tomorrow's game. We graciously thanked him and expressed our gratefulness for all he had done for us. We walked together to our seats and Patrick said he was going to get us food vouchers so we waited for his return. Patrick quickly returned with great news! He did have the seats for us and had received the wrong envelope. WOO HOO! We then walked together to the Kramarczuk stand to get the polish dog Patrick recommended while he set off to get our tickets to the Champion Club. The Kramarczuk family has famously served Minnesota for over 60 years making all of their sausages by hand with quality ingredients. Jim decided he needed to expand his palate after I convinced him that my bratwurst in Milwaukee was way better than his hot dog. I did let him have ONE bite and he agreed. So if you see his Instagram reel please note that he made that disclaimer, so please do not post any harsh remarks. By the time we purchased our Kramarczuk Polish Dog, Patrick was back with our tickets and escorted us to the club. We said our goodbyes and thanked him and then ventured into the Champions Club. We felt like royalty! Before indulging in the vast array of delicious food and drinks available, we ventured out to our seats to do the hot dog review or shall I say sausage review. We were just two rows behind home plate with the stands filling up quickly so Jim was center stage. He put on his hot dog hat with hundreds watching and away he went giving his review. The Kramarczuk Polish Dog had loads of kraut and onions. Jim gave it an 8.0 which I tasted and agreed that it was one of the best so far. It was very close to first pitch so we settled in and waited to go back and experience some of the great food of the Champions Club. The Twins are playing the Toronto Blue Jays which makes this the third time on this road trip we are seeing the Blue Jays. First pitch was at 1:10 and it did not take long before the Blue Jays made their way on the scoreboard with Bo Bichette hitting a homer in the 1st inning. Score Blue Jays 1 - Twins 0. The Twins answered back in the bottom of the 1st with a walk by Joey Gallo, double by Edouard Julien and a groundout by Alex Kirilloff to score a run. Score tied with 1 apiece. Willi Castro came to the plate not expecting the plunk he received so it was off to first base for him and then eventually a steal to 2nd base. Next up Matt Wallner who singled driving in Julien and Castro. Score Blue Jays 1 - Twins 3. Twins starting pitcher Pablo Lopez was lights out in the 2nd inning putting down the batters in order. In the bottom of the 2nd Kyle Farmer singles and Edouard Julien doubles bringing home Kyle Farmer. Score Blue Jays 1 - Twins 4. Top of the 3rd the Blue Jays Tyler Heineman walked and George Springer hit a single before the muscle hit the plate. Bo Bichette hits a triple bringing in two runs. Score Blue Jays 3 - Twins 4. The Blue Jays were not done and in the top of the 4th Cavan Biggio hit a four-banger to right center field. Score now tied at 4. Twins mascot, TC Bear got the crowd going with some shenanigans on top of the visiting dugout. It was hysterical. You have to see the video on Instagram. It was a real nail-bitter until the bottom of the 5th inning when all heck broke loose. Alex Kirilloff hit a single right out of the chute bringing up Willi Castro who homered! We got to see the home run celebration complete with lights flashing and the special, new this year, "Land of 10,000 Rakes" vest being placed upon Castro as he entered the dugout. Score Blue Jays 4 - Twins 6. Castro did not get to wear that vest long because the next batter up Mat Wallner hit a moon shot to center field. Score Blue Jays 4 - Twins 7. A pitching change by the Blue Jays put an end to this rally. No more action would cross home plate until the bottom of the 7th inning when Willi Castro once again hit a homer. I guess he wanted the vest back. LOL Score Blue Jays 4 - Twins 8. Well in the bottom of the 8th poor Willi Castro had to give up that vest once again as Edouard Julien knocked one out of the park. Score Blue Jays 4 - Twins 9. The Blue Jays were not giving up and they put up a fight with the Twins closer Jorge Lopez. Whit Merrifield hit a single followed by a homer by Daulton Varsho. Score Blue Jays 6 - Twins 9. Cavan Biggio was hit by a pitch and then Alejandro Kirk hit a single. That brought the hook out for Lopez being replaced by Brock Stewart. With no outs and runners on 1st and 2nd and the tying run at the plate, Stewart went to work. George Springer flied out making it one out. Unfortunately the next batter was power hitter Bo Bichette hitting a single to bring in a run. Score Blue Jays 7 - Twins 9. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. would fly out and the final out Brandon Belt (One of Shannon's favorite former Giants players) would be called out on strikes. Final score Blue Jays 7 - Twins 9. What an amazing experience we had at Target Field thanks to Patrick Forsland for making our Field of Dreams Tour extra special. Jim and I decided we are both now TWINS FANS! With 19 games in our Field of Dreams Tour the score is 9 wins and 10 losses for the home team. Next up is game number 20 at Busch Stadium to see the St. Louis Cardinals take on the Kansas City Royals. Until next time PLAY BALL!