St Peter: No trees, no dimension changes at Target Field

Joe Christensen passes along the message from Twins President Dave St. Peter that the team will not re-install trees in center field nor change the dimensions of the stadium, much like the Seattle Mariners are planning on doing in Safeco for 2013.

With the addition of Josh Willingham, we've seen what kind of player is necessary in order to have a true home run hitter on the Twins: someone who pulls the ball regularly with authority, to left field. Right-center field however, while it did relinquish more home runs this year than years past, is still a death valley for fly balls. If any area of the ball park needed some rearranging, it would be in that area. Frankly, I'm okay with giving an advantage to the pitchers in this case.

I'm sort of on the fence about the trees. They were aesthetically pleasing to viewers and provided a unique stamp on the field but if they really did affect the play of the hitters then, understandably, they had to go (of course, the Rockies have managed to do well offensively in Coors despite all this stuff in the background). And some players were lobbing complaining about the trees almost from Day 1:

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The two exhibition games at Target Field against the Cardinals earlier this month gave the players a chance to hit in their new ballpark.

One of the only early complaints from a couple players was how the spruce trees behind the center-field wall might affect the sight lines while players are at the plate. While Michael Cuddyer was one player who said the trees affected his vision a little, others, like Joe Mauer and Jason Kubel, didn't seem to be affected by it.

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Meanwhile, if these April 2010 quotes hold true today Ron Gardenhire may be one of the organization's biggest impetus towards bringing back the trees:

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Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said that there have been some shadows off the trees, particularly during the 5 p.m. CT start for the first exhibition contest. Gardenhire said that some players had a little issue with depth perception off the trees, but he stressed that was just the early talk.

"We'll see what happens," Gardenhire said before joking: "We've got chainsaws, plenty of chainsaws. If we don't like it, we just whack them. We'll come here late night and whack them. People will say, 'Who did that?'"

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I wish they'd put something out there, because since the trees were uprooted that abyss beyond the center field wall looks awful.

Is there any way we can hang some vampire seats out there or something?

I'm fine with not planting new trees but for crying out loud, they have to do something about that black abomination they have beyond the centerfield wall. It's awful and looks like it was installed in ten minutes by nine year olds.

We are already getting outhomered at home, if anything, we should move the fences back

Nobody wants to do anything that would endanger hitters, but there are stadiums all over MLB that have some kind of trees/shrubs serving as the batters eye in dead center field, so there must be a way to do it safely. Maybe the angle at which TF sits is different than other stadiums (facing NE instead of SE), causing a problematic sunlight angle late in the day? I just agree with Brock... CF is a black eye in what's otherwise a beautiful ballpark.

Wouldn't having the trees there be considered something of a "home field advantage?" Twins hitters should get accustomed to it, where visitors who only visit occasionally would struggle.

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Maybe the angle at which TF sits is different than other stadiums (facing NE instead of SE), causing a problematic sunlight angle late in the day?

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That probably has a lot to do with it. After all, based on Google maps, Coors batter's box faces directly north whereas Target Field's batter's box faces due east.

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Originally Posted by Parker Hageman

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Maybe the angle at which TF sits is different than other stadiums (facing NE instead of SE), causing a problematic sunlight angle late in the day?

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That probably has a lot to do with it. After all, based on Google maps, Coors batter's box faces directly north whereas Target Field's batter's box faces due east.

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So does that mean that in Colorado, lefties are actually "eastpaws"?

Every time I see trees in other stadiums, I get sick to my stomach about that black hole at Target Field.

There HAS to be SOMETHING that the can do aesthetically to improve things. This should be one of St. Peter's big priorities before the All Star game.

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Originally Posted by JB_Iowa

Every time I see trees in other stadiums, I get sick to my stomach about that black hole at Target Field.

There HAS to be SOMETHING that the can do aesthetically to improve things. This should be one of St. Peter's big priorities before the All Star game.

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One more reason that the Twins front office management has to go, I also choke up bile when I look towards the center field fence- Heresy! They had the impossible done for them- an absolutely beautiful outdoor stadium shoe-horned into a postage stamp lot, built by the premier architect of the best modern baseball stadiums, Populous, (who built Camden, PNC and AT&T). For heavens sake! Call Bruce Miller up and get some suggestions on some remedies for that eyesore. The Giants, Orioles and Pirates managments have seen no need to desecrate their beautiful ballparks, only Dave St Peter felt that he can make a unilateral, willy-nilly move to desecrate a work of art- built of course, at taxpayer expense (presumably done with complete blessing from the Pohlads).

Bitching about the trees affecting your hitting is just a cop out. It doesn't make a difference to the rest of the league that slaughtered out pitching staff.

The two biggest complainers aren't on the Team now. The trees never bothered Thome. BRING BACK THE TREES!!!!!!!!!

Twins must be treeists.

Watch. In the end they'll compromise. They'll replant the trees, but then they'll paint them black.

We can call it the "Black Forest."