Notes from the Ballpark: Twins Light Up Electric Target Field with Fourth of July Series Sweep

[Melissa Berman]

The Twins have been up and down in recent weeks more than the Power Tower at Valleyfair, but it turns out a series vs. Kansas City at home is exactly what the doctor ordered. The Twins steamrolled the Royals in a series that included fireworks on and off the field, a complete game shutout, a lightning show, and cool giveaways., and of course, lots of Dollar Dogs! Here are my notes on what I observed while at the ballpark.

Image courtesy of Melissa Berman

• Monday night’s series opener was the hottest game of the year so far (the day’s high was a humid 95 degrees), and there was a beautiful canopy of fast-moving clouds above as storms blew in elsewhere in the metro but thankfully stayed clear of Target Field. Late in the game, a lightning storm in the distance lit up the sky above Target Field’s right field and the downtown skyline. I used the burst mode on my phone to capture some incredible photos of the lightning flashes. At first, when I saw the lightning, I was worried that they would pause the game, but officials must have deemed the lightning was far enough away not to pose a safety risk (we never heard any thunder), and they never stopped the game.
• The Twins followed up this lightning with sparks of their own by piling on the runs in the eighth inning- five of them. It was about the loudest I've heard Target Field this year! The Twins batted around the order- Edouard Julien started the inning with a home run and then was the third and final out of the inning. Commence talk in the stands of if it's considered batting around when Julien is up to bat a second time, or if it's considered batting around when the batter before him, Byron Buxton, is up. 

• They put the beloved Tony Oliva on the "Flex Cam," which both he and the crowd got a big kick out of. It's so heartwarming to see how much Tony O makes it out to the ballpark; I've been walking around the concourse and just happened to run into him three times this year, not to mention all the other games he's surely been at. Our organization is truly so lucky to have him as an ambassador and fixture at Target Field.
• The Twins celebrated the 4th of July on Monday the 3rd with an impressive postgame fireworks show. Fans from the outfield packed into the lower deck to take in the display, set to American-themed music like "Party in the USA" by Miley Cyrus. I noticed that a number of Twins players (I specifically spotted Sonny Gray and Bailey Ober) stayed on the field for the show to watch with their families, which I thought was really cute.  I’m always impressed by the Twins’ postgame firework displays; they are lengthy- a solid 15+ minutes- and have an impressive variety of firework types and fun music. If you missed this show, the Twins have a fireworks show after every Friday home game during the summer, and I thought this show was quite similar. Friday night fireworks shows often have a theme, like Prince songs for Prince Night, and there is no backdrop more beautiful than the city skyline.  
• Even though it was the 4th of July, the Twins continued their T-Shirt Tuesday Artists Series by handing out 5,000 of this adorable 4th of July-themed Twins shirt designed by local artist Philipo Dyauli. The vibrant colors on these shirts pop, and the cotton candy, foam finger, and other cute ballpark treats evoke a sense of childhood ballpark nostalgia. The feeling I get looking at this shirt reminds me of how I feel watching the 4th of July scene from The Sandlot. The Twins handed out two sizes of shirts, a medium and an extra large, a trend I appreciate in-stadium giveaways (rather than just handing out an XL to everyone, even little kids). Despite the size options, I chuckled seeing a few kids waddling around the stadium wearing a size medium like a dress. I arrived at the stadium at 11:30 a.m. when the gates opened and scored a shirt easily. By about 11:50 a.m., I noticed the gate I was near was handing out their last few shirts. Props to the Twins for the fun giveaway and the beautiful design- the only complaint is that they could’ve made an exception for the holiday and handed out more than 5,000 of them. There were many fan comments on the Twins' posts promoting the shirts in the leadup to the game asking if there was a way they could buy one. I did a quick search on eBay and of course I found a couple listings for these shirts- $17.50 and $17.99.

• The 4th of July’s game was just about as quintessentially American as you can get- Dollar Dog Day at a baseball game on the 4th of July! Every Tuesday is Dollar Dog Night at Target Field, and I was happy to see they still had it on the 4th. No word if anyone at the game tried to outdo Joey Chestnut, who ate 62 hot dogs during the Nathan’s Hotdog Eating Contest at the same time as the Twins game.
• I noticed that Twins have played at home on almost every holiday this year: Easter, Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, the Fourth of July, Juneteenth and July 4th. I'm glad my family is willing to plan our gatherings around Twins games!
• Carlos Correa had his 1,000th career hit on Tuesday afternoon! The crowd gave him a loud ovation when the Target Field video board displayed a beautiful graphic. I asked one of my friends sitting near me whose hat he thinks Correa will be wearing on his Hall of Fame plaque. He answered the “Astros” immediately because Correa won a championship and played seven years with them, but he could play even longer in Minnesota. We concluded that he will probably wear the cap of whichever team he accomplishes more with. Why not you, Twins? 
• Wednesday night’s series finale belonged to Pablo López, who pitched an absolute masterclass of a complete game shutout, the second from the Twins in two weeks (Joe Ryan also pitched one at home on June 22). At first, I was unsure if López would come out for the ninth; Duran had not pitched in days, and with an off day on Thursday, I thought they might try to utilize him. I saw Duran take off his warmup shirt after the eighth and do a few arm exercises, but then he never actually threw, and I knew López would be back out to finish the job. The crowd gave López a much-deserved massive ovation when he came out from the ninth. I noticed that the Twins let him take the field alone, which I thought was thoughtful. After the last out, a flyout to center, López tipped his hat and saluted the crowd. Byron Buxton ran out and placed the Land of 10,000 Rakes fishing vest on him, and López looked out at the crowd, beamed, and promptly received an ice bath from the other starting pitchers. López was the one who bought the vest for the team, in fact. It seemed the microphone was a bit affected by the water, so it was a little difficult to hear his postgame interview over the speakers, but it was apparent that he was overjoyed and grateful for the fans.

• I received a pack of baseball cards when I walked into the game Wednesday. I was pleasantly surprised because I had looked at the promotional schedule and saw no giveaways for the game. Up next is Carlos Correa bobblehead day on Friday (the first time I recall a bobblehead game occurring on a weekday), and Saturday's game features a lightbulb exit giveaway for all fans.

That’s all for now- see you around the ballpark for the Orioles series this weekend!

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Did you get to any of this electric Fourth of July series? What were your observations? Let us know in a COMMENT below. 

 

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[strumdatjag]

I’m glad that the Twins had a fireworks show, after and DURING the game.  The only laser shows were the ones thrown by their pitchers.  Can we cancel the all-star break and keep this going?

[Melissa Berman]

3 hours ago, strumdatjag said:

I’m glad that the Twins had a fireworks show, after and DURING the game.  The only laser shows were the ones thrown by their pitchers.  Can we cancel the all-star break and keep this going?

Yes!! I'm happy we get the Orioles this next series because we just played them so well on the road. Nice to see the bats wake up in a major way even if it's against some poor pitching

[theBOMisthebomb]

I went to the Saints game on Monday night instead of the Twins game. I was a bit disappointed driving to CHS on Monday night with my choice of games since favorite Joe Ryan was pitching for the Twins. I figured it might be my only Saints game this season (I liked the independent AA Saints better) so I thought I'd make the best of it. Anyway, my wife and children like the smaller CHS venue better anyway and they don't really care about the product on the field so they actually prefer Saints games. Anyway, we had a great night at CHS despite the hour plus rain delay. Larnach went out of the stadium for the go ahead runs in the bottom of the eighth. The Saints let fans go on the field for the fireworks show viewing. It was an awesome night. 

[AaronRendahl]

For a scorekeeper, batting around is when you have to move to the next column. :)

[Melissa Berman]

1 hour ago, AaronRendahl said:

For a scorekeeper, batting around is when you have to move to the next column. :)

There we go! Thanks for the clear answer :)

[Melissa Berman]

8 hours ago, theBOMisthebomb said:

I went to the Saints game on Monday night instead of the Twins game. I was a bit disappointed driving to CHS on Monday night with my choice of games since favorite Joe Ryan was pitching for the Twins. I figured it might be my only Saints game this season (I liked the independent AA Saints better) so I thought I'd make the best of it. Anyway, my wife and children like the smaller CHS venue better anyway and they don't really care about the product on the field so they actually prefer Saints games. Anyway, we had a great night at CHS despite the hour plus rain delay. Larnach went out of the stadium for the go ahead runs in the bottom of the eighth. The Saints let fans go on the field for the fireworks show viewing. It was an awesome night. 

WOW, that's unbelievably cool that fans could go on the field for fireworks! I love how accessible, lower-key, and friendly everything over there is. For example, the last game I went to, my friend walked up to the gate and handed me my paper ticket. I've been to three Saints games so far this year and am hoping to get to some more coming up- they're always a really nice, relaxing experience, and I love all the characters you see at games like the actors and Seigo. Thanks for reading and taking the time to comment!

Edited July 7, 2023 by Melissa Berman