Let's Road Trip Twins 2025: Trip #9 - Rocky High and Dodging the Dodgers

[Steven Trefz]

The Twins celebrate the end of the All-Star break by hopping on planes and traveling 3,900 miles to take on the Rockies and Dodgers. One team is mired in a perpetual rebuild, while the other is set up like a video game. How will the Twins fare on this bi-polar journey?

Image courtesy of Max and Dee Bernt/Flickr

Colorado Rockies - July 18-20
Coors Field - Capacity 46,897
2024 Attendance: 2,540,295 (Averaged 31,361, ranked 8th out of 15 NL parks, 15th overall MLB)

The Twins last journeyed to Coors Field in 2023 to close out the season, and they treated their hosts poorly in two lopsided victories before dropping the finale in extra innings. In the other two trips to the Rockies' domain, the Twins struggled to score runs in 2008, and clobbered the ball in 2014. All in all, the Twins finished those series with three wins and three losses, bringing their overall Coors Field record to 5-4.

Say what you will about Rockies baseball, but the fans continue to know how to pack a stadium. It seems like just yesterday, but Coors Field has been fueling baseball physics controversy since 1995. After two seasons at the now-imploded Mile High Stadium, the Rockies moved into their “new” home at over 5,000 feet above sea level. Coors Field led the league again in “runs park factor" last season, and it wasn’t even close. Baseballs fly there, humidors and big dimensions be darned.

Quirks of the stadium include seats in center field called the “Rockpile,” an in-park brewery, a purple row of seats in the 300 level which marks the Mile High point, and a mixed-use development district around the ballpark. The National Ballpark Museum is across the street and exists as a “must-stop” for anyone on a baseball tour de force. The Denver Art Museum, Rocky Mountain parks and trails, and the Denver Zoo all can provide some entertainment between games.

Colorado isn’t expected to be a nuisance to many this season, but they have shown consistent resilience at home, and mid-summer games usually bring out the home fans. The Twins will have to take this series seriously, because their next competition is 996 miles away and will probably still be undefeated by the time July rolls around.

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Los Angeles Dodgers – July 21-23
Dodger Stadium: Capacity 56,000
2024 Attendance: 3,941,251 (Averaged 48,657, ranked 1st in NL and 1st overall MLB)

In 2023, the Twins headed to Dodger Stadium with some momentum. Trevor Larnach was on fire, and hope was flowing wild. Three days later, Nick Gordon's career as a Twins was ended with a broken leg on a hit-by-pitch, and the only victory the Twins could salvage was a surprising win against the unbeatable Clayton Kershaw (with the backdrop of his mom's passing). The Twins have played 11 total games at Dodger Stadium, spanning four series from 2005-2023. They have won twice. Twice! Justin Morneau and Torii Hunter took Derek Lowe deep to claim victory in June 2005. After that, it took 18 years to get another victory! Facing the defending champions on their home turf doesn't bode well for the 2025 squad.

The Dodgers got their start in the Northeast and later moved westward. After the move from Brooklyn, they settled first in the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, but the Dodgers found their forever home in 1962 at Chavez Ravine. Beautiful, breathtaking, “an aesthetic ideal” mirroring Hollywood itself, Dodgers Stadium tops many ballpark bucket lists. The construction crew literally moved 8,000,000 cubic yards of rock and material amidst the natural landscape, slicing a piece of baseball heaven into place.  Jackie Robinson’s presence exists inside and outside of the ballpark, with statues and stories in full display.

With the Dodgers being a juggernaut on the field, finding affordable "good" seats can prove equally daunting. The Kirk Gibson Home Run Seat (section 302, right field pavilion, Row D, seat 88) stands (sits?) immortal. If you haven’t re-enacted that iconic scene from the 1988 World Series while playing baseball, or softball, or whiffle ball/ping pong/ice fishing for that matter… then you need to turn in your baseball fan card.  Just turn it in.

There is also the infamous Dodger Dog, which, unsurprisingly, isn't worth the price tag. Specialty Dodger-ritas and loaded nachos, however, are worth it! Los Angeles has been ravaged by wildfires this winter, but they don't directly impact the Dodger Stadium area. The scenic Malibu coastal drive will never look the same, but travelers to L.A. will still have the iconic Hollywood sign, Disneyland, Rodeo Drive, the Walk of Fame, Universal Studios, the ocean, and more, all worth the trip in and of themselves.  Some of them are free. Some of them are the opposite of free.

Whatever befalls the Twins in this epic road trip, they get to finally return home after almost two weeks on the road to face the Nationals and Red Sox. How do you think this dance with the National League West's darlings and cellar dwellers will turn out Twins Territory?

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[DJL44]

Thinking about a Colorado trip to catch one of those Twins-Rockies games

[bean5302]

57 minutes ago, DJL44 said:

Thinking about a Colorado trip to catch one of those Twins-Rockies games

I love Coors Field, and attending Twins games there has always been a blast.

[DJL44]

52 minutes ago, bean5302 said:

I love Coors Field, and attending Twins games there has always been a blast.

Flights to Denver are cheap and I haven't spent much time exploring that part of the country.

[bean5302]

3 hours ago, DJL44 said:

Flights to Denver are cheap and I haven't spent much time exploring that part of the country.

One long day drive if airfare spikes, too. Unfortunately, there isn't any tailgating in the area I'm aware of anymore. There used to be a couple places on Wazee St. where some folks would cookout. Not sure if that still happens. Still, it's felt like a 50/50 Twins/Rockies fanbase when I've gone in the past.

[TopGunn#22]

Seeing a game at Dodger Stadium has always been on my bucket list.  Not sure if I'll make it this year but someday I will.  Would love to take in the gorgeous setting at Dodger Stadium and check out all the statues of iconic Dodger players from Brooklyn to L.A.