Let's Road Trip Twins 2025: Trip #7 - Texas Ohio Two-Step

Houston Astros - June 13-15
Minute Maid Park - Capacity 41,168
2024 Attendance: 2,835,234 (Averaged 35,002, ranked 2nd of 15 AL teams and 8th overall)

In 2024 the Twins took two of three at Minute Maid, matching their 2023 series victory.  Minute Maid Park became the home of the Astros for the 2000 season, and in the years since the Twins have found average success, going 19-21 over the forty regular season games in Houston.

The story of Houston baseball runs through the Astrodome, the sporting world’s first fully enclosed and air-conditioned stadium. The Astrodome changed the game and almost all other games around the world. It gave us the first synthetic turf playing surface (hence why we call all the new stuff Astroturf, even if it isn’t!), the ability to play ball in any type of weather or geography, and the introduction of year-round civic and sports arenas within a city. 

Minute Maid Park carries history, scandal, success, and futility all in one amazingly crafted and retro-fitted setting. The current ballpark was constructed around a former Union Station railway concourse and harkens to the culture and community that it serves.  Oil, agriculture, trains, Bar-B-Q, Mexican food, boom/bust economics, and espionage/waste disposal (couldn’t resist). The retractable roof might come into play in May, with an opportunity for outdoor baseball early and late in the season.  This element allows for a natural grass playing surface.

Originally named Enron Field in 2000, my kids’ third favorite orange juice stepped up to the plate for naming rights once Enron imploded.  Hopefully, the Minute Maid Train will fail to leave the station due to a lack of Astros homers, but recent history would argue to bet the “over.”

Minute Maid Park used to feature the legendary and questionable "Tal’s Hill” in centerfield.  The berm & flagpole served for quite a few highlights and lowlights for fielders, and it stretched the dimensions out to 436ft.  The hill left the building after the 2016 season, replaced by a restaurant, standing-room seating, and a lower medical liability deductible.

The dimensions also came in with it to a reasonable 406ft.  Interestingly, berms or mounds in the field of play used to be a way to give a better view to standing room overflow fans ON THE FIELD!!!  Can you imagine?  Showing up to a game, discovering that it was sold out, but being told to “Worry not!  Centerfield has some room for you!”  It sounds like an alternate reality.

When in Houston, check out the Space Center and enjoy some beach and fishing time out in the Gulf of Mexico. Or if the weather's too warm and muggy for your liking, just get excited to watch high-quality baseball in a crazy cool stadium alongside a fan base that has doubled down on their team. The Twins won't have time for any of this, however, because they need to head a thousand miles northwest to Cincinnati.

Cincinnati Reds – June 17-19
Great American Ballpark - Capacity 43,500
2024 Attendance: 2,024,178 (Averaged 24,989 - ranked 12th out of 15 NL teams, 21st overall MLB)

The Twins were happy to see Cinergy Field go away, because they got swept out of there in 2000. Great American Ballpark has served as a more gracious host, albeit a neutral one. The Twins have gone 6-5 in its four trips to Great American. The last time they played there was in 2023. The Twins entered Cincinnati in mid-September in need of victories to cement their standing on top of the American League Central. They were greeted with a loss, but came back to take two out of three and kept the playoff juices flowing in the right direction. 

Home to baseball’s oldest franchise (going strong since 1882!), Great American Ball Park celebrates its 20th year of hosting the Reds in 2023. With a list of legendary players behind it, the team boasts a history of success, and has a Hall of Fame of its own to prove it. Like many teams, however, that history seems to stop in the 90’s. Built on the shores of the Ohio River, Great American Ball Park offers contemporary fans a baseball-specific venue with waterfront views and quirky vibes. The higher up you sit, the better the view of both the game and the area. With wide concourses and five levels of seating, finding a place to enjoy the game shouldn’t be an issue.

When in town, cultural highlights include the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center and the Cincinnati Art Museum. Findlay Market’s beer gardens open on gameday, and riverboat cruises offer a unique way to spend time between games.

Following this road trip the Twins get to enjoy some home cooking against Milwaukee and Seattle. Will they return on a roll, or rolled over?