Melissa Berman

In its 13-year history, Target Field has hosted various events, from subzero hockey games to college football games and even weddings. Though Target Field has held 17 different concerts or music festivals, they have all occurred during Twins road trips or MLB offseason. This summer, for the first time, the Twins will be hosting a postgame concert, and it will be free for game-attending fans to watch. On August 4, following the Twins' 6:40 p.m. game vs. the Toronto Blue Jays, country music star Cole Swindell will be performing a full-length 75-minute concert for fans. The concert will begin about 15 minutes after the last pitch. Fans with a ticket to the game can stick around for the concert for free, or those wanting to get even closer to the action can buy a special ticket package that includes a Cole Swindell baseball cap, a ticket to the game, and a field access pass for the concert. All other fans will watch the concert from the stadium seats. “Twins baseball and country music on a summer evening at Target Field is a fantastic combination,” Twins President Dave St. Peter said in a statement. Swindell is not a newcomer to Target Field. He previously opened for country music superstar Kenny Chesney at his 2015 Target Field concert. Two of Swindell’s top hits include the songs “Chillin’ It” and “You Should Be Here.” His most recent album, “Stereotype,” debuted in April. Those unable to make it to the concert aren’t totally out of luck for postgame shows- the Twins and St Paul Saints each host Fireworks Friday shows following every Friday home game during the summer. View full article

Everyone knows that the first rule of fight club is you do not talk about fight club, but under new Major League Baseball rules, everyone will hear about minor league fights, including the team’s parent MLB organization. And they will have to pay up for them too. ²In an attermpt to crack down on brawls and brouhaha in the minor leagues, MLB has instituted a fine of the parent club of any minor league team with a bench-clearing incident. In practice, this means if the players leave either the dugout or bullpen. The fine starts at $500 and doubles with every subsequent incident. So, $1000 after the second one, $2000 after the third one and so on. A team would need to get in 11 scraps to hit the million-dollar mark ($1,023,500, to be exact), which will never happen. MLB overhauled minor league baseball ahead of the 2021 season, including scheduling. Teams now frequently play each other for six straight games. For example, the St. Paul Saints just finished a 6-game home series against our old friend, the Rochester Red Wings. The team is in Columbus for a 6-game series against Cleveland's AAA affiliate this week. As we know from road trips or family get-togethers, too much togetherness can raise some tensions and lead to some short fuses. This change comes as MLB makes a host of moves in the name of player health and safety, including increasing the size of its bases and keeping the somewhat-maligned “ghost runner rule” for another season. There have also been several headline-grabbing minor league fights this year, including a brawl between the Mets and Red Sox Double-A affiliates in April. My take While $500 or $1000 seems like pocket change to billion-dollar organizations (and it is), no one wants to make the big boss upstairs angry, especially when that big boss is the one who controls your fate (whether or not you're called up to the bigs as a player or a coach). To me, the increased parent organization oversight on fights seems to be more of a deterrent than the actual money fine. No one wants to make mom and dad angry. Even though some fans might enjoy the raucousness of fights, no one can argue that they are beneficial or becoming of the sport of baseball, which prides itself in being a family-friendly game. Fans looking to see some fights would be better suited to watch hockey, where the players are wearing protective padding and cannot plant their feet and wind up due to standing on skates. Will the new parent club fine actually serve as a deterrent in the heat of the moment when tensions are high during a game? I somewhat doubt it, but making this move is in line with MLB's other stated health and player safety goals, so its implementation makes sense. View full article

The Twins series vs the Yankees ran the gauntlet of outcomes: Game 1 the Yankees won handily, Game 2 the Twins pummeled the Yankees, and Game 3 was a neck-and-neck match in which the Bronx Bombers prevailed. What should Twins fans take away from this series? Here are a few of my observations from being in the stands for these three games and a reason to walk away with some optimism. 1. The Twins can beat the Yankees. I repeat, the Twins can beat the Yankees- Never mind that pesky postseason losing streak or the Twins’ record vs the Yankees (now 38-111 since 2002). After the Game 2 blowout win, my main takeaway: was that that hard? The Twins not only beat the AL-leading Yankees on Wednesday night (a feat that has been built up in the minds of Twins fans to be an almost-impossible task) they clobbered them. The series finale on Thursday also was primed to be to be the best Twins game seen in recent years: the Twins started off with back-to-back-to-back home runs off Gerrit Cole and the Yankees of all teams. Even though the Yankees ultimately rallied past the Twins on Thursday due to bullpen woes, there is a lot from this series for Twins fans to feel good about: the Twins tagged Yankees stars Nestor Cortes and Cole for season-high ER totals. Chris Archer looked solid for a second-straight start. Jose Miranda had his first 3-hit game of his young career. Byron Buxton is now undoubtably back from his 0-30 slump. The Bomba Squad made its return on Thursday with 5 home runs, all against Cole. In sum, despite walking away with just one win, the Twins came to play this series, especially offensively, where traditionally vs the Yankees the hitting has disappeared. This is especially impressive considering how incredibly depleted the Twins' starting rotation is (surely, pitching Cole Sands, Archer, and Dylan Bundy vs. the likes of Cortes and Cole wasn't in the Twins' master plan). I'm not trying to claim moral victories, but with how big of a Goliath the Yankees are built up to be by the Twins, perhaps we need them. The Yankees are the best team in the American League, and the Twins proved this series they can play right with them. This team can and has beaten the Yankees and could do so in the upcoming postseason if the teams' paths crossed, especially with Joe Ryan back in the starting rotation and the addition of some other arms. 2. Twins fans aren’t quite sure how to feel about Josh Donaldson- Ever since Josh Donaldson was traded to the Yankees, bits and pieces have emerged that seem to suggest Donaldson might have a bit of a negative influence in the clubhouse. A “cancer,” if you will. However, Donaldson was traded to the Yankees, he didn’t leave, and he says he does not regret his time with Minnesota (though he didn’t mind being traded to New York either). This means no hard feelings from Twins fans, right? Mostly, The homecoming of the now-beardless Donaldson left Twins fans unsure of exactly how to react: his at bats were met with some muted boos, but the jeers were quiet and even a bit apathetic. Though Donaldson's legacy with the Twins is up for debate, and he has captured some national attention with his spat with the White Sox's Tim Anderson recently, he has not become a maligned figure here quite yet, 3. Stadium attendance is heating up- Finally, after months of mostly-empty stands, Twins fans returned to the stadium in droves this series. Beautiful weather, school getting out for the summer, and the hated Yankees being in town certainly contributed. The series' best attendance was seen on Tuesday night, Prince Night, which featured a giveaway t-shirt and a special ticket package with a Prince jacket. However, a large portion of the fans in the stands for all three games were donning pinstripes and Aaron Judge jerseys. Where all these Yankees fans come from, I don't know either, but at times when Joey Gallo or Giancarlo Stanton hit a home run, it almost felt like Target Field was transported to the Bronx. Of note, the Twins are running more deals coming up, including a "Vote Early, Vote Often" campaign for All Star voting, which provides fans with cheap ticket incentives for voting. Notably, any fan who votes at least 100 times before 1:00 p.m. CT on Thursday, June 30 will be able to purchase up to eight $1 tickets for a Twins game. So, the Twins emerge from this series with a mixed bag of results. Until we meet again, Yankees, but even if it's in the postseason, I think the Twins will be in good shape. View full article

Thank you so much for the kind words, I really appreciate it a lot. I really enjoy writing these "outside the box" feature stories the most, so definitely will be looking for others to write in the future ?

Thanks for the kind words ? The story was a blast to write, and I'm hoping to write lots more features in the future

Needless to say, walking away from Detroit with a 1-4 series record is not what the Twins were hoping for. This was a chance for the Twins to gain some serious ground on the White Sox. who are currently in Toronto and struggling in nearly every facet of the game, but the Twins squandered nearly every opportunity. In today's series finale game, Archer, Gordon, and Urshela were just about the only bright spots. Duran pitched well too. Urshela continues to be Captain Clutch. The Twins are banged up (Sonny Gray to the IL is incredibly disappointing and it seems that Joe Ryan really got hit hard by covid), and the schedule certainly isn't going to get any easier with a trip up to Toronto this weekend and then hosting everyone's favorite team, the Yankees, next week. I'm hoping to be at all 3 games of that Yankees series. As a side note, how happy must you be as a Toronto fan to have a bunch of short-handed teams visiting you the whole season? It's obviously not their fault that there are unvaccinated opponents or that the Canadian government has restrictions in place, but it definitely is of benefit to them. It's not time to hit the panic button yet, but it's important the Twins don't get complacent. I know the Twins have a 5-game lead in the division, but baseball is a streaky sport, and things can go downhill, or a team can piece together a number of wins, in an instant. I hope the Twins can bring their A-game over the next couple series because the White Sox are in the midst of a brutal stretch here: Blue Jays, Rays, and Dodgers. It would be nice to be able to pick up a couple more games in the standings. Hang in there, Twins Territory!

You and me both! ?

Thank you so much for the kind words! It was a joy to write. He's incredibly friendly and introspective

It's 10:45 a.m. on May 29- a warm and glorious but slightly muggy morning on Memorial Day weekend. Target Field's gates don't open until 11, but the local artist known as Kickliy is already in line. Though the other early bird fans arriving at the stadium might be toting around baseball mitts or an "It's My First Twins Game!" sign, Kickliy is undoubtedly the only one lugging around painting supplies. Once in the stadium, he buys a camo-patterned Twins bucket hat (to protect his neck from the sun, he says) and settles in the shimmering sunshine of the first baseline- paints and brushes in hand. Whether it’s from spotting him at Twins or Wild games or seeing his colorful and action-packed artwork pop up on social media, many fans have begun to take notice of this artist who presents a new way to view their favorite sports teams. Meet Kickliy, a life-long Minnesotan and professional artist who has made Minnesota sports his muse. He's painted at nearly every Twins game this season, both from the stands and on the concourse. He's painted in the sun, rain, and everything in between. “I found my muse” Kickliy was born and raised in Inver Grove Heights. Following a car accident seven years ago, Kickliy, a self-taught artist who previously illustrated comic books for a living, traveled to Paris to "rebuild his life." For four years, he was a "museum rat" (a positive term there, he clarified with a laugh) and did master studies of the great painters. He honed his skills in gouache painting, the medium Kickliy primarily uses. Then he returned to Minnesota. At first, he had no idea what he would paint- Minneapolis is not exactly the bustling, world-renowned bucket list location that is Paris. The Mall of America is not the Louvre. To him, everything seemed "blah." But once the pandemic started, Kickliy had the realization that his inspiration was right in front of him; he could paint the very things he adores about Minnesota. “It was more or less like, ‘Wait a minute- I love the State Fair.' 'Wait a minute- I love Minnesota sports- I can do this.’ I found my muse,” he said. It started with the State Fair in 2020, which was canceled due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Like many Minnesotans, Kickliy deeply loves the State Fair, which he describes as a “magical place.” "I've been going to the State Fair for 44 years in a row, so I didn't want to break my streak. So I took all my old sketchbooks that I have, and I just started doing paintings on them, and I created my own State Fair." Kickliy completed 80 paintings of familiar State Fair sights like the butter sculptures in the Dairy Building and the Corn Roast Booth and turned them into a book. Then at the following year's 2021 State Fair, he painted in person. Ultimately, he went to all 12 days of the Fair and completed 83 paintings. Next, in the fall of 2021, he painted the Vikings. Around this time, Kickliy noticed Twins President Dave St. Peter had followed him on Twitter. Incredulous and excited, Kickliy reached out to St. Peter. St. Peter said he enjoyed Kickliy's Vikings paintings. Kickliy told St. Peter that he was interested in painting the Twins, but by that point, there were only a few Twins games left of the 2021 season. St. Peter said to reach out to him next season. Sure enough, before the 2022 season, Kickliy followed up by sending St. Peter an email stating that he was interested in being able to roam the stadium freely and paint. The Twins gave him the go-ahead, and off with his paints he went. “He's a talented artist, and the Twins are grateful for his creative approach to capturing the Target Field experience," Twins President Dave St. Peter said. "Real-life superheroes" Kickliy arrives at Target Field when the gates open so he can begin painting the Twins while they warm up. During a Twins game, Kickliy typically paints about 5-6 pictures. He will move throughout the stadium to produce paintings from different angles. This mobility sometimes elicits humorous reactions from onlooking, astonished fans. "If people sit next to me or are behind me, they're watching me the whole time. And because I'll get up and move after I capture maybe a couple, they'll say, 'No, don't go.' And I'm like, 'I'm sorry, this is what I do.' 'We thought you were going to be there the whole game!' At a certain point, after I get a few of them from that angle, I want to float around and try and get something else," he said. A larger scene might take as much as an hour to paint. A more zoomed-in picture, like an action shot focusing on a specific player, will take less time, but it all depends on what he's capturing. As sports fans know, a play can happen in the blink of an eye, and Kickliy has to move fast to capture it and remember what he saw. "These guys are, in a sense, as close as you can get to real-life superheroes. So it's like, they're doing unbelievable things and things that the normal person can't do. So I'm just trying to be as quick as I can to document that," he said. When Kickliy shows up to a Twins game, he never knows what he will capture. "I don't know what I'm going to paint here. Whether it be the food vendors, normal people, players, whatever, it's just whatever catches my fancy," he said. "Each painting begets the next one. Like I said, I don't know what I'm going to do or how I'm going to do it. But by doing one, it then just gives me ideas to do the next." Even when the Twins lose, Kickliy says he still feels that he won because he captured the game's exciting, beautiful moments, both on and off the field. “Muscle Memory” Compared to hockey, where every player is non-stop moving, and there are multiple lines of players subbing in and out of the game, baseball is a little slower-paced and, therefore, a bit easier to paint, according to Kickliy. In a sense, only two people are moving at a time: the pitcher and the batter. But when a play happens in baseball, he needs to remember what he saw so he can paint it. If he had to constantly look between his work and the player on the field to see, say, what the player's glove looks like, the painting would take him much longer. And he needs to get this moment captured so he can be ready for the next one. "I have moments to lock the information into my head," he said. "And then when the play actually happens, I have to remember, does, you know, Buxton have high socks? Is he wearing red shoes today? Does he have on white batters gloves or red batter's gloves? And they have four uniforms. That's kind of the hardest thing- now remembering that kind of information." Not only does Kickliy need to memorize the attributes of the players, but he needs to take note of what was going on around a play. For example, if there is a diving catch in the outfield, what color were the advertisements on the outfield walls behind it? While others call Kickliy "fast," he prides himself most in being accurate. By the end of the season, he wants to know the players “in and out.” He wants painting these players to be “muscle memory” for him. "I don't have to sit here and think; all I got to do is look- does Buxton's swing end up, or does it end down? I know the rest of it," Kickliy said. And he is well on his way. For example, he knows what Byron Buxton's legs look like. He knows that Buxton has a "blueish, worn out, lighter yellow-type glove." Kickliy has devoted extensive time studying the players' personalities, attitudes, and body language. “I could tell these players what they're doing wrong based on their swing. I can tell that certain players have confidence or no confidence based on their swing and their body language,” he said. “More special than the game” For Kickliy, one of the greatest joys about painting at Twins games has been the fans he has met. He has also realized that painting the crowd is "just as fun as painting the players." While waiting for the next Twins play, sometimes Kickliy will start painting the crowd. This has sometimes brought humorous, lighthearted results. At a recent Twins game, he noticed a bachelor party group that was fruitlessly trying to get the attention of a nearby camera operator because they wanted to be on the outfield big screen. Kickliy painted the group, then showed them the painting. At first, the bachelor party-goers did not realize the significance of it. Then, they looked a little closer and spotted themselves in the picture one by one. They were beside themselves with excitement. "It was even better than getting on the big screen," Kickliy said. Kickliy ended up making prints of the painting for the soon-to-be groom. He recently painted the Red Cow booth on the concourse while "palling around" with a couple of kids who were watching on with wonder. They excitedly peppered Kickliy with questions as he painted. "And to me, that was more special than the game," Kickliy said. Kickliy, outwardly friendly, energetic, and bursting with enthusiasm, adores interacting with the fans. "Some people say, 'I was afraid to come up to you,' and I'm like, 'Why?' Come up to me and say, hi. I spend a lot of time alone drawing and stuff- coming out and doing this is fun. Why wouldn't I want to meet people and say hi?" At the same time, he is competitive with himself and wants to make sure he can document the game's exciting moments. “My fear is, at a certain point, it’s maybe not a negative thing as much as I want to say hi to people, and I want to be friendly, but it's also like, I’ve got to think too, and I’ve got to document this right now. I hope people don't think I'm being rude,” Kickliy said. While he has painted the Twins from home when the team is on the road, to him it does not compare to being there in person. These memorable fan interactions help explain why. “Paint with champagne” Kickliy's dream is to be able to paint from other areas of Target Field, such as the dugout, the clubhouse, or on the field when the Twins are practicing. He wants to get a "360 view" of what a Twins season is like. "I want to be everywhere because at a certain point, the normal fan can see what I'm painting now. I want to get the stuff where, you know, intimate moments, joyous moments, and sorrowful moments. I want to be there to get these types of things- it's history. I'm documenting history," Kickliy said. Above all, his dream as both a professional artist and Twins fan is to be in the clubhouse when the Twins win a World Series. He wants to paint the celebration using champagne to wet his brush. Serving as an "artist in residence" would not be uncharted territory in sports- artist Leroy Neiman chronicled the New York Jets through his paintings during the 1969 season when the Jets won the Super Bowl. But it would be a first for baseball. To Kickliy, paintings are an important, effective way to document history. “A photo can capture it, right? But rarely does it capture energy or emotion. Sometimes it does, and those are the best photos. But a painting can be much more than a photo,” he said. Outside of baseball, Kickliy would like to cover the whole Minnesota experience, from small businesses to the Fishing Opener to a deer stand. He even dreams of painting a wedding. The paintings Kickliy is doing at Twins games he considers to be "studies." In art, a study is a drawing, sketch or painting done in preparation for a finished piece, as visual notes, or as practice. To some, the paintings might seem "juvenile." They're not. Kickliy's Twins paintings are “shorthand" and "not meant to be super finished." He simply does not have time at games to make a fully-finished painting. Eventually, Kickliy plans to turn some of these studies into full-fledged oil paintings. He could combine a few study paintings into a new, original piece too. He might even display these oil paintings in a gallery. Kickliy hopes to capture the original energy and heart of the studies in the oil paintings he creates; sometimes, studies have more "life" in them, he says. Some of the study paintings of memorable moments he has given to players so their families can have them as a keepsake. Regardless, even though Kickliy has begun to draw local and even national attention for his artwork, to him, the newfound notoriety is simply a byproduct of doing what he loves. His heart is with Minnesota and its local sports teams. He does not want to paint the Yankees “unless they’re losing.” "I want these teams and the players and everyone to trust me. Everything from me is coming from the heart," Kickliy said. "And there's no 'me trying to get famous' off of this. I know that in me doing this and the way I'm going about it, that might be a side effect. But I don't care about that. If I'm coming from that side, all my paintings will be tainted with desperation. And I want there to be a purity of these paintings." View full article

Great insight and analysis, really nice to have a PT on the TD staff to evaluate things like this

Last week, we covered the 1000th home run hit by a Twins player at Target Field that really wasn't. Despite the in-stadium fanfare, including the Target Field outfield big screen labeling Byron Buxton's blast during May 15's finale vs the Guardians as home run #1000, an eagle-eyed Twitter user spotted a counting discrepancy that meant Buxton's home run was actually #999. The Twins issued a correction, everyone backpedaled, and the wait for the real #1000 was back on. After embarking on a weeklong road trip, the Twins returned to Target Field on Monday to begin a series vs the Detroit Tigers. Fans did not have to wait long for the Twins to finally reach the milestone in the most grandiose of fashion. In the first inning with the bases loaded with Luis Arraez, Carlos Correa and Jorge Polanco, Max Kepler hit a towering, 408-foot grand slam off pitcher Elvin Rodriguez. It was such a sure thing that outfielder Robbie Grossman did not even turn around. A rare feat, it was only the 17th grand slam hit by the Twins in the 12 years of Target Field, but the third so far this season (Gary Sanchez, Royce Lewis and Kepler). This time, the Twins did not recognize the milestone in-stadium or tweet it out on their official account, but various other affiliates did, including Twins Radio and Bally Sports North. A Twin for his entire MLB career so far, it was fitting that Kepler was the one to bring the team to the 1000 mark. In addition to #1000, Kepler is also responsible for Target Field's 600th and 700th home runs. He is one of 78 different players to contribute to this statistic. So, for those looking to put a bow on the benign controversy of the 1000th home run that wasn't, this story has come to a close. This 1000th home-run saga is also perhaps a lesson in the power one individual voice can have, especially in the age of social media: one individual Twitter account speaking up led to a billion-dollar sports franchise issuing a correction. If this had occurred in the pre-Twitter era, who knows whether or not anyone else would have taken notice. Happy #1000, Target Field, and here's to the next 1000. View full article

I absolutely agree 100%

Waking up yesterday morning on May 18, I was taken aback to see that Lewis was sent back to AAA. Here are both viewpoints regarding the Twins sending down Royce Lewis, and then my own take. Those in favor: The Twins don't know how long Carlos Correa will be with the Twins, so they are sending Lewis down to continue developing at SS In case Correa does stay for a while, it's necessary to find somewhere else in the field for Lewis to play, and AAA is the best place for him to try out new positions You don’t just “try” your #1 future investment in new positions at the MLB level, especially since he’s coming off missing a lot of playing time due to injury He'll be back soon anyway- this is just temporary More regular playing time in case the Twins aren't able to get him in the lineup every day You're not going to change long-term plans based on < 2 weeks of high production Those against: The Twins are a highly competitive team. Lewis helps the Twins be more competitive and is one of their top hitters They sent him down right after a game in which he had a double and a home run!? He has played outfield in the minors before, there's no reason why the Twins could not put him in left field in particular Sent down before Miranda!? (likely it's just a matter of time before he too heads back to St. Paul to work some things out) What a way to kill excitement among the fans If he can play short stop, the hardest position on the field, he could play anywhere, especially 1B. If it doesn't work out after a week, send him down With some shuffling around, the Twins should be able to find a spot for Lewis with some regular playing time My take I understand the nuances of both sides, but I'm still not a fan of the move at all. I understand he will be back soon, and Correa said he spoke with Lewis after the game and Lewis seemed to take it well, but I think it's a disservice to him to send him down while in the midst of such a hot streak. I'm glad he's taking it well, and I assume management explained that he's doing great and will be back as soon as he develops some more, perhaps at different positions, but still, one of my first immediate thoughts was a fear that, what if this crushes his confidence. To me, if you have a player who is on fire to the extent Lewis is, you find a spot in the lineup for him, period. Fans reacted so strongly because the Twins are competitive and the fans care. A lot of them have been following Lewis for years, ever since he was drafted. Fans caring is a good problem to have- strong emotion is better than apathy. The Twins are battling the Chicago White Sox for the AL Central crown and playing Lewis in the current lineup makes them a better team. Like I said. hopefully he is back soon, but letting him learn alongside Byron Buxton does not seem like a bad idea either.

I'm a believer that 1B is a position that can be played by many MLBers- especially infielders. Kepler definitely could if needed Ah, I forgot to put Celestino is excellent in CF as a takeaway too. All our centerfielders are so good

Could never have said it better myself, I think you speak for a lot of us! ? Luckily a lot of your likes have seemed to be the case thus far- Arraez was solid at 1B yesterday, Lewis has been great at short, and hopefully the Twins can keep it rolling into Oakland! Can't attest to the pike on a stick though

Thanks for the kind words! ? Hopefully the Twins keep rolling!

After Gio Urshela launched a home run out to left center during the 4th inning of Sunday’s series finale vs the Cleveland Guardians, there was an air of anticipation throughout the stadium. The Twins were closing in on 1,000 home runs hit by Twins players at Target Field, and after Urshela hit what was regarded as home run #999, it seemed like only a matter of time before the Twins reached the landmark. Fans didn't have to wait long- the very next inning, Byron Buxton hit a home run to left field, his 11th of the season. As Buxton high-fived his teammates in the dugout and fans in the stands celebrated, the Target Field big board displayed "1000th Home Run" on the bottom of the screen. The Twins' Twitter account tweeted out the milestone (and so did I). But was it actually the 1,000th Target Field Home run? Shortly after Buxton's blast, tweets started surfacing calling into question whether Buxton's home run actually did represent Target Field's 1,000th home run. It appears the discrepancy was first spotted by eagle-eyed Twitter user @TwinsDingers, a Twitter account that primarily tweets videos of past and present Twins home runs. The user noticed that the Twins appeared to be including an April 18, 2018 Miguel Sanó home run hit during the 2018 Puerto Rico Series in their official count. During this series, the Twins played Cleveland, and the Twins were the designated home team. Thus, while it was indeed a home run the Twins hit as the home team, it was not at home sweet home Target Field. @TwinsDingers was keeping his own home run count and noticed the discrepancy immediately. "I have had a 1,000th home run tweet in the drafts for about two weeks now, just waiting for it to happen. So I knew it was wrong the second they claimed it was 1,000." the user wrote. The Twins did not Tweet anything differently after the discrepancy came to light, but they reportedly did issue a correction. So, with this mystery solved, it appears the wait for the official 1,000th Target Field home run continues. The Twins next return to Target Field on May 23 for a three-game series vs the Detroit Tigers, followed by another home series vs. the Kansas City Royals, so time will tell which Twin makes it official. View full article

After getting swept by the Houston Astros in frustrating fashion last week, it was imperative that the Twins answer back by rattling off a few wins against their division rival the Cleveland Guardians. The weekend series had it all; grand slams, manager ejections, electric Target Field crowds, the 1000th home run hit by a Twin at Target Field, and two separate fan proposals. Ultimately, the Twins emerged from the series with a three-game lead in the division over both the Guardians and the Chicago White Sox. Here are my five takeaways from this series. 1. Royce Lewis is here to stay Between Friday’s grand slam, superb fielding at shortstop and consistent hits elsewhere, long-held #1 Twins prospect Royce Lewis has made a strong statement since he was called up a little over a week ago. Lewis has a .310 average and a top 6 on the team OPS of .719. On WCCO Radio, President of Baseball Operations Derek Falvey expressed optimism that Royce Lewis can play around the field similar to the Dodgers' super-utilityman Chris Taylor. This indicates that the Twins will likely find a spot for him somewhere on the field once shortstop Carlos Correa returns to the lineup. And if he continues to perform on the field, why wouldn't they? Lewis' debut has been a long time coming, and after having gone through ACL surgery and rehab, it has been rewarding to finally see him on the field after all that hard work. He received a standing ovation from the crowd for his grand slam on Friday night, and afterwards, he expressed gratitude for the warm welcome he's received from Twins fans. "I really appreciate it. This fan base has always been really, really special to me. They've always been great to me. Minnesota nice," Lewis said. 2. Jose Miranda needs a little more time Preheat to 350° and pop Jose back in the oven for a little bit- he needs some more time to cook in AAA. So far, Miranda has looked a bit outmatched at the plate and his .114 batting average reflects that. His .111 batting average on balls in play (BABIP) and few strikeouts show that while he is making contact, the contact he makes does not give him a good chance to succeed. The Twins are depleted at first base, and injuries to first basemen Alex Kirilloff and Miguel Sanó have necessitated Jose’s spot in the lineup recently. Some fans questioned why Miranda was sent out to hit in the 10th inning on Saturday in a critical down-by-1, do-or-die situation with Byron Buxton on the bench. Manager Rocco Baldelli was quite clear after the game that rest days are rest days and that the direction the game takes does not affect that. But if Mike Trout can come off the bench to hit in the 10th inning to a huge ovation, to some it seemed that Buxton could manage as well, though Buxton is coming back from injury. I am a firm believer in Miranda’s talent, but it seems a little more time in AAA would be of benefit, and he's still very young at 23. Some infield shuffling could fill Miranda’s spot at first if he was sent down- perhaps Lewis, Luis Arraez, and even Gary Sánchez could share time there. Utility player extraordinaire Arraez made some good scoops at first during Sunday’s game, which Miranda was on the bench for. 3. Runners left on base will haunt Saturday’s game can be summed up as a game of missed opportunities, as the Twins left a whopping 12 runners on base. The biggest example of this was in the 5th inning, where the Twins had bases loaded with no outs and Shane Bieber emerged unscathed due to an unfortunate home-to-first Gio Urshela double play followed by a Miranda groundout. This half-inning was nothing short of deflating. The Twins only got three more hits in the rest of the game, two of these occurring with 2 outs and no runners on. We all know that Walks Will Haunt, but runners left on base certainly will too. The offense returned on Sunday, where Buxton and Urshela both got solo home runs, including Buxton hitting the 1,000th home run hit by a Twin at Target Field- his 11th of the season. 4. Joe Smith is one of the team’s most underrated assets Through 15 appearances, Joe Smith still has a 0.00 ERA. Some might say that’s because the Twins have used him sparingly; Smith is used in high-leverage situations, so often in late-inning, close games with runners on. He leads all AL relivers with a +1.11 win probability added (WPA). Though he has somehow never been an All-Star, he is arguably the most prolific bullpen workhorse of the last 20 years. The Twins used Smith in all three games of the series (Pagán too). So regardless of his limited pitch count (146 pitches thrown in 15 appearances equating to an average of less than 10 pitches per game), owning a 0.00 ERA this far into the season when used as a high-leverage pitcher is impressive no matter how you dice it. If this keeps up, there is no way the league won't start to take note. 5. The crowd is starting to wake up at Target Field After decidedly light attendance thus far, the weekend’s series featured the best attendance with the most hyped-up fans Target Field has seen this season. Friday’s game can be summed up as nothing short of electric due to the Twins piling on 12 runs. The crowd dutifully got into it when Baldelli got himself ejected in the top of the 10th inning on Saturday while arguing about an interference call, but many fans in the seats expressed confusion on why he was arguing about what seemed to be a clear-cut call. The series also featured the first big screen fan proposals at Target Field this season- one on Saturday and one on Sunday. Officially, the Twins announced 61,500 fans visited Target Field for the three-game series, which, while still feeling low, is a massive improvement from even a week ago. The Twins are near the bottom of MLB in attendance, averaging 17,944 fans per game. As the weather continues to be beautiful, kids get out of school, and the Twins hopefully keep winning, fans will continue to return to Target Field in droves. Bonus takeaway: Urshela and Sánchez had a solid series This series saw great production from former Yankees Urshela and Sánchez: Urshela hit two home runs (including a 434-foot monster blast on Friday night) and Sánchez had one home run and two doubles. Urshela continued his arguably exceptional play at 3B this series. Considering the Twins have leaned on Sánchez in the DH role when not playing catcher, hopefully this series is a sign of more good things to come at the plate. *** What were your takeaways from the Twins series against the Guardians? Leave your COMMENTS below. View full article

Love that lede. Hopefully we can get healthy and get back on track here vs division opponent! Critical series coming up here