Melissa Berman

Wow, these are phenomenal seats! I really liked them closing the upper deck. I got amazing seats from my Twins Pass- but don't tell the Twins that! Haha. Lots of fun series coming up in May- can't wait to see the Red Sox and Yankees coming up!

The Twins just wrapped up their second big homestand of the year! This year, Twins games have had a little of everything from snow to walk-off home runs to dogs wearing adult-size Twins jerseys. Here are my Notes from the Ballpark on what I've seen so far: Image courtesy of Melissa Berman Have you been to any (or many) Twins games so far this season? If so, let us know if you've had some of these same thoughts, opinions or experiences. Upper Deck Closed in April The upper deck (200 and 300 levels) has been closed for all April home games except the Home Opener- and it has been a good move. Attendance is always very sparse during the traditionally-cold April home games, and this year has been no different- attendance has been pretty abysmal so far, with this most-recent White Sox series averaging around 13,000 fans. However, this is typical. I’ve been closely following Twins attendance for years, including writing several pieces about it for Twins Daily. Attendance always picks up once school is out and warm weather returns. The team’s performance also massively determines attendance as well. So, I thought it was wise of the Twins to close the upper deck and just let people sit pretty much wherever they wanted in the lower level. Think of it as a little reward for the fans willing to show up in the snow (it was snowing at the 35-degree Twins game I attended on Friday, April 19) and is a much smarter use of their resources (ushers, concession staff). Besides, the lower level has looked sparse even with the upper deck fans mixed in, so this was a good choice. "Cold Beer, Here!" Beer lovers (or hot chocolate lovers) rejoice. Vendors can walk up and down the stadium aisles again this year! Last year, beer and food vendors were strictly confined to the concourse. However, there appear to be far fewer vendors in the stands than in the past, but still, it is a step in the right direction. Vendors walking the aisles selling peanuts and Cracker Jack are part of the quintessential American baseball experience, so I am glad to see them back among the crowd in some form. Bark in the Park Day is Awesome! The Twins had their first-ever Bark in the Park Day at Target Field on Monday, April 22. In my eyes, it was a resounding success. My full recap can be read here. The Twins incorporated so many funny, adorable bits. Prompting Twins fans to hold their cute little dogs high into the air as ‘The Circle of Life’ plays during the Simba Cam. Sounding a different type of doorbell over Target Field’s loudspeakers anytime they wanted the crowd to make noise. People, including me, were smiling the entire night, seeing what the entertainment team had planned next. Logistically, I thought the event was managed super well. Not everyone feels comfortable around dogs or wants to be near them, so dogs had to enter through one specific gate. They were not allowed anywhere else in the ballpark except the two seated dog sections and the concourse area outside those two sections. I saw some concern on social media from people who thought dogs would be everywhere, but they were easy to avoid. Now that the Twins have passed this first test, I hope they expand in the future by adding more than one dog day or increasing the number of dogs allowed in. Gio Urshela and his Walkup Song Return to Target Field One of my favorite moments at the park this year was when the Detroit Tigers were in town. During Gio Urshela’s first at-bat (and sadly his only, as he got injured following his at-bat and subsequently went on the IL), they played his walkup song, you know the one. “We still really miss his walkup song at Target Field,” the big board said. Urshela’s walkup song is kind of notorious throughout the league. I’m in the camp of people who like it. You could tell Urshela really appreciated the gesture, and social media loved it too. In my eyes, I don’t think Urshela really got a fair shake here. I thought he was excellent as a Twin and he, at many moments last season, was the team's most clutch player. I know we didn’t really have a spot in the infield for him. I think in the future, this is the ultimate way to honor former beloved Twins who come back to their first visit to Target Field- not solely just ones with well-known walkups. Playoff Wins and a Walk-Off April 23’s walk-off win vs. the Chicago White Sox will always be one of the most memorable games I’ve attended, even though I saw less than an inning of it. In addition to attending as many Twins games as possible (around 60 in the last two seasons), I am a huge Timberwolves fan and have season tickets. On Tuesday, I was at Game 2 of the Timberwolves’ playoff series vs. the Phoenix Suns. I was on my phone following the Twins game just across the street. The Twins were down the entire game until the 9th inning when I got an alert that Byron Buxton had hit a game-tying home run. Luckily, the Timberwolves game had just wrapped up, a blowout win, so I literally ran out of Target Center, Twins pass in hand, and sprinted as fast as I could over to Target Field. Staff had already taken down the AI scanners, so a security member used a mobile wand to scan me. Around me were people asking security if they could just be let in, which, of course, they were not allowed without a ticket. I grabbed a seat in time to watch Christian Vázquez’s at-bat, where he struck out, and then, of course, I saw Alex Kirilloff’s walk-off single. As the Twins players mobbed each other and fireworks burst into the sky, I was astounded that I had just seen two incredible Minnesota wins in one night. Gotta Love Queen As their Win Song this year, the Twins are using the same sped-up, slightly-remixed version of Queen's "Don't Stop Me Now" that they played after last season's playoff wins, and I love it. Every win the Twins have this year has brought me back to how I felt being in the stands after last year's playoff wins and soaking in the postgame euphoria as people around me hugged each other and even cried. The Jury's Still Out on The Dock The Twins' new seating area, The Dock, is hilarious. It is basically a suite near the right field concourse that looks like a pontoon boat. I'm curious how comfortable those seats are and how practical it is to watch a game. The Dock accommodates 12 people, but there are only six captain's chairs directly overlooking the field (there are two bench seats near the back of the "boat." I noticed that both the Twins and Timberwolves have leaned into Minnesota's lake life image this year. The Timberwolves' City Edition uniform and court are made to look like the water found in one of Minnesota's 10,000 Lakes. Magnet Issues In a complaint I had last year, once again, the Twins only handed out 5,000 magnet schedules this year. Still, it was worse this year because the Twins handed them out when the Dodgers were in town, and thus, the predominately Dodger crowd largely trampled and left behind the magnet schedules they received (why even take them in the first place is my question). Have you attended any Twins games so far this year? What are your ballpark observations? Let us know in a COMMENT below. View full article

It's so heartwarming for me to see how much dogs mean to people. What an unbelievably happy, joyous night last night was. Thanks so much for sharing, Seth!

It was so well done, I was really impressed. It was really heartwarming for me to see how happy the game made people- both dog owners and other fans. The Simba Cam and lookalike cam were hilarious. Dogs just bring us so, so much joy. So glad the dogs got to see a great game with lots of offense too! Thanks so much for taking the time to read and comment!

The last couple of years, in true Saints fashion, the Saints called their dog day "Anything on a leash" day. I noticed this year they're just calling it a regular dog day. I would bet someone brought a cat or llama or something.. haha

It was definitely my favorite thing I've covered- it was such a happy game and so incredibly joyous that it actually got me, a dog lover myself, a little misty, admittedly. Dogs are so special, and it made me happy to see so many people, both dog owners and other fans, overflowing with joy. I'm glad it was a nice night too- I would've felt so bad it if was really cold for those little guys. I'm really glad the Saints still have two more Dog Days this year- I'm sure there will be even more interest for those now! Thanks so much for taking the time to read and comment.

I thought the event was really well done- dogs were limited to two sections and couldn't go anywhere else in the stadium besides from the sections to outside. An April game is a good time of year to do it- the stadium was pretty empty, so it was easy for those who wanted to totally avoid the dogs. Thanks for taking the time to read and comment!

As White Sox second baseman Nicky Lopez walked back to the dugout after striking out in the first inning Monday, the unmistakable sing-songy chime of a Ring Doorbell sang over Target Field's speakers. Immediately, a chorus of barks, howls, and "arf!"s thundered from down the third-base line. Image courtesy of Melissa Berman At the series opener against the Chicago White Sox, a parade of furry Twins fans donning Twins bandanas, collars, baseball caps, and even human jerseys pranced through Target Field’s gates to catch a Twins game in person (as it were) at Target Field’s first-ever Bark in the Park Day. Before the game, the left-field concourse area was abuzz with smiling dogs of every size and type, as owners bribed them with treats to entice them to pose long enough for the pup-arazzi to get photos. Bark in the Park Days have become a tradition across MLB and in its minor leagues, with at least 20 other MLB teams hosting dog days in 2024, according to CityDog Magazine. The Twins’ Triple-A affiliate, the St. Paul Saints, is hosting three such dates this season. But until now, Twins fans’ furry best friends have not been able to attend a game at Target Field. (There were dog days previously held at the Metrodome.) Twins fans have long (ahem) hounded Twins staff for the team to host this type of event. Twins fans Megan and Travis Knops took their eight-year-old "super mutt" (his primary breeds are lab, German shepherd and husky) Griffey to the inaugural promotion. Megan Knops said that once she heard the Twins were adding a Dog Day, it was a “no-brainer” for them to go. “I was like, ‘finally!’ I have been waiting for this for years and tweeting every season how the Twins need to have one. So I was very excited,” she said. While Monday was Griffey’s first Twins game, Megan said that the dog has been to multiple Saints games and loves baseball. He’s named after Ken Griffey Jr. after all. "He is a very sociable pup and loves going everywhere with us. He always had a great time - except for when he saw Mudonna. He was scared of the big pink pig!" Megan said. Image courtesy of Megan Knops Heather Rajeski, the Twins' Director of Marketing Promotions and Special Events, said that before her starting with the Twins in 2022, staff had brought up the idea of doing a dog day, but that it had not yet come to fruition--likely due, in part, to the large amount of operational logistics involved with hosting hundreds of happy dogs at a baseball game. Once joining the Twins, Rajeski, a dog lover who previously worked for the Oakland Athletics for 17 years doing marketing, promotions, and events where she helped plan Dog Days, also brought up the idea. Slowly, members of the Twins staff got on board. The traction finally came to a head this offseason. When the team was planning the upcoming season’s promotional calendar, Twins President Dave St. Peter and owner Joe Pohlad suggested the team host a dog day, and thus, the planning began. When the Twins announced the promotional schedule in February, fan excitement was paw-sitively overwhelming. Once the event’s special tickets went on sale, they sold out within 36 hours. Twins fans Caleb and Heidi Weisgarber bought tickets and drove to Target Field from Bismarck, North Dakota, about six and a half hours away, for the game. With them, they brought their dogs Lilo and Stitch--the latter of whom wore a stadium giveaway adult-size Brian Dozier jersey. The Weisgarbers get to a lot of games already--they have a 20-game flex plan--so when they saw Bark in the Park Day announced, they thought it would be the perfect excuse to make the drive to Minneapolis to catch a game. This time, all four of them got to come. “Instead of finding a dogsitter, we got to have them with us,” Caleb said. Twins fans Jenny Slaughter and Shannon Granholm texted each other immediately after the event was announced. Why did they want to go to Bark in the Park? “Because we’re obsessed with our dogs!” Slaughter said with a laugh. Slaughter brought Maggie, a corgi who has participated in corgi races at US Bank Stadium, and Granholm brought Tundra and Twinkie. “Anytime we can bring our dogs to places, we do it,” Granholm said. She was wearing an outfit that included a shirt and shoes completely covered in pictures of corgis. Perhaps most excited about the Twins’ addition of a dog day was Pioneer Press Twins reporter Betsy Helfand. Helfand is known among Twins fans and staff for being perhaps the biggest fan of dogs you will ever meet—she grew up with a dog, Hallie, and is now known to tweet pictures of cute pups she sees at baseball games, and anywhere else she goes. As a Twins reporter, she has gotten the chance to experience other teams’ Bark in the Park events when the Twins have been in town, including the Royals and, just last week, the Orioles. When she knows it’s Bark in the Park Day, she gets her work done “very quickly” so that she can go down to the concourse and mingle with baseball’s furriest fans before the game. “I always go over and say hi to as many dogs as I can,” Helfand said. Helfand had been asking Twins staff for years when they would get a Bark at the Park event, so when the game was announced, she was so excited that she sent a text with 22 dog emojis to Twins Director of Business Communications Matt Hodson. She even tried to get her sister (who lives in Portland, Oregon) to go on a road trip to Minnesota to bring her dog to the game. In the lead-up to Monday, Twins fans tweeted at Helfand, inviting her to meet them and their dogs at the game. “As many dogs as I can meet is really the goal for Monday,” Helfand said. The Twins left no details untouched in planning a successful day—from on-site veterinarians to contracting with a dog waste company to set up a dedicated potty area outside the stadium to a pop-up Twins dog merchandise stand, to even having extra leashes on hand in case someone's breaks. The Twins also had a charitable component: a portion of each ticket package goes to Can Do Canines, which offers free service dogs for people living with disabilities. Throughout the game, the Twins made much of their in-game entertainment dog-related—the "Simba Cam" on the big screen showed Twins fans holding up their dogs, the "lookalike" cam showed famous canines like Air Bud next to their Twins fan lookalikes, and when a Twins player was up to bat, the big screen showed a photo of him with his dog. Hilariously, whenever the Twins wanted the crowd to make noise, they played a doorbell sound so that the dogs would participate. And of course, they played "Who Let the Dogs Out" by the Baha Men. Because it’s their first-ever Dog Day at Target Field, the Twins sought to take “baby steps” so they would not break off more dog treats than they could chew. This year, the Twins limited ticket sales to 250 dogs, all of whom were located in sections 126 and 127 in the left-field corner of Target Field. Rajeski acknowledged that not everyone may feel comfortable around dogs, so the Twins had dogs enter through a specific gate and were not allowed anywhere else in the stadium besides the concourse area outside the sections leading to the potty exit. Rajeski said that, assuming everything at the game goes well, the team hopes to discuss the possibility of expanding that number for future events. “I'm an animal lover, so I’m really excited to have all the dogs here, and hopefully we can continue to grow this event and that it will be something even more fans will be able to participate in the future,” Rajeski said. After the paw-ty was over and the Byron Buxton jersey-wearing dogs and their owners filed into the night to get one last sniff in at the Target Field Station plaza, from the smiles on both those with two and four legs, it was evident everyone had a doggone good time, and that there is no better way to watch a baseball game than with your best friend. And now finally, we know who let the dogs out. Did you attend Bark in the Park Day? What did you think? Let us know in a comment below. View full article

Thank so much for the kind words!! I was so excited to see they brought the pass back. I love this picture too- Duran entrance at the end of the season right before playoffs! Thanks so much for reading!

Fans looking to attend lots of games at Target Field this season without emptying their wallets, rejoice. On Thursday, the Twins announced that their beloved bargain ticket pass is back for 2024. Image courtesy of Melissa Berman For $59 a month (a total of $354 if a pass holder keeps the pass for all six months of games), fans receive a Ballpark Access (meaning standing-room) ticket to every game except the Home Opener. Fans can cancel the subscription pass at any time during the season, but with the Twins projected to reign atop the AL Central again this year, why would you? This year, there is an option for fans to pay an upfront price of $324 for the 80 games, the “All-In” pass, for a grand total of $4.05 for fans who attend every game. Think of how many dollar hot dogs you could buy with those savings! The price for the Twins Pass increases to $69 per month on April 4. For those who prefer to avoid cold April games, the Twins are offering a May through September Package for $79/month, The pass has a few restrictions, including that the pass holder cannot resell or transfer the ticket and that it does not come with an officially assigned seat. Thanks to the Twins Pass, I’ve gone to over 60 games in the last few seasons. It truly is an unbeatable deal for those who want to get to a lot of games, especially because it includes tickets to all weekend and holiday games, which typically might cost at least $20 just to get in the door. Four dollars to see the best baseball players in the world, plus maybe get a giveaway item, too? Truly incredible. Even if a Twins fan isn't planning on getting to dozens of games, attending around three weekend games is the breakeven point on the pass. I have never had trouble finding a spot to watch the game, except for the jam-packed Brewers series, which will be even more packed this year because it's on a weekend. I scooped up the All-In pass as soon as it was announced. Are you going to get the Twins Pass? Let us know your thoughts in a comment below. View full article

Oh this is EXCELLENT.. I haven't thought about including TC before.. mental note for next year! And the Gladden and Rocco puns are perfect too. Thanks so much for reading 😄

Ha I did think of that! Thought the "knock it out of the park" was close to it, but grand slam would've been even better/ more applicable! Thanks for reading! 😃

It's a blast making these every year! Thanks so much for reading! 😄

That one made me chuckle too! Thanks for reading!

So glad you guys like them, I had a blast making them!! 😄

Happy Valentine's Day from Twins Daily! Pitchers and catchers officially report to spring training in Fort Myers today, and to celebrate, here are some Twins valentines to pass on to the baseball lover in your life. We hope these clear Thielbar for you- our readers have Oliva-r love! Image courtesy of Melissa Berman We're glad you're still here, too. List your favorite one, or drop your best Twins-centered Valentine's Day greetings below. View full article

The previous concerts have started at 6:10... this one is starting at 7:10! It'll be a late one! The pitch clock at least speeds up the game a bit, but I'm a little surprised they didn't make this one at least a 6:40 (even though it's a Friday)

I've been to the Boundary Waters several times and can say that you will treasure the time spent on that trip more than a bat:) That will be a blast. People who resell giveaways on ebay are the worst

Ha! This is hilarious. I loved driving around listening to him and Provus. I saw he is dialing back the number of games he's doing this year and Molitor + Perkins are taking on some. Love Molitor, but I'll miss hearing all those Gladden-isms every night

Thanks so much for the kind words 😄 excited that the season is drawing closer now and that I'll have fan experience stuff to write about again! And LOL. I'm heading down to Florida for spring training, not to be confused with this performer

That's a great question- I only heard a week or two ago because I was curious and went looking. It looks like the Twins agreed to change the name of the festival going forward. Article here. I honestly thought it was kind of odd they went with that name to begin with. Should have just kept it general "Target Field Music Festival" or something- that's what I was referring to it as with friends because no one knew what "TC Summerfest" is.