Melissa Berman

Day 2 of the Border Battle was the haziest game in Target Field history. Fans should not have been sitting out in it. On Wednesday, smoke from the Canadian wildfires rolled into Minnesota again, and its effect was extremely noticeable at the day game. Target Field was packed with kids groups, retired folks, and 32,222 Brewers and Twins fans, enjoying not being at work or school on a warm summer day. During the game, the air quality was in the red (unhealthy for all) category, which the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency advises everyone should avoid prolonged time outdoors. The air got worse as the game went on, too; the air quality index (AQI) was at 145 at Target Field at about 1 p.m., and by the end of the game, the AQI was at 194. Wednesday evening, after the game was over, the Minneapolis AQI hit 246, the worst in the United States and world and the worst air quality on record in the Twin Cities. An index score between 0-50 is considered healthy, according to AirNow.gov. While it did not look quite as extreme as the apocalyptic haze out of New York that led to the June 7 Yankees game getting postponed, the air at Target Field smelled smoky, like a dirty campfire, and smog cloaked the downtown skyline. Even the other side of the stadium was obscured; the normally-dark green batter's eye looked more gray to the naked eye. Truly, pictures do not do justice to how hazy it looked at the stadium. Fans and media speculated that Brewers fielders might have lost a towering Joey Gallo ball in the smog, but it was also a challenging play for the second baseman to make, and I don't think this is as likely. My lungs secondhand burned as I watched Carlos Correa burn around the bases for a triple in the third inning. I arrived late to the game, and even so, by the end, my eyes were watering, I had a light headache, and I left with a bad taste in my mouth- literally. As I walked back to my car, another fan leaving the game lit a cigarette and I chuckled- what I had just breathed was undoubtedly worse. And I had simply been sitting in the stands watching the game, not running full speed around the bases. On Wednesday afternoon following the Twins game, the City of Minneapolis canceled all outdoor programming and sports in city parks due to the poor air quality. As extreme weather and wildfires become more commonplace, MLB may need to consider implementing an AQI threshold to determine if a game is safe to play. Many Target Field ushers and employees are elderly, and they (and everyone else) should not have to compromise their health to go to work. Even as I write this a few hours after coming back from the game, I still have a light headache. Maybe this series is just destined to have crazy weather: last year, game 1 of the Brewers series at Target Field had an apocalyptic-looking shelf cloud that led to three rain delays, the concourses flooded with standing water, and a viral video showed a Dippin' Dots cart sent flying in the high winds. Once again, Brewers faithful packed the park, though attendance was slightly down from last year. The two-game series was electric, packed, and had a fun, raucous atmosphere. Target Field lately has welcomed several teams with large and traveling fanbases, including the Cubs, Giants, and Blue Jays. Still, nothing compares to the amount of Brewers fans who turn out to Target Field every year for the traditional two-game series. Each year, I make a mental note to leave extra time to find parking and navigate the jam-packed concourses for this series. Luckily, the new AI security system drastically cut down on wait times to get into the park, unlike last year, when I got in during the second inning. Attendance this year was excellent, but down from last year: game 1 on Tuesday night drew in 34,514 fans (compared to 37,183 fans last year on Game 1, also a Tuesday night) and Wednesday’s series finale drew 32,222 fans (down from 38,802 during last year's Wednesday day game, a sellout). None of this is to say attendance wasn't good at this series: Target Field was electric. Some wonder what Target Field would look like if the series took place on the weekend, but the lower level of the ballpark was already jam-packed, and both Twins and Brewers fans crowded the standing rails; the only place it could have filled up more were in the very upper rows and corners of the 300-level. Only this year's home opener, listed as a sellout 38,465 fans, had more fans than Tuesday's game. Games 2 and 3 of the Cubs series Mother's Day Weekend had more fans than Wednesday's game, but not Tuesday. Dollar Dog Night at one of the busiest games of the year produced some amusing results. Tuesday is always Dollar Dog Night at Target Field, and 34,514 hungry Twins and Brew Crew fans descended on Target Field. Rumor has it that Target Field had some excess hotdog reserves left over from past Tuesdays, so they were not enforcing the traditional two-dog-a-time maximum. My friends were buying rounds of Dollar Dogs like drinks, and to Twitter's delight, a guy in my section bought so many dollar dogs for his group of friends that they gave them to him in a carboard box. Only when the Brewers are in town, right? Overall, at least in the upper deck where I was, the vendors kept up with the demand, and no one left Target Field hungry (except perhaps Brewers fans, hungry for a win). Carlos Correa is definitely back, and fans are delighted. Fans still aren't on Max Kepler's side. After being booed at home earlier this season and assurances from many that he would return to familiar form soon, Correa continued his season breakout with Tuesday's dramatic walk-off home run and a massive two-run triple on Wednesday (not to mention he had a grand slam on 6/10 vs. the Blue Jays). As I wrote in a piece last month, slumps affect everyone, and fans should be patient with Correa rather than turn against someone who will be a franchise fixture for years to come. Finally, to everyone's relief and delight, Correa is back and is clearly feeling good, too: his wristwatch celebration after his walk-off home run is likely to be a defining image/ moment for the season and perhaps his career. However, on Tuesday night, when Max Kepler came in to pinch hit for Royce Lewis, there were audible boos from the stands. The boos were likely due to Kepler's struggles at the plate this season, and also Rocco Baldelli's perhaps confusing decision to pinch hit him for fan favorite Lewis. Kepler ended up drawing a walk that at bat, but fans' frustration was palpable. Other humorous in-stadium moments. The Twins put Brewers left fielder, Christian Yelich up on the video board during the lookalike segment, comparing him to comedian Pete Davidson. Unfortunately, Yelich did not seem to notice, though he is well aware of the comparison. I also spotted several laptops around Target Field during Wednesday's day game, where some fans were taking advantage of the Twins' excellent Wi-Fi to "work from home" at home (plate). That's all for now- see you around the ballpark! _ _ What were your series takeaways? Did you go to either game 1 or 2 of the Border Battle? What were your observations? Let us know in a COMMENT below.

As you’ve no doubt heard by now, in the 10th inning, with bases loaded, Alex Kirilloff was up to bat when home umpire Phil Cuzzi called two balls well outside the strike zone as strikes. Kirilloff ended up striking out. The calls were so egregious that even the Dodgers announcers, the beneficiaries of the bad calls, spoke out. Adding to the frustration was a questionable David Peralta RBI double down the first-base line that the Twins were not allowed to challenge. Further analysis shows that it was almost certainly a foul ball. After the game, the Twitter account Umpire Scorecards published its grade for Cuzzi, whose umpiring resulted in a jaw-dropping 1.39 run advantage for the Dodgers. Typical figures for this stat are in the decimals; hardly ever full runs. After the game, a chorus of frustrated Twins fans expressed dismay at the decidedly unfair outcome of the game. Regarding the Peralta double, manager Rocco Baldelli said, "We had other opportunities to separate and find ways to win the game on top of the things that we were able to do, but late in the game, when you’re just given a double on a ball that’s foul, I mean, that bothers you, yes." I thought Twins fan Shayla put the helpless frustration of the whole situation perfectly: Other fans had one message in mind: bring on the robot umps now. And pretty soon, this will likely be a reality, and hopefully fans like Shayla won't have to feel that poignant frustration. Twins Daily has extensively covered robot umps, most recently in a piece this past January highlighting that MLB will use two forms of the automatic strike zone (ABS), the challenge system and the fully automatic system, at all AAA ballparks in 2023. Star Tribune columnist LaVelle E. Neal III did a piece last week on using the automatic strike zone at St. Paul Saints games. Several days earlier, Twins Daily had an article on the ABS system and how it would be used. Triple-A plays six-game series, and MLB is testing out both types of ABS during each series. “For the first three games of a six-game series, the ABS calls balls and strikes. For the next three games, the umpire calls the game, with each team given three challenges. Managers aren’t allowed to challenge pitches, but the catcher, pitcher, or hitter can ask for one. The ABS is then used as the final arbiter,” Neal wrote. He noted that the first challenge in CHS field history occurred on May 5 (here is the Twins Daily Minor League Report which includes this example), where Nashville’s Andruw Monasterio challenged a low pitch by Simeon Woods Richardson by tapping his helmet, and the pitch was ruled a strike by the ABS, much to the crowd and team’s raucous delight. Despite MLB making no decisions on the use of ABS in the majors, it’s difficult to imagine that it won’t happen sometime soon: Triple-A is the last frontier for testing rule changes, and it seems in recent years that everything that makes it to Triple-A ends up in the majors too: this year it was the larger bases, pitch clock, and the shift ban. Furthermore, according to Neal’s piece, the pitch clock is popular among Saints players and coaches. “You get less complaining in the dugout because there is less to argue about. You watch the games on TV, and you want the umpires to be right. When a pitch is borderline, it’s a really hard job as an umpire back there to get everything right,” Gardenhire said. Whether or not MLB implements the challenge system or the full ABS would also need to be decided before hitting the majors. My take: the challenge system is the perfect happy medium. I am ok with there being some variation in umpire strike zones. Still, Monday’s game perfectly illustrates the pressing need to have a way of eliminating the most egregious, game-changing calls. A challenge system would have reversed both of Kirilloff’s calls, which the Twins absolutely would have challenged, assuming they still have challenges to use. Hopefully, the Twins would have scored in that one-out, bases-loaded situation with a sacrifice fly to the outfield. Now that the unjustified strikeout made it two outs, it was a completely different, game-defining situation. The ABS would not have saved the day regarding the Peralta double/foul ball. Hopefully this game sparks some discussion of increasing the number of situations in which a team can challenge a play. The Dodgers broadcast explained that teams can't challenge balls in front of the base umpire, and Peralta’s ball first hit the ground in front of home plate. To those who stayed up late on Monday night, it’s hard to argue that something doesn’t need to be done to eliminate bad calls: the stakes are simply too high, especially in game-changing situations, the postseason, and the rise of sports gambling. But disappointed Twins fans can take heart: hopefully, these egregious missed calls will likely soon be a thing of the past. _ _ Did you stay up late on Monday night to watch this extra-inning battle? How did you feel coming away from the game? Do you think ABS would solve a lot of frustration? If so, which of the two kinds of ABS do you prefer? Have you noticed it in use at a Saints game? Leave a COMMENT below.

I was sitting along the third baseline at the game, and the boos caught me off guard. Correa has had an abysmal start to the season; he’s batting .185, and to sum things up, his Baseball Savant page stats are primarily in the blue (poor) range. I thought the boos were coming from the scores of rowdy Padres fans crowding the lower deck, but I quickly realized that they were coming from Twins fans. Later that evening, I saw what stood out to me as one of the saddest sports quotes I have seen in a while. “I’d boo myself, too, with the amount of money I’m making, and I’m playing like that,” Correa said after the game. Despite his early season struggles, Correa does not deserve to get booed at home. Is it necessary to be hostile to our players, especially when they are holding themselves accountable? Look, I’m a lifelong Minnesota sports fan. I’ve been at Timberwolves games where the Wolves have been down by 20 or 30 at halftime, and I booed. I was at that putrid 2018 Vikings home loss vs. the at-the-time bottom feeder Bills with the Pioneer Press headline “Boos bombard Vikings in 27-6 loss to Bills at U.S. Bank Stadium,” and I joined in. I’m not trying to take a “Holier than Thou” position. And I know someone making $33 million a season doesn’t need my defense; after all, he’s the one who made that Dior store comment. Correa needs to be better, but he knows that. One doesn’t get to where he is in his career without being the fiercest competitor imaginable. Players are frustrated enough when they are struggling; when others are on their case, it makes it even worse. Plus, Correa is far from the only Twins player batting poorly right now. Slumps are a part of baseball. They come and go, and everyone goes through them. Fans boo a slumping Correa. What is he supposed to do about it? Try harder? It’s the truth that even when players are paid tons of money, it doesn’t mean they are not allowed to go through slumps. Plus, I wonder how much Correa’s back is still affecting him; he already missed time for it this season, and he was wearing what possibly looked like a heating pad in the dugout Tuesday night. I see a difference between booing the overall team based on a perceived lack of effort and booing a specific individual player who, by all accounts, is doing his best but is struggling. Twins fans might argue that because Correa is a team leader, criticism comes with the territory, and I do not deny that, and when you’re being paid that much, you probably should be subject to some extra scrutiny. Correa also gets his fair share of boos everywhere he goes because he was on the 2018 Astros. I don’t think we need to shed any tears for him. But what amount of money does a player need to be paid for him to be “justifiably” treated poorly? And when a fanbase turns against a player, it can get ugly. Those looking for an example need look no further than Joey Gallo’s time on the Yankees. Gallo said that he stopped going out in public in New York because of the ugly treatment he received from Yankees fans. “A bunch of [players on other teams reached out to offer support],” Gallo told Randy Miller. “It makes me feel like a piece of s--t, honestly. I remember playing here with the Rangers, watching guys get booed off the field and thinking, ‘Holy s--t! I feel bad for that guy.’ Now it’s me. I do appreciate people reaching out, but it makes me feel like I’m a problem,” Gallo said. After being traded to the Yankees in July 2021, Gallo hit .160 in 188 at-bats across 58 games. In 2022, he batted .159 in 233 at-bats over 82 games before being traded to the Dodgers at the trade deadline. Based on Gallo’s comments, suggesting that the hostility of the environment contributed to his extended slump is not outrageous. I’m not suggesting this is going to happen in Minnesota. If Correa went to the grocery store, even when he’s slumping, fans would crowd him in adoration and ask for a picture. But when I read Correa’s postgame quote, I couldn’t help but think: “What are we, Yankees fans?” Will booing make you feel better? Will booing motivate Correa more? Based on his full comments, Correa is already blaming no one but himself. He doesn't blame you for booing, but it doesn't mean you have to do it. It’s still early in the season. Correa’s bat will heat up; it always does. He’s a proven star. And according to a piece by Dan Hayes, Carlos Correa’s recent metrics suggest his slump is close to over. Correa will be with the Twins for years; the least fans can do is show him a little grace while he’s working through whatever he is battling.