Sarah

I was also sad to see this, really enjoyed reading his work. Best wishes to him.

Yeah, the T-Bones are in Kansas City, Kansas which is right across the state line from Kansas City, Missouri. I went when I was there to watch the Royals and Twins - the T-Bones ballpark is very nice and not hard to find, I would recommend it. And for anyone who is an outdoorsy type there is also a HUGE Cabela's right by the ballpark. Rooting for the Saints to celebrate a championship there this weekend!

One of my favorite episodes was just on the other night - the one where Kramer burns himself with hot coffee and George offers a chair to the security guard and then the store gets robbed because the security guard falls asleep in the chair.

I think you're right IndianaTwin, starting at home on March 28th is going to be...interesting but I'm also a big college basketball fan and can't wait until we have the Final Four here so I can't complain too much.

I have faith Levine can talk them into Javier Baez.

You gotta love Go-Go. It's funny I was saying recently that it surprised me when I looked and saw that he only played two years with the Twins. Seems like he played with them for longer - he packed a lot of excitement into those two years!

You're welcome - it was fun to watch, beautiful day for baseball and the Saints won!

If anyone is interested and gets KSTC Channel 45 (local station, it's channel 12 for me on Comcast) the Saints game is going to be televised this Sunday at 5 pm.

Definitely agree with your top two - both PNC and AT&T Park are spectacular overall. I was also pleasantly surprised with Citi Field (okay, I had been to Shea Stadium which was a colossal dump so I had low expectations). I hate the new Yankee Stadium (not just because I'm a Twins fan, I liked old Yankee Stadium) but I would definitely go back to Citi Field. Time flies - next year will be the Twins 10th year at Target Field. I still look around when I'm sitting there and say "It's a beautiful day for baseball." Having grown up going to games in the Metrodome...it just doesn't get old.

Really enjoyed watching him in the super regionals and College World Series and saw him in person when he was at Target Field. Hope he has a great career for the Twins and won't hold it against him that his team beat the Gophers...much. :-)

One of the things I thought was interesting about the series is when they talked about how the NBA is overtaking baseball in popularity among young people. I was just thinking about this because I went to a sports analytics conference in June and there were a LOT of presentations about basketball statistics. Basketball is my winter sport but I don't follow the NBA closely (mostly watch college and prep basketball) so I guess I don't know but I'm wondering if the same thing will happen in the NBA at some point - people will be complaining that all of this analysis is taking over the game? Or will it not matter since (as some have mentioned) basketball is better at marketing its players so people will still be interested?

I was the opposite John - when my sister went to college in San Diego first I went to visit her when she was a freshman and we went to a game at Qualcomm Stadium. They were building Petco Park at the time and she said, "I suppose you'll be back to visit me when the new ballpark opens, huh?" I told her, "You know me so well." And then of course I did so I agree that Petco is a very nice ballpark. Maybe it's because I'm a Minnesotan and I'm just jealous but I guess I discount that ballpark somewhat because the weather is almost always so lovely in San Diego that they could play in a paper box and it wouldn't matter.

I am always ducking so will probably never get one but one memorable time was when I had front row seats down the left field line so I took both of my nephews. When the ballboy gave one of them a ball the other one yelled "WHY DOES LOUIE GET EVERYTHING???" The people around us thought that was pretty funny.

Randy Moss hood ornament night was pretty clever too...

I'll be at the Twins games tonight and Saturday and will try not to ask my friends "I wonder what Matt Capps is doing now?" whenever Ramos comes up. I mean, it's not like he's an All-Star or anything.

I just got done watching the College World Series and the way we're going this season maybe we'll get high enough in the draft to get Adley Rutschman?

I know it's a cliche (maybe because it's true) but you knew Oregon State was going to win the College World Series after that. Congrats to them though, they were an excellent team and took advantage of getting a second life after that mistake by Arkansas. And the Twins newest guy did well, looking forward to seeing him progress through the minors. Given our offense so far this season, maybe we'll be bad enough to draft Rutschman next year.

I don't know much about soccer but it's cool that it's coming here in 2026 - I'd go to one of those games, seems like a fun atmosphere.

I liked his show as well. Tragic.

Thank you! The game I got the general admission ticket to was for the TCU-Texas A&M game on Tuesday afternoon. I didn't have any trouble getting into that game with a general admission ticket but I know for the Oregon State-LSU game on Monday night (one of the marquee matchup of the series in prime time) the line stretched forever and I'm sure some people didn't get in. They will tell you if you buy a general admission ticket you can use it for another game but that doesn't really do you much good if you are only there for a few days like I was. As I recall general admission tickets were about $15 and reserved tickets were about $40 so I didn't mind paying about $25 to be guaranteed admission since I wanted to make sure I could get in for at least one game. The ushers who are in charge of the general admission line will do their best to tell you if they think you will be getting in or not but of course there are no guarantees with those tickets. Hope this helps, it's a great experience if you get a chance to go!

Will this be the year the Gophers make it to the College World Series? Currently ranked #11 in the country, they will start regionals next week. Last summer, I had the opportunity to travel to Omaha for the first time to attend the College World Series. I know I’m getting close to college baseball’s epicenter when I tune in AM 1620 The Zone and hear the broadcasters talking about how the strike zone is a little tighter during the tournament than it is in the regular season. I am here at the beginning of this nearly two week June event and get to see three games featuring Louisiana State, Florida (the eventual national champion), Texas Christian, Texas A&M, Oregon State and Louisville. There is a 26 page preview section in the Omaha World Herald including a full page advertisement for TCU that declares “Horned Frogs know how to swing for the fences.” (I will learn TCU’s signature move after they score is fans and players alike who raise both hands and cup their fingers into a curved motion, a gesture somewhat similar to the University of Texas’s “Hook ‘Em Horns.” Must be a Texas thing.) The College World Series is currently played at TD Ameritrade Park and, with a capacity of approximately 24,000, it is a sizable stadium located in downtown Omaha across the street from their convention center. The convention center housed a Baseball Hall of Fame traveling exhibit which I didn’t visit because, having been to Cooperstown, I wanted to put a higher priority on watching games. This new ballpark opened in 2011 and I heard from locals who waxed nostalgic about beloved Rosenblatt Stadium as opposed to the new facility’s larger, corporate feel. As it is a very humid summer day in Nebraska, I appreciate that the new ballpark features drink rails, allowing me to eat my turkey burger out of the sun. (Not surprisingly during the afternoon game, the seats in the sun are only sparsely populated but the seats in the shade are nearly full.) After seeing me diligently filling out my scorecard, a man in a LSU t-shirt asks me what team I’m here for. Just a baseball fan from Minnesota enjoying the atmosphere, I answer. “Oh, you’re from Minnesota,” he replies in a lush, southern drawl. “So let me ask you this – whatever happened to Joe Mauer? Seemed like he was on a path to become a Hall of Fame catcher for awhile, right?” Wherever I have traveled to watch baseball, I am always amazed at how easy it is to talk about the game with perfect strangers. You can either pay more and get a reserved seat (which guarantees you admission) or buy a $15 general admission ticket (which can be used for any game but does not guarantee admission). The game I bought a general admission ticket for I didn’t have any trouble getting in but was told that for the more popular games the line stretches down 10th Street and some wait for hours in the hot sun. Fans wander leisurely through the ballpark if their team isn’t playing, which can be a problem for those concentrating on the game. When someone got up as the ball was being put into play I heard a guy behind me grumble, “Well, that was a hell of a play – I could almost see it.” A lot of school spirit resonates through the innings, from chants of “Let’s Go Aggies” to playing the school fight song after each team scores. But mostly it’s just an enjoyable place to be for those who love the game – the crowd groans as a baserunner is thrown out at third after trying to tag up from second on a short fly ball to right field. (I remember that play because the out was recorded 9-6-5. Yes, the runner got such a bad jump that the shortstop had time to cut the ball off and spin and throw to the third baseman to get the runner easily. There was an interesting conversation in the dugout after that miscue.) I stopped at the visitor center by the Old Market and they told me where I could park for free – I had to get there early but that left time for a leisurely stroll along the riverfront. When I’m walking to the ballpark, I see Blue Jays everywhere and have to remind myself that it means Creighton, not Toronto. Boys Town, which is located west of downtown, featured an exhibit on the history of baseball at the orphanage, including visits by Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig. Across the street from TD Ameritrade Park is the Omaha Baseball Village, essentially a large parking lot scattered with big tents for private parties and a plethora of vendors selling more t-shirts than I have ever seen in my life. (Well, there are eight teams, I reasoned…and as teams got eliminated their merchandise was marked down 50%.) I stop to take a picture of the sign with all of the cities listed and their distances from Omaha and am momentarily startled when I turn around to see a giant beaver sticking off the next table. (Clearly an Oregon State supporter.) The banner hanging near the main entrance sports the current tagline of the College World Series (“The greatest show on dirt”) and I remember the one from when I was younger (“Where the stars of tomorrow play today”). The results of the games I attended are lost in my memory but I do remember seeing some top draft picks including Brendan McKay and Dalton Guthrie (son of former Twin Mark Guthrie). To take a break from TD Ameritrade Park, I made the one-hour drive to Lincoln to see a Saltdogs game, although unfortunately they were not playing the St. Paul Saints that night. On my way out of town, I stopped at Hy Vee to get a salad for lunch and noticed a middle aged woman shopping in a LSU cheerleading outfit, complete with LSU hairbows and an LSU ankle bracelet. What a fun atmosphere for baseball.

I was at the game on Tuesday and thought exactly the same thing. I'm really glad that happened (not just because we took the lead, there's that...) because it showed that Buxton doesn't even have to get down a great bunt (although that bunt was good) but he just has to get down a decent bunt and stuff like that is going to happen. I'm shocked that the pitcher committed an error though, aren't they supposed to be the best athlete on the team? My favorite game of the year so far - great pitching performance by Berrios, clutch hitting so he got rewarded with the win AND it was a beautiful night for baseball!

I really wanted to attend this but I was out of town (on vacation so can't complain too much). Thanks for the recap, look forward to reading your coverage of the Saints this season. Can't wait to go to CHS Field again soon!

I have been there for several Gopher baseball games and yeah, it's not the greatest facility for baseball but considering we had the coldest game in Twins history a couple of weeks ago it is definitely more comfortable than that. One of the Gopher games I was at this spring was an afternoon game when it was sunny and it was nice. I've heard it's not going to be available next spring because of the Final Four so I will miss being able to get my baseball fix indoors in March. The concessions are horrible though - definitely eat before you go. And the seats are not very comfortable, the ones at Target Field are much better.

I noticed that Carlos Gomez now plays for the Rays too in addition to Wilson Ramos and Denard Span - looking forward to watching the games this weekend!