Greetings and salutations, blog faithful. I’m going to start this Thursday Blog Day with the first part of the headline, and then transition into other thoughts, memories, and questions. So, sure, it might ramble a little but we all have our First Class Rambling Licenses so we can handle it.
The first part of the headline is the phrase “Right On Target” and if you follow me on Facebook or Twitter you likely know what the reference is. I try to keep the “cross pollination” at a minimum when it comes to this blog versus my other social media, but the minimum in that regard is really a fairly high threshold because all of this stuff is about what I’m up to, where I’m going, what’s important at the time, and other nonsense. Yes, I posted a ton of photographs on Facebook, about what Barbara and I did on Tuesday night, but I’m going to repeat that on the blog today.
Here in our Woodbury neighborhood, we’re extremely fortunate to have great neighbors, just like we were in the old neighborhood, and our older neighborhood in Austin (way back when.) Just as with your parents, you can’t pick your neighbors, so we know how fortunate we’ve been in that regard. Both of our next-door neighbors, in our new neighborhood, already lived here when we bought this house. Jerry and Janice live to our left while Frank and Janelle live to our right. They are two fantastic couples with great families.
Recently, Janelle let us know that she and Frank had won a fantastic item at a charity auction, and they invited us to tag along with them on the adventure. It was a private tour of Target Field, the magnificent ballpark that is home to our Minnesota Twins. We accepted immediately, and on Tuesday night we joined them and eight other fine family members and friends for the event.
The Twins were on the road, so the ballpark was empty and that was a good thing for us. We could not have done many of the things that were highlights of the tour had the team been in town.
John Avenson is a Vice President for the Twins, with the title of VP – Technology. That means he’s really smart, and really in touch with just about everything that goes on at Target Field. As a bonus, he’s also a fantastic tour guide, so the whole thing was incredibly enlightening and enjoyable.
You might recall that a couple of years ago my college baseball buddies, Lance, Oscar, and Radar all came to the Twin Cities for our annual reunion, and the Twins rolled out the red carpet with another guided tour. That one was led by their historian and curator Clyde Doepner, so it focused heavily on the history of the team, much incredible memorabilia, and a trip to the field for the visiting team’s batting practice. On this tour, John took us through some of the same parts of the ballpark, but he really focused on the amazing stuff that most fans probably don’t even think about. Target Field is more than just a place for ballgames and hot dogs. It’s a technological marvel that utilizes a vast amount of technology to not only make the games happen, but to also make the fan experience the best it can be. It’s also an architectural marvel, and evidence of forward-thinking design and expert craftsmanship are all around you anywhere you go at Target Field. The fact they shoe-horned one of the best ballparks in baseball onto a site that was not much bigger than a downtown square block, and made it feel both enormous and cozy at the same time, is almost beyond belief.
It’s also fantastically green, both in a color sense and in terms of ecology. So much is repurposed, recycled, and re-used it’s mind-blowing, and again that’s probably not something most fans even know about. They just see a world-class venue and enjoy some good eats while rooting on their favorite team.
We got an “up close and personal” trip all through the park, hitting every level and going places only people like our guide John can visit, with his electronic pass key getting us through too many doors to count. We visited club spaces, various private lounge areas built around displays honoring Harmon Killebrew, Rod Carew, Kirby Puckett, and many other Twins greats from the past.
We toured the press box and enjoyed a lengthy visit to the upper level box where “Scoreboard Control” is located. Considering I’ve been around ballparks and baseball my whole life, but I still had no idea how complex and high tech this room is, I’m sure it’s another of of those things that typical fans never think about. It looks like Mission Control at NASA combined with with Master Control at a major TV network. Dozens of talented people work there for every home game, making it all happen. Those images, replays, stats, and fun videos don’t just pop up on the HD giant screen by themselves.
We were amazed by the amount of “super computing” that’s constantly going on in terms of the park, the concessions, WiFi for fans, and all the tech that keeps the scoreboards, PA system, and even the ticketing system humming. And all the wiring and super-cooling that keeps it all going as well.
There’s a whole “behind the scenes” universe at work in a ballpark as advanced as Target Field, and the tour through those parts of the park was really eye-opening for me.
Our guide John also took great pride in pointing out as many details as he could, making us “look around” to appreciate things that normally go unseen. The enormous care taken with the many miles of color-coded cable and wiring is breathtaking. It’s basically perfect.
He made it clear (and I knew this already, to a great degree) how much the Pohlad family, who own the Twins, have spent whatever it takes to upgrade the park and make changes that enhance it, and how their vision of this world-class place is apparent all around. You might attend dozens of games at Target Field and never bother to look up when you’re on the main concourse. John pointed out the fully “finished” look of the place. There’s nothing industrial or cluttered about it, despite the fact most other ballparks, stadiums, and arenas really don’t pay much attention to that sort of thing.
Target Field is also incredibly clean, even in places the public can’t see. The Twins and the Pohlad family are very proud of that, and it’s just another example of sparing no expense to make it the best place, and the best experience, from top to bottom. It’s impressive, to say the least. I’ll never attend another game without appreciating all those little details, and the areas of the park where the original design didn’t work, so they took the time and spent the money to make it better.
We also got to do quite a bit more in terms of the baseball experience, and that was a great deal of fun that was also one of the things we couldn’t have done if the team was in town. When Clyde took Lance, Radar, Oscar and me to the lower levels where fans can’t go, we couldn’t go in the visiting clubhouse because the Cleveland team was in there. The dugout was off-limits as well, of course.
John took us in the visitor’s clubhouse and I was right back at home, although I never had a baseball “home” anywhere close to that nice. It was roomy, had its own snack and catering room, and everything about it was first class. Right outside the clubhouse was a full indoor batting cage, as well.
Some things never change, though, and it didn’t take a lot of imagination for me to feel like I was 23 again, reaching for my bat in the rack and pulling my helmet, with my number on it, out of its rack as well. I could practically smell the pine tar. After all, the magnificent stadium is something I can’t relate to, but the mound at Target Field is the same 60-feet and 6-inches from home plate. The bases are the same 90-feet apart. In my playing career, I hit many balls far enough to make it to the seats for a home run. I also struck out enough to never forget the trudge back to the dugout and the replacing of that bat and helmet back in their places. It’s just baseball. It’s the same. Just on a much bigger and grander stage.
It was a phenomenal tour led by the perfect tour guide. Huge thanks to Frank and Janelle for inviting us along to spend the evening with the whole group. Gigantic thanks to the Twins and John Avenson for making this all happen. And kudos to everyone who works for the ball club and the stadium. Your attention to detail is impeccable.
Barbara and I spent eight years as Twins season ticket holders when they played at the old Metrodome. It had its own charms and quirks, and you always knew you were going to see a game no matter the weather outside, but the first time we set foot in Target Field we recognized the huge leap the team had made.
There are certainly many parks in MLB now that are cutting edge in terms of technology, architecture, fantastic sight lines, and fan comfort no matter the level or the seat. There are probably a few with the same wide variety of fantastic food and drinks you find at Target Field, with a number of clubs or lounges open to all ticket holders. Maybe there’s a “tie” in terms of best baseball experience, but I personally believe there’s no ballpark in the world that is better than Target Field. Yeah, I’m a little biased but I honestly believe that to be true.
OK, on now to other topics…
Here in Minnesota we are located in what those on each coast consider “fly over territory.” We’re just out here in the middle of the USA and we aren’t thought of much. We have facilities like Target Field, US Bank Stadium, Target Center, and soon we’ll have Allianze Field for our Minnesota United MLS team. They’re all world class. We have phenomenal museums, wonderful parks, fantastic restaurants, a vibrant arts and theater scene, and some of the friendliest people on Earth. Yet, the most publicity we tend to get is news video of blizzards or ice fishing.
That all changed over the last couple of days, thanks to an adorable daredevil raccoon. She was hunting for something to eat near a St. Paul skyway in downtown, when she got a little stranded on a ledge. So, as you probably know, our little friend started climbing. All 38 stories. She had to stop and rest a few times, but she kept going. The higher she went, the more attention she got.
Social media was buzzing. The major TV networks covered her climb. Even the New York Times printed her story. And she made it to the top, a little tired and quite hungry, but she made it. And after she entered the trap, she was relocated to the suburbs and set free. I wonder if she knows what a superstar she became.
Our other local pro baseball team, the St. Paul Saints, are going to rename themselves the St. Paul Raccoons for one upcoming home game. Knowing the Saints and their reputation for fun, I’m sure they will make that game one unforgettable evening.
Next subject: I’ve been selling a lot of books the last few weeks, which is a fun thing. And, with a bunch of new people diving into it I’ve been getting a lot of emails and social media messages about various topics. Many of them were also fun. Chris Lindhart wrote and asked me who the best baseball players I ever played with or against were. The answers: The single best player I ever played against was Cal Ripken Jr., but if you read the book you know he was actually pretty terrible when we were in the Class-A Appalachian League at the same time. Let’s just say that he got a lot better in a hurry. Pitcher Jesse Orosco, infielder Julio Franco, and outfielder Lloyd Moseby are all on the short list of best players I played against in pro ball. Some of the others, though, were guys I played against after my pro career, when I was on the Sauget Wizards semipro team. When you play (and beat) the USA National team, you’re playing against some great players. Bret Boone, Fernando Vina, and Jeromy Burnitz all went on to great Major League careers. And we can’t forget some of the guys I played with before my brief pro career, when I spent much of the summer of 1977 playing for the Danville Roosters in the Central Illinois Collegiate League. Sharing a dugout and clubhouse with the likes of Charlie Leibrandt and Andy McGaffigan was an honor.
Christine Meyers wrote to tell me she’d been a huge indoor soccer fan just like I was, before I became the GM of three different franchises. She wondered, “What happened to indoor soccer? It seemed so popular back then, and it was a great sport to watch.” The answer is a long story, and indoor soccer still exists, but I think it was a deal where it was the right sport, at the right time, but it never had enough financial backing to have staying power. Plus, back in the heyday of the MISL, outdoor soccer was not all that popular and a lot of fans found the fast pace and high scoring in the indoor game more appealing. Decades later, now, the outdoor game is enormously popular and successful, both in terms of Major League Soccer on this side of the world and the super leagues in Europe and South America. I have many friends who avidly follow teams in the Premier League, the Bundesliga, or other leagues. And now, even though the USA didn’t make the tournament, the World Cup is going to be captivating the whole world for the next few weeks. Back in the 80s and 90s, indoor soccer had its moment in the limelight.
And, Frank Hartley wrote to kindly say, “Your dad must’ve been a helluva ballplayer to play in the big leagues for a decade when there were only eight teams in each league.” Yes, he was. He was “major league” as a dad, too. Miss him every day, and I’m struck by how often he comes to visit me in my dreams. He made an appearance in one just last night, and when he’s in my dreams it’s never about baseball. It’s about a father and a son.
Finally, in the NHRA world we lost one of the legends this week. Tom “The Mongoose” McEwen passed away at 81. I met him many times, but really didn’t know him on a personal basis. He was always kind and accessible. That’s the great thing about drag racing. Many of the legends still walk among us, and talk to us, and spin tales of their own careers, whether it’s Don “The Snake” Prudhomme, or Shirley Muldowney, or Kenny Bernstein, or even “Big Daddy” Don Garlits. The Snake and The Mongoose changed the sport forever, with their ability to not only be great racers but also great marketing partners. Sponsorship, as we know it now, is a direct descendent of the great Snake and Mongoose rivalry, especially in their Hot Wheels sponsored Funny Cars. The movie made about them a few years back is terrific, and I think I’ll watch it again tonight. Rest in peace, Mongoose. You are greatly missed.
So there you have it for another week. The NHRA Mello Yello tour is in Bristol this weekend, and that’s a place and a track I always loved to visit. It’s not an easy or cheap place to get to, but once you’re there it’s marvelous. I’ll be following along on NHRA All-Access and on TV, as the Top Fuel Dragsters and Nitro Funny Cars create perfect examples of why Bristol Dragway is known as Thunder Valley. You haven’t enjoyed the full NHRA experience until you’ve heard the echoes reverberate after every run. It’s a great stadium, a wonderful area, and a lot of fun. It doesn’t hurt that Bristol was also the first place I put on a uniform as a pro baseball player. There was a grand slam involved, too.
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See you next week!
Bob Wilber, at your service and Right On Target.