Take Me Out To The Ballgame

   One advantage to working part time is the opportunity to do things I've never done before. Today C and I went to a Minnesota Twins game at Target Field.
  The last time I went to a Twins game was long before I was married. They were still playing in the Metrodome. Our seats were so far up and so far away that one wouldn't know baseball game was going on. Needless to say it was not much fun.
  For awhile there it looked like we might not get to go. Target Field is an open air venue. If it rains, then the game would have been cancelled. It did rain in earlier in the morning, but by the time the game was supposed to start the chance of rain had gone down quite a bit.
  We were going to go with a family we know from church. We decided that the best way to get there was on the light rail system. I was excited to ride the light rail again. We had done it before once when we went downtown to eat a few years back. The trains are clean and get you where you want to go fairly quickly. Taking the light rail would eliminate the hassle of parking and the parking fees.
  Things were a little discombobulated as we had not really planned where we  were going to meet and if we were going to ride together. It turned out that the family was running late and we took the train ahead of them. It worked out because we were able to buy the tickets and have them by the time they arrived.
  There was some security to go through but it was minimal. All I had was an umbrella, a cell phone and a pair of binoculars that C insisted on bringing. The first thing we did was to go the level where we where going to sit. We got some food. C got a hamburger and I got some chicken strips. We both got large drinks in plastic cups as a souvenir. We found our seats and began to eat. The chicken strips were really good as were the fries. The drinks were a little watery, but that was all right.
  The one thing I liked is that although we were high up, we were not so far away that we couldn't see. There was a large screen that showed a picture of the player that was currently at bat along the a running box score. As I looked around I noticed a few more things. Right over the place where the pitcher warms up the pitcher's stats were displayed along with how fast each pitch was thrown and what kind of pitch it was. Behind the batter it showed the speed of the hit ball and how far the ball went.
  I discovered two things about myself that I didn't know. The first was that I could understand most of the abbreviations that were on the scoreboard. The second is that I am a bit of a stats geek. At one point I missed watching a player hit a homerun and get two other players home as well because I was looking to see what the speed of the hit ball was. I also noticed the bat boy constantly tossing balls to the umpire behind home plate. This caused me to wonder how many balls are used during an average game.
  Despite the fact that baseball moves a bit slow I found that I was having a lot of fun watching. I figured out that when the infielders converge on the pitcher's mound, it means that a new pitcher is going to come in. I discovered that there really is a seventh inning stretch and that people do sing "Take Me Out to The Ballgame" during it. I also saw a lot of batters somehow manage to hit the ball behind them as opposed to in front of them. (C explained this to me, but I still done get it.)
   As the game was winding down we wandered around for a bit. During the game there are some times when we heard bits of organ music. I assumed that it was a tape. It is not. There is an actual woman who plays a real organ. We saw her. She plays a Yamaha organ and according to the article I found in the Star Tribune has been doing so for many years.
  We sat on the second level for a little bit and them moved to the first level to watch the end of the game. I wish I could have said that the Twins won, but they didn't. For part of the game it looked like they might be able to fight their way back. C, always a good fan, immediately turned his ball cap inside out and put it on with the bill to the side. I learned that this is a rally cap.
  After the game was over we walked closer to the field to take a few pictures. We were asked to leave by some staff people as there was going to be another game later and the stadium needed to be cleaned. That was going to be a big job. I saw peanut shells on the ground, more beer cans than I could count and food everywhere. I didn't envy the job of the cleaning crew.
   We walked back to the platform where the trains came in and waited for one going our direction. We climbed aboard when one arrived and were able to find seats. It was a pleasant ride home knowing that we were not going to have to worry about less than sober drivers on the road or heavy traffic.
  Baseball season is nearly over so we will not get to see another game this year. Next year I hope to be back. (Hopefully, the Twins will win.)