Out with the old ... In with the NEW

This was the title of my last column I wrote about outdoor Major League Baseball, when the Minnesota Twins played a memorable weekend series last June at Wrigley Field. Some great Twins fans from International Falls were there, a lot of Twins fans in general were there and just the sight of the Twins in the summer sun was a great “I’ll be talking about this in 20 years” experience.

But wait … there’s more. A lot more.

No offense to the Rainy River Community College baseball team, but last Saturday was owned by Target Field. I’ll never forget my first and only time playing in the Metrodome — and many of the RRCC players won’t, either — but I’ll also never forget the first time I stepped into a completed Target Field.

March 27, 2010.

Maybe it was the 28 years of indoor baseball under a dirty Teflon roof.

Maybe it was always noticing shortstops fielding ground balls on top of a faded 50-yard line.

Maybe it was the stale, thick air that made people feel flushed by the third inning.

Maybe it was years of tweaking your body in uncomfortable blue seats to try and face home plate.

Or maybe it was just the sea of blue seats, which never reminded anybody of blue sky.

Whatever it was that made Target Field completely awesome on Saturday morning — I want more of it.

It took 14 years for the Twins to get a new field, and it definitely has the “it” factor. You’ve heard of star athletes having “it,” and Target Field is no different, plus the goose bumps.

No more troughs in the bathrooms, no more baggy, no more catching baseballs off speakers and definitely no more tired legs from walking up and down 50 steep cement stairs to get to your seat.

“The escalators are like, new,” a glowing college roommate of mine said Saturday at the field.

I don’t like bloody marys, yet the sight of one in the Legends Club box (you could walk anywhere) on Saturday morning was too good to pass up. It’s the best $12 bloody mary I’ve ever had.

Fans everywhere were snapping photos, and it was common place to see a fan sitting by themselves talking on the phone, smiling and trying to describe the awesomeness to the person on the other line.

More than 37,757 people came through the turnstiles Saturday to take a look, and I guarantee every one of them left impressed by something, even the rube in the University of North Dakota hockey jersey who stuck out like a sore Joe Nathan elbow (too soon?).

“Drew Brees sucks,” yelled a Gophers fan when Louisiana Tech took the field for the first time, but the game hardly mattered.

“The number one word we heard from people today was, ‘incredible,’” Twins spokesman Kevin Smith told the Associated Press.

I’m a bias and homer Twins fan. I’ve never lived in a house short of plastic cups because I try and grab a handful after every Twins game (that “handful” increased to 20-30 cups after every game in college). A Twins blanket is draped over the recliner in my living room. I could fashion an extra-thick, king-sized bed comforter out of all my homer hankies. One of my future pets will be named Kirby, and when there’s a second pet, there’s a good chance it’ll be named Hunter, Hrbek, Eddie, Mauer or Jacque Jones.

It would be hard to find someone who wanted Target Field to be as cool as it was besides myself, and I give it a “I got a 35 on my ACT” grade. (DISCLAIMER: This grade dramatically decreases when rain or snow is in the forecast, but that’s for another time).

Which brings me to Saturday night.

After all that Target Field had to offer earlier in the day, walking into the Metrodome was a bore. Not even the first-game giddiness from the Voyageurs rubbed off on me. I tried visiting the golden seat in left-center field where Kirby Puckett’s epic home run in Game 6 of the 1991 World Series landed. Nothing. I even tried sticking my gum up in the Twins dugout just like I did as a sophomore in college to try and get the juices flowing. Nothing.

The Metrodome had a good run, mostly because it was all we had, but it’s time for Target Field.

It’s time for Kentucky bluegrass and Tony O’s Cuban sandwiches. There’s Angie’s Kettle Corn, Kramarczuk sausages, Minnesota wild rice soup and J.D. Hoyt’s pork chop on-a-stick.

The Dome Dog might be a thing of the past, but now there’s the Dinger Dog, Juicy Lucy, The Loon Cafe chili, Frankie V’s Italian and Halsey’s sausage haus.

Need a bar and grill? Try Hrbek’s, the Town Ball Tavern or a Twins Pub located around the field.

Opening Day is April 12, Joe Mauer Bat Day is May 23 and Denard Span Jersey Day is May 30.

I have 184 million reasons to continue, but my mouth is watering, my hands want to start fist-pumping and I’m about to let out a WHEW! in the office ... and it’s 2 in the morning.

So long Metrodome. What’s up Target Field.

It’s got a great ring to it.