Mason: Top 10 Metrodome Twins Moments

[Parker Hageman]

 

The old girl set for destruction on January 18, 2014. There will like be no tears shed over the building itself but most likely over the memories created therein.

 

FSN's Tyler Mason posted his Top 10 Twins Metrodome memories:

 

http://www.foxsportsnorth.com/mlb/minnesota-twins/story/Top-10-Metrodome-moments-in-Twins-histor?blockID=974127&amp%3BfeedID=5930#.UrMuQjHJPBQ.twitter

 

What do you think? Agree or disagree? Do you have other memories of your own?

[Otto von Ballpark]

I will shed tears over the building. If you sat in the right spot, it was a fine place to watch a night game. (Day games from seats facing straight into left field, not so much.) And the prices! Oh, what great prices they were...

 

Not much to disagree with in the list, if you are looking for the most significant moments rather than trivia-type moments (i.e. Dave Kingman, or when the AC went out, or when there was no AC). I don't think much of the 3,000th hits or no-hitters -- maybe subbing the final game of the 2006 season for one of those would be appropriate. The game itself wasn't that meaningful, but the way the fans stuck around afterward to watch Detroit lose on the Jumbotron was pretty cool.

 

Johan's record 17 K game was a good one. I loved the July 2006 win over Jeremy Bonderman too -- almost selling out a 3 game series at the Dome in July, for a then-third-place Twins club, was pretty amazing.

 

Maybe 2002 ALDS Game 4 should get more love? It was a potential elimination game for us. Also, 2002 ALCS Game 1 would be a lot better remembered if the series hadn't gone so poorly after it (same for the August 2005 game where Jones' HR ended Freddy Garcia's perfect game in the 8th -- that win ultimately did not prove to be much help in the standings!).

[Willihammer]

I heard when it comes time to deflate the Metrodome they are going to bring in Gary Anderson to attempt a 38 yard field goal.

 

-Barreiro's joke

[Marta Shearing]

I remember being embarrassed for the state of Minnesota whenever there was a nationally televised game.

[Thrylos]

Being there for most of those, I got to say that 1987 was much ahead of 1991. First title in MLB or NFL in Minnesota. Big thing. In 1991 we kinda knew it was going to happen and that the Twins will not lose at home and win it all out, because of 1987.

 

And I am ranking those from a fans' perspective not individual performance perspective

 

1.I'd put as number one the single biggest impromptu people driven athletic moments in history. What he has as number 5. 60,000 of us for a good reason stormed downtown and the Metrodome. Things like that just do not happen. It was unbelievable and hair raising. It was like Occupy Metrodome in a time and place before the word of mouth could be spread by social media. 60,000 plus people had the same thought at the same time and acted. Never happened before will never happen again in the sports world... He was probably too young to remember (if he was born) Not exactly the same as marching to break the Berlin Wall, but a lot of similar elements.

 

2. Last pitch of the 1987 series. (what he has as #3)

 

3. Last pitch of the 1991 series (what he has as #2)

 

4. And we'll see you tomorrow night (what he has as #1; cannot be ahead 2 WS wins)

 

5. 10/7/1987: The first postseason game in the dome and the first time a local paper gave away something called the "homer hanky". 55,000 crazy fans were waving it and screaming at the Tigers' pitchers' windups making the dome a hell house for visitors. And it continued to be until the Twins' fall. Remember the decibel meters? Good luck seeing this today in a ball park (unranked)

 

6. Sunday September 27, 1987. Against the Royals. Crowd of 55,000. Last regular season game in the dome. With Blyleven starting, Pucket, Hrbek and Gaetti all hit HRs leading the Twins to and 8-1 victory and having them up 6 games in the division with 6 to play in Arlington. All they needed was to win one. And they did win just that one. But at that point we all knew that the Twins have made it to the post-season (unranked)

 

7. 4/12/2002. Home opener. The one that might had not happened if Carl Pohlad and Bud Selig had their way (unranked)

 

8. Hrbek's grand slam (#6 in his list)

 

9. Dan Gladden's grand slam to cap a 7 run inning in game 1 of 1987 (unranked).

 

10. Kirby's memorial (#10 in his list)

 

 

And opposing players hitting milestones ranks really last on my list of any moments in sports...

 

So many of those things one can put, there is just not enough space...

[Squirrel]

Just reading that list made me a shed a tear.

[Otto von Ballpark]

7. 4/9/2001. Home opener. The one that might had not happened if Carl Pohlad and Bud Selig had their way (unranked)

 

I think the "serious" contraction talk was after the 2001 season, so it would have been the 2002 home opener, correct?

 

http://www.infoplease.com/spot/contractiontimeline1.html

 

I don't think that contraction was ever that serious, though. I attended those home openers and I don't recall anything special in the air (cue "no smoking in the Metrodome").

 

Since I was in elementary school for 87 and 91, I'd probably not represent them as much as you, but those are by far the two best years of Metrodome moments.

 

The 2001 Yankees/Knoblauch game would probably sneak on my personal list -- for the first time since I was a kid, the Twins felt seriously relevant again.

[MileHighTwinsFan]

Have to include Kingman's dome ball and the thunderstorm game vs. the Angels that tore a hole in the roof and after the storm passed, Ron Davis promptly blew the save.

 

Unique dome moments

[Thrylos]

I think the "serious" contraction talk was after the 2001 season, so it would have been the 2002 home opener, correct?

 

 

Yeah. Noticed that in my proofreading and corrected it. Getting old

[Cris E]

The truest, most Metrodome game I can recall was against the White Sox on Saturday, October 4, 1986 (http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/MIN/MIN198610040.shtml)

 

Greg Gagne hit two inside the park HR and a triple, mostly off of Daryl Boston in CF. Boston looked like he was trying to freeze the puck against the fence on all three, but to his credit the ball was bouncing around pretty good and he did keep Gagne at third on the last one. (These weren't isolated incidents, as Mickey Hatcher had hit a CF triple in the first.) Eventually Boston hit one out against Blyleven to narrow the gap to 7-3, but it was all over.

 

It was a wonderfully representative game because of the ties to the 87 team, because of old school names like Hatcher and Ron Washington in the lineup, because both MIN and CHW were 20 games out (and ahead of SEA) and because the field affected play so strongly. (Also fun because future baseball mgmt like Billy Beane, Ron Washington and Ozzie Guillen all played.)

[Cris E]

Attendance Fun

 

April 6, 1982 52,279 First Game Ever at the Metrodome

April 7, 1982 5,213 Second Game Ever at the Metrodome

 

Poor Calvin.

[strumdatjag]

My personal Top Ten:

10. Gary Gaetti bemoaning the lack of attendance in the early days of the dome and how it made it so he could always hear that "one wise guy" in the crowd - And knowing it was sometimes ME.

9. My cousin's wife sitting next to me and commenting loudly on the size of Kirby Puckett's butt. We were sitting directly behind Tonya Puckett (later, after Tonya left briefly, I let the cousin's wife know and later she pointed out the almost equally huge size of the diamond on Tonya's ring)

8. Often the P.A. would play Iggy Pop's "Lust for Life" for opposing batters (Heck, the intro to the song had been used in commercials for Cruise Ships). Once and only once, the P.A. played it for the entrance of a relief pitcher - allowing time for the risqué lyrics to play throughout the dome.

7. At the urinals being able to abort my own efforts at relief, while a friend had reached the point of no return next to another fan with the biggest richochet splatter I have ever seen. Disgusting but extremely hilarious.

6. In one of the final years for the Twins in the Dome, it was "Teen Challenge" day. The P.A. announcer introduced with harrowing and heartwarming stories, a young gal and young guy who had overcome drug and alcohol addiction. Together, they each threw out a ceremonial pitch. The P.A. announcer asked for the crowd to show some appreciation as the P.A. started blaring Roxy Music's "Love is the Drug".

5. Bringing three male friends to a 1980s era game four rows directly behind the plate. The batter attempted a bunt, but barely knicked it, sending the ball behind him and straight to the ground. The catcher already had run forward to field the nonexistent ball, and the runner had run out of the batter's box. The ball then rebounded directly up between the legs of the umpire who fell to the ground in pain. As we laughed, the people around us glared with great disapproval. This only made it more difficult to stop laughing. The Umpire was OK and officiated the rest of the game.

4. Dave Kingman hitting the ball in the roof and it didn't come down. A friend who had a little bit of a drinking problem at the time (OK - a lot of a problem), was the lone voice as a hush came over the dome, "Somebody call for it." Mickey Hatcher then pretended to catch a nonexistent ball as a joke, I think.

3. Every World Series and Playoff Game I saw except Game 7 in 1991 and 1987. I missed Game 6 of each WS but saw all the other games.

2. Game 7 of the 1987 World Series and the celebration in the streets afterwards.

1. Game 7 of the 1991 World Series, the greatest World Series ever, especially Jack Morris staying out for the 10th!!!!!

[strumdatjag]

I only included games where I was in attendance (#10 being a multiple game realization); I saw Game 6 in 1987 and 1991 on TV

[zenser]

This is a great thread. I can't argue with anyone's list. Someone previously mentioned Johan's 17 K game. I was lucky enough to be in attendance for that game. As it got later into the game, it was louder and louder. It was a better atmosphere than the playoff games I was able to attend.

 

I am a little embarrassed to admit that I had 6 tickets to game 163 that I didn't get to use. Before you crucify me, I live in SD and that night my fiancée and myself met with our priest to discuss our upcoming wedding. We were able to attend game three of the playoffs which happened to be the last mlb game played there. To top off that evening, we drove 6 hours home in a blizzard.

 

I remember how Bob Casey's voice rang out the first time I heard it and who could ever forget "NOOOOOOOO Smoking". I remember being in awe of the huge size when I attended my first game as a 6 year old.

 

http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/MIN/MIN200708190.shtml

[diehardtwinsfan]

This is a great thread. I can't argue with anyone's list. Someone previously mentioned Johan's 17 K game. I was lucky enough to be in attendance for that game. As it got later into the game, it was louder and louder. It was a better atmosphere than the playoff games I was able to attend.

 

I am a little embarrassed to admit that I had 6 tickets to game 163 that I didn't get to use. Before you crucify me, I live in SD and that night my fiancée and myself met with our priest to discuss our upcoming wedding. We were able to attend game three of the playoffs which happened to be the last mlb game played there. To top off that evening, we drove 6 hours home in a blizzard.

 

I remember how Bob Casey's voice rang out the first time I heard it and who could ever forget "NOOOOOOOO Smoking". I remember being in awe of the huge size when I attended my first game as a 6 year old.

 

http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/MIN/MIN200708190.shtml

 

Isn't your avatar a picture from Game 6 of the 1991 Series? That's got to be up there... along with the following game.

[Longdistancetwins]

 

5. 10/7/1987: The first postseason game in the dome and the first time a local paper gave away something called the "homer hanky". 55,000 crazy fans were waving it and screaming at the Tigers' pitchers' windups making the dome a hell house for visitors. And it continued to be until the Twins' fall. Remember the decibel meters? Good luck seeing this today in a ball park (unranked)

 

This is a good choice, as well. I remember turning on the TV in New York and being fascinated by the enthusiasm. It wasn't at all a given with Twins fans. Actually, I think that making noise and waving things is common nowadays, but then it was novel and "ours."

[Hosken Bombo Disco]

The truest, most Metrodome game I can recall was against the White Sox on Saturday, October 4, 1986 (http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/MIN/MIN198610040.shtml)

 

Greg Gagne hit two inside the park HR and a triple, mostly off of Daryl Boston in CF. Boston looked like he was trying to freeze the puck against the fence on all three, but to his credit the ball was bouncing around pretty good and he did keep Gagne at third on the last one. (These weren't isolated incidents, as Mickey Hatcher had hit a CF triple in the first.) Eventually Boston hit one out against Blyleven to narrow the gap to 7-3, but it was all over.

 

It was a wonderfully representative game because of the ties to the 87 team, because of old school names like Hatcher and Ron Washington in the lineup, because both MIN and CHW were 20 games out (and ahead of SEA) and because the field affected play so strongly. (Also fun because future baseball mgmt like Billy Beane, Ron Washington and Ozzie Guillen all played.)

 

A similar Dome game that deserves mention was this from summer 1984

http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/MIN/MIN198406240.shtml

 

Chicago pitcher was just dealing the whole game. Twins trailed 2-0 bottom of ninth. Two runners scratched their way on base. Tim Teufel comes to bat, is jammed inside, and hits a 150-ft bloop to right that "hit the seam" and bounced far, far over the charging RF head and went to the fence, inside the park home run, game over, Twins win 3-2. That was actually a pennant race that year, too

[Hawkeye12]

A couple other moments.

 

1993 - Kirby homers in his first at bat at home since re-signing with the team off Jack McDowell.

 

2003 - Down against the Angels and Percival. Morneau draws a two-out walk, pinch ran for by Dustan Mohr. Shannon Stewart somehow gets one fair down the line, Mohr crashes into Molina (he was out by a mile, but knocked the ball loose, breaking Benjie's arm in the process) and Stewart follows up to score and win the game. The radio call was awesome, to hear the disgust in Gladden when Mohr was sent with no chance, to jubilation by somehow winning in a matter of seconds.

[strumdatjag]

Another one: I don't remember when. The Twins were down 9-1 going into the bottom of the 9th. Only a few hundred of the faithful watched them rally to 9-8 with men on base, when the game finally ended. The sparse crowd was going nuts. My two kids were young at the time. They still do NOT leave early to "beat the traffic".

 

 

 

 

 

crowd.

[biggentleben]

No mention of the Chuck Knoblauch hot dog game?

[perkins7]

Although we're fortunate to now have a ballpark considered among the best, I will always have a special place in my heart for the giant concrete marshmellow. Some of my favorite memories...

 

- My first Twins game. I was 5 years old and my mom decided it was time for my first Twins game. Paul Molitor was only a few hits away from 3,000 and I was given a commemorative full-size bat for the day which I still have. What better way to start being a fan of the greatest baseball team ever.

- Countless cheap home run porch seats in left field!

- Dollar dome dogs! 'Nuff said!

- Although not Twins-related, my first Vikings game with my dad in the 2009 divisional round against the Cowboys. We kicked the crap out of them too!

- The last Twins game in the Metrodome ever, game three of the 2009 ALDS.

 

Farewell, sweet prince...

[Kwak]

A similar Dome game that deserves mention was this from summer 1984

http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/MIN/MIN198406240.shtml

 

Chicago pitcher was just dealing the whole game. Twins trailed 2-0 bottom of ninth. Two runners scratched their way on base. Tim Teufel comes to bat, is jammed inside, and hits a 150-ft bloop to right that "hit the seam" and bounced far, far over the charging RF head and went to the fence, inside the park home run, game over, Twins win 3-2. That was actually a pennant race that year, too

 

Wasn't that the same series against Chicago where their CF botched two fly-balls for inside-the-park HRs and when said CF came to bat he received a standing ovation!--On that AB he hit a HR and the Sox won!

[notoriousgod71]

I wish the Twins site had kept their most memorable Dome moments countdown that listed 100 moments.

[notoriousgod71]

Wally the Beerman

 

The cotton candy dude that should have been an NFL quarterback due to his precision passing from twenty rows away.

[Reider]

Was anybody in attendance for Jason Kubel's 2009 upper deck walk off grand slam to hit for the cycle against the Angels? That has to be on the list.

[Cris E]

Wasn't that the same series against Chicago where their CF botched two fly-balls for inside-the-park HRs and when said CF came to bat he received a standing ovation!--On that AB he hit a HR and the Sox won!

 

Not quite. I forgot about the standing ovation, but that game from 1986 was linked earlier in this thread, and the Twins won.

[Otto von Ballpark]

Was anybody in attendance for Jason Kubel's 2009 upper deck walk off grand slam to hit for the cycle against the Angels? That has to be on the list.

Also of note: Kubel's walk-off slam against the Red Sox in June 2006. Or the following game, a Twins win that also featured the bat boy tackling a runaway fan on the field.

[Otto von Ballpark]

No mention of the Chuck Knoblauch hot dog game?

I mentioned it! It's definitely on my personal list, and I might argue that it is the best way to mark the beginning of the Twins 21st century renaissance (which sadly did not feature many good playoff moments, particularly at the Dome).

[stringer bell]

The greatest non-game event at the Dome had to be the gathering when the Twins came home from Detroit in 1987 after knocking off the Tigers. I watched it on TV and every single player was awestruck by the crowd and the enthusiasm. I stood up in my living room and cheered.

 

The Tiger game 163 was the greatest Twins game of all time IMHO. Two flawed teams clawing to make the playoffs. Great players, buffoonery and a missed call leading to little Lexi's roller to right field. Great theater, great baseball!

 

My favorite personal memory was sitting in the front row with my brother in corporate seats he was able to get because he was a good customer. I remember talking at length with Dennis Martinez about coming back from alcoholism and teasing Darrell Miller about being the third best athlete in his family (sibs Cheryl and Reggie were basketball stars). I also saw Kingman's popup that didn't come down.

[goulik]

My favourite memories include every Kirrrrrrrbyyyyyyyy Puckett introduction in which the crowd became so loud you couldn't hear the last name. HE was the most special thing(Person) I remember in connection with that place.