Target Field: Top Three Non-Baseball Things To Eliminate

[Monkeypaws]

1. $9 beers.

2. Sushi

3. $9 beers.

 

Speaking of beer - don't make me walk all the way from left field to right field to find good beer. I don't want Bud or Lite or any of that. Gimme good homegrown Surly and Summit, and sell it all over the stadium instead of a single place.

[Mike Sixel]

Speaking of beer - don't make me walk all the way from left field to right field to find good beer. I don't want Bud or Lite or any of that. Gimme good homegrown Surly and Summit, and sell it all over the stadium instead of a single place.

 

Summit=over rated....but ya, making it hard to get beer, as opposed to "beer", that's just stupid.

[twinsnorth49]

I've thought of one more thing I want gone...ushers who allow people to walk back and forth to their seat every freakin' inning!

 

 

And cranky old people.

[James]

Speaking of beer - don't make me walk all the way from left field to right field to find good beer. I don't want Bud or Lite or any of that. Gimme good homegrown Surly and Summit, and sell it all over the stadium instead of a single place.

Dave St. Peter explained why all the good beer was located there at the TD Winter Meltdown. There's a podcast of that around somewhere if you want an answer.

 

I still want it closer, but my seats are right by Hrbek's... so I can get Grainbelt Premium there at least.

 

I've solved the usher/ticket problem. Learn their name and say hi to them (include their name) when you see them. They stop checking your tickets. I usually have the same usher near my seats and she hasn't checked my ticket in two seasons.

[LewFordLives]

More hot dog vendors in the stands! They keep pushing the beer because it makes them the most money, but when I want a hot dog I have to wait three innings and then waive my arms to the hot dog guy over in the next section.

[eLee612]

More hot dog vendors in the stands! They keep pushing the beer because it makes them the most money, but when I want a hot dog I have to wait three innings and then waive my arms to the hot dog guy over in the next section.

 

And then when you finally DO get the hot dog guy's attention, you realize you just wound up with Mr. Theatrical who nearly takes your eye out with his overly ambitious hot dog extraction methods.

 

Please tell me someone knows who I'm talking about...

[Paul Pleiss]

Get rid of drunken fans. Keep walk-up music. Are you kidding me on that one?

 

More minor league type between innings events.

[AHSaves]

I love how Rauch added some flair to the video with badass looks and tattoo display. I'd love for Mauer to have fun and just do something goofy like the HBK theme, to stay with the WWE references.

 

[video=youtube;acD-AnO_rOA]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=acD-AnO_rOA

 

 

Probably the funniest mental image I've had since the new year. Mauer would have to keep the song too!

[darin617]

Allow other American citizens who have served their country to raise the flag for the National Anthem -- other, meaning people who are not combat veterans but nonetheless serve their country-- like teachers, volunteers, police officers, firemen, and good Samaritans.

 

The idea that the only people worthy of raising the flag are those who have served overseas, and been involved in combat and killing, fetishizes war and violence.

 

We have a lot of good people in this country. People who sacrifice, serve and believe that their efforts can make a better world. Like teachers, who work every day with kids and help them believe in themselves and engage with important issues. How about an occasional teacher raising the flag? They are baseball fans too.

 

Or anyone. The flag-raising ceremony has become a cliche, mechanical moment which is supposed to somehow prove our patriotism, by clapping for and honoring a Veteran for about a minute. Don't get me wrong, my dad served in WWII, I think we all respect and should recognize military service. Giving your life for your country, that's a noble sacrifice. And people do something analogous to that every day, mostly in unrecognized ways, many for decades and decades, serving America, helping those less fortunate and protecting the sick and vulnerable.

 

My main beef is actually that by only having Veterans raise the flag, we teach kids that war and killing are heroic things. Actually, they are not. War is a failure. It's a failure when human beings who have evolved over millenia, surviving everything the natural world has thrown at them -- climate, predators, disease, misfortune -- we made it through hundreds of thousands of years, only to kill each other because of ignorance and poor political leadership. That's a tragedy, and the sooner we acknowledge war is a failure, the better.

 

But the Twins aren't helping, and the lack of diversity in who raises the flag diminishes all of us, and perpetuates an appalling notion that war and killing is somehow the best thing human beings have ever done and something we should all aspire to. Sad.

 

I would have to disagree with this suggestion. The veterans are the reason we have all the freedoms that we have. I would not like to live in any country where you could basically disappear if you voiced your opinions that was not to the governments liking.

Teachers do great things also but not close to what the great veterans did for this country.

[Kwak]

Speaking of beer - don't make me walk all the way from left field to right field to find good beer. I don't want Bud or Lite or any of that. Gimme good homegrown Surly and Summit, and sell it all over the stadium instead of a single place.

 

Money does talk--Twins are bribed by InBev. However, there are seats available in RF.

There should be a correlation between price of beer and Twins record--sort of like was done with a former Twins LFer (Rondell White??) at a few bars.

[Guest USAFChief]

And cranky old people.

Well played, north.

[Champuckett]

1. Agree wholeheartedly on the God Bless America 7th inning stretch. Feels overly patriotic when we already sing the National Anthem and have veterans raise the American flag in virtually every game of the season. Just stick with Take Me Out to the Ball Game.

 

2. Less Fan Cams (currently 5 or 6 out of 9 innings is this?) during inning breaks and more baseball related stuff like This Week In Baseball blurbs, bloopers, other games highlights from the day, amazing plays, etc. Keep it focused on baseball, that's why we are there!

 

3. Better in-game pump up music/chants. This may not be at fault, but it's something I noticed while I had season tickets.. I don't know how many games I've went to where it's just dead air in the seats during the game. We've got over 35,000 there many games (or we did) and we've got no hecklers, no charged up fans, hardly anyone screaming, only a handful getting the rest of the fan base going and on their feet for big plays. The team can feed off that energy. I know it's baseball and it's less intense, but it's sad when I've been to Minnesota Swarm games that have 20 times the crowd excitement with 1/5th the amount of people in the seats. The Dome used to get crazy, breaking all kinds of decibel level records, what happened?

[Wookiee of the Year]

1. I strongly agree with dropping "God Bless America." Scottz hit the nail on the head--a tired "more is more" theory is exactly how to describe it. Anyone can tell you the 7th inning is for stretching, which means people are walking around, chatting, and ordering food, in direct contrast to the united attentiveness during the National Anthem. It cheapens any patriotic feelings and undercuts them with its placement.

 

2. A few people have voted to kill the sing along--I think it would be greatly improved by picking one song and sticking with it. From what I can tell, Twins Territory has an affinity for "Your Love." Make that the standard every game and it's much improved.

 

3. I'm on board with permanently dropping "Everybody clap your hands" from the Twins' repertoire.

[eLee612]

2. Less Fan Cams (currently 5 or 6 out of 9 innings is this?) during inning breaks and more baseball related stuff like This Week In Baseball blurbs, bloopers, other games highlights from the day, amazing plays, etc. Keep it focused on baseball, that's why we are there!

 

I would love if they adopted more of a Sports Center Top 10/Not 10, player of the week, "Inside the Clubhouse" and behind the scenes type stuff in between innings.

[Don't Feed the Greed Guy]

Open the gates for home team batting practice 2 1/2 hours before the game, instead of the current policy of opening up 1 1/2 hours before game time. And, don't charge for it. If autograph hounds are a problem, then at least let the kids shag home run balls in the outfield seats.

 

Here are the present Twins policies, below.

 

Batting Practice The Minnesota Twins typically start batting practice 2 ½ hours prior to game time, with the opposing team taking batting practice beginning 1 ½ hours prior to game time. Batting practice always occurs at the Manager's discretion.

 

Q. What time do gates open?

A. Weekdays (Monday - Thursday), gates open 1 1/2 hours prior to the scheduled game time; and on weekends (Friday - Sunday), gates open 2 hours prior to the scheduled game time. Please reference the Twins website for any updates, changes or additions to the Twins schedule.

[AWOLNATION_11]

(Trevor Plouffe with 70s Zeppelin song "When the Levee Breaks" - I just don't get the connection to batting)

 

Oh shoot - that is the song I used as walk-up in amateur ball. That must have been my problem.

[DaveW]

So this is going to be a bit "target field" and all baseball stadiums (and one all sports stadiums/arenas and fans) apologies if it goes a bit to off topic in advance.

 

1. Allow gay/lesbian couples to appear on the "kiss cam". This is 2014, deadspin had a nice little bit about it yesterday in an article about the kiss cam. It would be awesome if the Twins were one of the first teams to do this, especially in a state that recently overturned a discriminatory law. Anyone who argues it is "taboo" for kids is just covering up for their own bigotedness/closed mindness.

 

2. Allow fans to take ONE beer in from the outside concourse/tailgate into the stadium. Seriously, is it really that bad? The quicker you get folks into the stadium the more you make.

 

3. Get rid of the no beer after the 7th inning (or 3rd QTR, or 2nd period) rule. I get that it is supposed to prevent drunk driving, but let's be honest, it doesn't. If people want to get hammered they will get hammered before the game, during the game, and after the game at a surrounding bar. The rest of us who like to enjoy a few beers during a game while having a safe ride home shouldn't be punished. There is nothing worse then having a nice few beers you in during a baseball game through 7 innings, and then have to sit there for 2 more hours as it goes into extra innings without a single brew being able to be purchased. People are gonna be responsible or not responsible, stopping beer sales at 7th inning makes no sense.

 

4. More Troll music for away players. I think when A-Rod or some other "hated" player comes to the plate, Target Field should play a ridiculous Bieber or one direction song. (or some old classic piece of garbage) It would keep things a bit light hearted, and provide a laugh in the midst of a 95 loss season.

 

5. Better contests- Contests and cheesy in between innings things will NEVER go away because of ad revenue and sponsorships. However the team should make the prizes for fans more worthwhile then a $25 gift card to a sporting store or whatever (which won't even buy a hat these days) I remember back in the day when the Royals would hide a diamond ring in the outfield and make a contestant try to find it. Now that was fun to see!

 

6. If there are kids around, don't swear.

 

7. If theren't kids around you, and you hear someone drop an occasional S bomb, or GD bomb, (without shouting) just let it go. You are adults.

 

8. If you are a know it all baseball PLEASE don't start correcting people, or talking loud/arguing with everyone. That is what the internet is for, sometimes it's nice to be at a game with a family/friend and just use that 3-4 hours to catch up with them.

 

9. Don't loudly state: "I can't believe beers are $10" Over and over at a game, yes we all realize the price of beer and food is ridiculous, you aren't the first person to realize this.

 

10.Bring back troughs urinals. It's efficient, quicker and pretty sure it can be much more eco friendly. Plus you bond with your fellow fan.

 

11. Stadiums should get soft toliet paper in their bathrooms rather then the industrial sand paper. Seriously, everything else in the stadium is sponsored, shorely they could figure out a way to make money from using nothing but Charmin.

 

12. Don't take thing to seriously (unless its a playoff game), remember you are there to have fun (and spend a small fortune on food/beer/swag)

[DaveW]

Money does talk--Twins are bribed by InBev. However, there are seats available in RF.

There should be a correlation between price of beer and Twins record--sort of like was done with a former Twins LFer (Rondell White??) at a few bars.

 

No kidding, it would at least get butts in the seats.

[strumdatjag]

Don't bring back the trough urinals, like the ones in the Metro-hole. You want a reason? One word: Richochet. Another thing: advise the singers of "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" of the correct words (They words are right up on the screen!!!) WITH the crowd - Cracker JACK - I don't care if I NEVER get back LET ME root root root Sorry, I'm the jerk in the crowd who shouts out the right words just before everyone sings the wrong ones.

[Monkeypaws]

Summit=over rated....

So says Mike Wants Wins.

 

Ya sure they are. When a bottle of tasteless Bud Light in a metal bottle costs more than a pint of fine local craft ale, tell me who is overrated. Summit has been expanding their capacity and their offerings, and I'd say are underrated, especially compared to Surly. Their Unchained Series has been excellent.

 

BTW, I totally agree that the 7th inning stretch should be Take Me Out. I'm going to a ball game, not church or a patriotic rally. Supposed to be fun, right?

[Kwak]

I'd rather hear "Roll out the Barrels" than "Take Me Out" for the 7th inning stretch.

[twinsnorth49]

Summit=over rated....but ya, making it hard to get beer, as opposed to "beer", that's just stupid.

 

You can't complain about snobby baseball fans and then be a beer snob at the same time, not allowed.

 

And Summit is not over-rated, they have lots of great offerings.

[ashbury]

1. Allow gay/lesbian couples to appear on the "kiss cam".

 

Related reasoning has me in the belief that the kiss cam is about to go the way of the dodobird.

 

8. If you are a know it all baseball PLEASE don't start correcting people, or talking loud/arguing with everyone. That is what the internet is for

 

Present company excluded, of course.

[Oxtung]

I'd like to see some of the newer statistics added to the big screens when they flash up a players batting line. Why can't we have both BA/OBP/SLG, HR's, 2B's, etc... and OPS, xFIP, WAR?

[mnwildfan78]

Allow other American citizens who have served their country to raise the flag for the National Anthem -- other, meaning people who are not combat veterans but nonetheless serve their country-- like teachers, volunteers, police officers, firemen, and good Samaritans.

 

The idea that the only people worthy of raising the flag are those who have served overseas, and been involved in combat and killing, fetishizes war and violence.

 

We have a lot of good people in this country. People who sacrifice, serve and believe that their efforts can make a better world. Like teachers, who work every day with kids and help them believe in themselves and engage with important issues. How about an occasional teacher raising the flag? They are baseball fans too.

 

Or anyone. The flag-raising ceremony has become a cliche, mechanical moment which is supposed to somehow prove our patriotism, by clapping for and honoring a Veteran for about a minute. Don't get me wrong, my dad served in WWII, I think we all respect and should recognize military service. Giving your life for your country, that's a noble sacrifice. And people do something analogous to that every day, mostly in unrecognized ways, many for decades and decades, serving America, helping those less fortunate and protecting the sick and vulnerable.

 

My main beef is actually that by only having Veterans raise the flag, we teach kids that war and killing are heroic things. Actually, they are not. War is a failure. It's a failure when human beings who have evolved over millenia, surviving everything the natural world has thrown at them -- climate, predators, disease, misfortune -- we made it through hundreds of thousands of years, only to kill each other because of ignorance and poor political leadership. That's a tragedy, and the sooner we acknowledge war is a failure, the better.

 

But the Twins aren't helping, and the lack of diversity in who raises the flag diminishes all of us, and perpetuates an appalling notion that war and killing is somehow the best thing human beings have ever done and something we should all aspire to. Sad.

 

 

 

Although I agree many people do great things in America, the .5% of our nations population who do serve in the military deserve and have earned recognition. Teachers do great things, deserve more money and more recognition. But, they are home with family every night. They don't miss the birth of their children, holidays, birthdays and anniversaries. I've served in the military for almost 14 years and trying to explain the sacrifices we make to someone who hasn't served is almost impossible. War may be a failure. But, less the 1% of our nations men and women are there to fight it when need be. They were called and they answered. To say that only having military raise the flag is diminishing to us all, I believe is a great insult to me and my brothers and sisters who wear the uniform proudly every day. I respect your right to voice your opinion though and will continue to wear the uniform proudly so you can do so.

[Old Twins Cap]

Thanks for you thoughts, and your service to the country you love. I appreciate it.

 

And, I would certainly defend your right to free speech, as well as your right to raise the flag -- even with my life if I must.

 

The fact that you can't say the same thing to non-military citizens is all the evidence I need to make my point. The flag belongs to all Americans, and when one group is seen to have an exclusive right to it, for whatever reason, it diminishes our democracy.

[Mike Sixel]

I can be a beer snob online, but baseball snobs at the game are a different thing. Correcting people, telling them how to enjoy a game the right way, disparaging their knowledge of the game.....get over yourselves already.

 

And, surly is more over rated than summit, i agree. Do they serve the unchained series at the stadium, or just "summit"? I love when I ask a waitress what kind of summit they have, nod they look at me like I am crazy.

[Rosterman]

Get rid of Blonde Cam. We see nothing but blondes. I know, that isn't totally bad, but..........

[Craig Arko]

1) Here in the land of E Pluribus Unum, maybe we can think up a middle path.

 

2) Maybe all beer is over-rated, they need to open up a mead shop.

 

3) How about polkas for the 7th inning stretch?

[mnwildfan78]

Thanks for you thoughts, and your service to the country you love. I appreciate it.

 

And, I would certainly defend your right to free speech, as well as your right to raise the flag -- even with my life if I must.

 

The fact that you can't say the same thing to non-military citizens is all the evidence I need to make my point. The flag belongs to all Americans, and when one group is seen to have an exclusive right to it, for whatever reason, it diminishes our democracy.

 

The military does not have an exclusive right to the flag. The Minnesota Twins organization has chosen to honor military Twins fans by allowing them to raise the flag. The fact you associate the uniform with just war is sad. To me the uniform means sacrifice, service, brotherhood, integrity, excellence. I don't understand why me saying I can't explain the experiences to non-military proves your point. I can't know the pressure a heart surgeon feels. The pride a teacher feels. I don't know it because I don't live that life. Just the same, I can't explain to you what it is like missing my brothers wedding because I was in Afghanistan. The many holidays I've missed. The friends I've lost or seen changed. Its not something that can be explained. Period.