Home opener? Loved it, even though the Twins were bounced, 5-1, to go 0-4 on the season.
Numbers of note:
National Anthem: One minute, 34 seconds.
First pitch: 3:18 p.m.
Gametime temperature? 45 degrees, with 20 mph NW winds.
Paid attendance? 39,414 — a sellout (but plenty of empty seats in the upper decks).
First Twins homer at Target Field in 2012: Josh Willingham in the third inning, 389 feet to left-center field.
For the record: TC Bear now has a removable cap, so he can properly observe the national anthem.
OK, now our Top 5 storylines from the Twins’ opening day date with Los Angeles:
1) How did they get Target Field ready for the season?(70-degree days didn’t hurt…but…)
2) After getting swept in Baltimore over the weekend, infielder Trevor Plouffe is ticked — and actually swore on twitter! (And if that’s as mad as Twin gets, we might be in real trouble.)
3) Before the game, more than a dozen Twins from the 2002 club were honored, including current Angels LaTroy Hawkins and Torii Hunter. That year, the plucky Twins made it to the ALCS, losing to the pluckier Angels.
4) Love this video montage from the Pioneer Press, with the spotlight on Opening Day. We also love this piece from MPR on how winning and having a new stadium haven’t exactly matched up 100%.
5) For today’s game, manager Ron Gardenhire said his club had tostart swinging the bats. Didn’t happen. But when they do? It reminds us of a song:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bBQVrCflZ_E
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