A dome full of memories

The Twins play Detroit on Tuesday for the chance to take on the Yankees in the Divisional Playoffs. The game will be played at the Metrodome tomorrow afternoon in what hopefully is NOT the last time they play under the Teflon covered stadium. Yesterday got me thinking of the games I have seen the Twins play there. With the help of baseball-reference.com I was able to track down the box scores for every game I ever went to.

April 28th - 1988: My first game at the Dome was a class trip I went on when the defending World Series champion Twins took on the lowly Baltimore Orioles. I remember very little from the game itself except for the fact that my distant cousin Fred Lynn, who prior to Ichiro in 2001 was the first player to ever win ROY and MVP in the same year, was not in the starting lineup for the Orioles. The Twins ended up winning the game 4-2, prolonging the Orioles season beginning losing streak to a mind-boggling 21 games.

July 29th - 1990: My baseball team was in the Twin Cities for a tournament and we got to watch the Twins take on the Oakland A's. My dad chaperoned a group of us to the game. Jose Canseco and Felix Jose hit bombs in the game, but the Twins ended up taking the game in 6-5 extra innings. My dad got half-lost in downtown Minneapolis after the game, but we made it back to our hotel safely.

July 27th - 1991: In the middle of what would be the Twins second World Series winning team in 5 years the Twins took on the Milwaukee Brewers, which at the time was a heated battle between division rivals. This was the major league debut of Denny Neagle, who had a few decent years after being dealt from the Twins, but perhaps is better known for being caught with hookers, driving while drunk, and possibly being on steroids. The Twins ended up winning in exciting fashion when Dan Gladden hit a 3 run homer in the bottom of the 10th. I remember this well because Gladden's homer hit the foul netting down the left field line.

August 11th, 1992: My dad took me down to the Dome to see the Twins take on one of my baseball idols Nolan Ryan. Coincidentally, this was also opening day for the Mall of America in Bloomington, which actually sits on the ground where the old Met Stadium was. You can still stand at home plate while eating a cotton candy and taking in the goings-on of Snoopy's Knotts Berry Farm, or whatever the fuck it's called now. Inexplicably, my dad and I decided to go to the mall despite the fact that we both pretty much hate malls. I don't remember much from our time at the mall except one of the sporting goods stores was using live mannequins. Nolan pitched well, but the Twins ended up winning 3-2 behind John Smiley's complete game.

June 27th, 1998: My dad, brother, and I couldn't resist making the trek down to the Twin Cities to see Mark McSteriod play in the middle of his record-breaking-syringe-filled-with-juice-injected-into-his-ass season. The three of us went to some shitty bar near the Dome and ate pizza while my brother and I each pounded 3 Leine's like they were going out of style. The Twins took the loss 7-2 as McGwire launched an andro-aided bomb into the left field seats.

April 28th 2001: 13 years to the date of my first Metrodome experience was my last as the Twins took on the Baltimore Orioles again. The Twins took it on the chin 5-2 courtesy of the Orioles. Sluggers Brooke Fordyce (BAL) and Tom Prince (MIN) hit homer in this otherwise uneventful loss for the Twins. This was Tom Kelly's final season managing as he took a young Twins team back into the picture. The nucleus of this team would lead the Twins to AL Central Championships in 4 out of the next 5 seasons. Here's to the Twins winning their 5 Central crown tomorrow.