Hammond Stadium

Minnesota Twins (Spring Training)
Fort Myers Miracle, Florida State League

No Rating

The park has a short, palm tree lined boulevard walking up to the main entrance.

A good crowd waits between innings of Cardinals/Twins.

A quick shot back at the press box.

I ended up having quite the day on my scheduled visit to Hammond Stadium. I had flown into Miami the night before, to find that my suitcase had hung back in Houston. I ended up waiting around until nearly 11 before the airline called, to let me know my case had hit town. After a quick run to MIA, I headed out for the drive across Alligator Alley to Fort Myers, knowing full well I would be very, very, late. After a grassfire in the area of I-75 slowed things down a bit, I arrived after the parking attendants had left and snagged a spot for free. A short usher conference determined I was still allowed in and I set an all time lateness record, walking in in the bottom of the 6th inning. By the time I arrived at my seat, the top of the 7th awaited me. A relatively large crowd greeted me, as the Cardinals( who always seem to have a following) were the opposition for the day.

My visit here was so rushed(I might have been inside for an hour) that I can't offer a whole ton of insight. It looks like a decent place, the concession appeared ok, but not great and the atmosphere was not bad, especially since as I mentioned, the Cardinals seem to drag a few fans from park to park with them. A tight  1-0 game into the bottom of the 9th saw the Redbirds get the first two outs, before the wheels fell off and the Cardinals threw away the game winning ground out twice in a row. The Twins won it in the 10th, which arriving so late, I was pretty excited was actually played.

Overall, looks like a decent place, but just way too rushed to really get to know it. I only have a few Grapefruit League parks left to do, this one is top of the list for a 2nd trip.

Linescore
2017-03-06
                       123    456   789 10 RHE
St. Louis           001   000    000  0  173
Minnesota         000  000    001  1  290
Temp: 76F   Time: 3:18  Att: 8,615

Target Field

Minnesota Twins, American League

8/10

This is another one of the parks where my photos were lost to the great camera caper of 2012.

*Sigh*

Anyhow, I did manage to get here after a night game the night before in Milwaukee. I drove to Eau Claire, getting in around 2 AM, grabbed a quick 6 hours, then hit the road for Minneapolis.

I arrived in plenty of time and found parking around 5 blocks away for a reasonable price. The park is built in an arena district, with the Minnesota Timberwolves playing at Target Arena, nearby. It's in a pretty decent neighbourhood.

The exterior is mostly made of yellowish tiles made from local rocks. The park is "sunken" slightly, with the field below street level. The concourse is wide open and has a clean, uncluttered look to it. Crowds of people are able to easily move around the ballpark. I found the staff to be extra friendly, as per Milwaukee the night before. Food was passable.

The game saw the Twins play division rival Cleveland on a nice afternoon in front of 25-30 thousand. People enjoyed the game from what I remember. I sat under an overhang, which meant shade, but I was far forward enough to see the same clearly.

This was a decent park overall, I just wish I could remember a bit more and that my photos survived. It's undoubtedly a massive upgrade from playing at the Metrodome. I will absolutely have to go back soon.

Update 2016: I have not been back to this point. I had the option on a weekend trip of going to watch the last place Twins play the White Sox, but I opted for a game in St. Paul instead. I upped the rating here to an 8, as the park itself is deserving of the extra point.

Linescore
2012-07-29
                      123   456   789   RHE
Cleveland        000  100  000   160
Minnesota       000   210  20x  580
Temp: 72F  Time: 2:28 Att: 34,720