As the game time approaches, the sun seems a little brighter, the sky a little bluer, the grass a shade greener. \u00a0Once the game begins, the ball hops off the bat with an especially sharp crack, the pitches seem to have more zip and whir-r-r than ever and the fielders move with a unique combination of grace and energy.\u00a0 In the stands, the beer is crisp and cold and the hot dogs steam in the cool of early spring.\u00a0 The fans cheer on their old and new heroes and follow this opening contest with pennant race intensity \u2013 the most intense among them logging each play in the new season\u2019s first scorecard.\u00a0\u00a0 Baseball Is Back!<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 Baseball Roundtable \u2026 March 26, 2013<\/em><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n <\/p>\n April 13 was the Minnesota Twins 2015 (Home) Opening Day and, as usual, the Twins did it up right \u2013 to a point.\u00a0\u00a0<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n BBRT note: The Twins came into their home opener six games into the season and already five games out of first place, so the level of optimism may not have been quite as prevalent as at some earlier Minnesota home openers \u2013 but the excitement surrounding the thought that Baseball Is Back<\/strong> still ran high. \u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n As is tradition, the day started with free breakfast on the Twins Plaza \u2013 and what says spring and baseball more than hot dogs, chips and ice cream in the morning, especially when accompanied by blue skies, plenty of sunshine and Twins\u2019 mascot TC the Bear.\u00a0 Breakfast was served from 6-9 a.m., with additional festivities (music and concessions) planned on the Plaza and at the Target Field (light rail) Station beginning at noon \u00a0The Plaza started to fill up before noon (the gates opened at 1 p.m.) \u2013 with nearby eating and drinking establishments, as well as parking lots, drawing big crowds even earlier.\u00a0 (A word of advice from BBRT, when the Twins have a sell out \u2013 and this game was sold out \u2013 on a work day, get downtown early if you don\u2019t want to spend some time looking for parking.)<\/em><\/p>\n The mood was festive, with most of the crowd outfitted in Twins-identified gear, concessions stands on the Plaza doing a brisk business and DJ Madigan spinning plenty of upbeat tunes from the balcony above the crowd.\u00a0 (The mood would later go from festive to restive, but we\u2019ll get to that.\u00a0 Let\u2019s enjoy the moment for now.) Photos with the various statues of Twins\u2019 heroes or sitting in the \u201cbig glove\u201d seemed the order of the day.<\/p>\n The Twins hoodies proved a popular Opening Day giveaway – for all 40,000+ fans.<\/p><\/div>\n By one p.m., the Plaza was full of happy fans waiting for another Target Field Opening Day tradition, the opening of the gates by Twins\u2019 legends.\u00a0 What better way to enter the ballpark then through a gate opened that day by the likes of Tony Oliva, Kent Hrbek or Tom Kelly?\u00a0 To top it off, once you got past the metal detectors, you were handed a free Twins hooded sweatshirt \u2013 a true Minnesota-focused promotion.\u00a0 For a look at BBRT\u2019s post on 2015 Twins\u2019 promotions (and some unique items other teams are giving away), click here. <\/a>\u00a0Day one of the 81-game home season was off to a great start.<\/p>\n Once inside the ballpark, fans rushed not to find their seats, but rather to secure a seat or place in line at one of Target Field\u2019s many food and beverage locations. From Hrbek\u2019s to Barrio to the Town Ball Tavern and from Red Cow to Kramarczuk\u2019s to Andrew Zimmern\u2019s Canteen, they were all kept busy \u2013 and for good reason, the food and drink options at Target Field remain exceptional.\u00a0 (For BBRT\u2019s recent post on 2015\u2019s new Target Field food and beverage offerings click here.<\/a>)<\/p>\n Shrimp corn Dogs – new ballpark food.<\/p><\/div>\n I made my way to Hrbek\u2019s, where the new College Daze Bloody Mary \u2013 garnished with everything from cheese to pepperoncini to a slice of pepperoni pizza – was proving quite popular.\u00a0 It seemed mandatory to have your picture taken with the new drink before consuming it.\u00a0 I\u2019m sure social media, like the tip of the pizza slice, was saturated.\u00a0 My pre-game choice was the Shrimp Corn Dogs \u2013 jumbo shrimp (served on skewers) fried in jalapeno corn batter with a Chili Lime Aioli for dipping ($15).\u00a0 Great shrimp flavor, just enough \u201czing\u201d and a complementary tart sauce; and light enough to leave room for the obligatory Opening Day (old school) hot dog later in the day.<\/p>\n Then, with my freshly purchased scorecard in hand, I went in search of my seat \u2013 Section 213, Row 1, Seat 14 \u2013 and was pleasantly surprised.\u00a0 I was just to the right of home plate, second deck, first row; and the view of the field was great.\u00a0 It was also, particularly for Minnesota, a perfect day for an Opener.\u00a0 Game time temps above 60 degrees, sunny, clear blue sky with just enough clouds to give it some depth.\u00a0 And, as always seems to be the case on Opening Day, the grass was crisp green, the batting practice balls stark white and all the colors in the stadium (logos, bunting, base lines, etc.) especially vibrant.<\/p>\n As we all waited for game time, we enjoyed: a brief performance by recording artist Shawn Mendes; the introduction of both teams (players, coaches, videographers, trainers, etc.); the National Anthem (actress and singer Greta Oglesby), with two American Bald Eagles from the Minnesota Raptor Center present and a follow-up flyover by a pair of Minnesota Air National Guard F-16 fighters.<\/p>\n![\"OD](\"https:\/\/baseballroundtable.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/OD-scoreboard.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/a>