I was clicking thru various links from Buster's blog (which really isn't so much of a blog in the first place) and clicked on one about the Twins wearing the 1982 uniforms every Saturday at home during this, their final season in the Metrodome. OK, that's cool. I love the throwbacks.
And that lead me down a strange path of thinking about the Twins new stadium, Target Field. Looks to be gorgeous (click here to see a virtual tour). I hadn't thought much of it until seeing that virtual tour and layering in the memories of the poor weather that affected the World Series. My eureka moment: Target Field has no roof. I repeat: THERE IS NO ROOF!
Let's review: Minnesota, cold. Minnesota, snowy. Games in April and October are potential weather "situtations". What if the Twins, you know, make it far in the playoffs, even into November? I can hear the "neutral site" panic already growing. And you know what? In that case, I agree. Playing baseball in the snow/sub-freezing temperatures is not natural. I know a retractable roof would add at least another $300 million to the tab but wouldn't it behoove MLB leadership to INSIST upon this?
Average climate in Minnesota by month (emphasis mine):
April: Average high= 57 degrees F; Average low= 36 degrees F; Average precipitation= 2.31 inches. Okay, don't bring out the shorts yet, but you can lose the long underwear. There's plenty of annoying freezing rain.Someone tell me how this ends well. I can't see it.
June: Average high= 79 degrees F; Average low= 58 degrees F; Average precipitation= 4.34 inches. June is usually the rainiest month, but everyone's so happy it's summer that no one cares. Thunderstorms can be frequent, along with the threat of tornadoes.
July: Average high= 83 degrees F; Average low= 63 degrees F; Average precipitation= 4.04 inches. This is the "hot" month, so to speak! There's often a spell of 90 degree days, and the humidity and thunderstorms can be nasty. However, with an average high temperature of only 83 degrees, July is Minnesota is pretty amazing. Unfortunately, the mosquito problem really gets bad around July.
October: Average high= 58 degrees F; Average low= 39 degrees F; Average precipitation= 2.11 inches. Snow is possible--in fact, the Halloween blizzard of 1991 dumped over 28 inches of snow on the Twin Cities!
November: Average high= 40 degrees F; Average low= 25 degrees F; Average precipitation= 1.94 inches. The calendar may say that's it's fall, but winter has begun. Expect about 8 inches of snow.
Here is a YouTube video of Target Field and artistic renderings:
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4 comments:
Who knows, maybe the city/state/county couldn't or wouldn't spring for the extra 10-15 million for a dome.
Funny thing about Minny. The football team plays in a dome in sport that is so much better in inclement weather but, the baseball team which needs a dome to make money, will be without a dome.
But can't it get cold and snowy in NY?
Mark,
Sure it can, but don't you think MIN is more likely to have an early snow than NY? A snow in early NOV here would be RARE, but entirely more likely in MIN.
But also, I think every new stadium should have a retractable roof. The elements, like umpire mistakes, are only quaint and acceptable when there's no remedy. And we have the remedies right now to take out the mess that the weather (and umpiring goofs) create.
That's true, but $300M more is a lot in this economy. There's still nothing like sitting through a rain delay, though one at 35 degrees would be a bit more miserable.
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