I managed to procure a seat to the opener yesterday for the new Minnesota Twins baseball stadium (Target Field) in Minneapolis. Although many questioned the wisdom of leaving it open to the elements, dire predictions of early games being snowed out did not materialize, at least this year. In fact, we enjoyed an unseasonable warm day while watching the hometown club defeat the Boston Red Sox to rousing cheers of the nearly 40,000 fans in attendance (39,715 to be precise). Many of the statistics for the landmark game are captured in this ESPN boxscore. Oh, oh, here I see an anomaly – the attendance reported at only 38,145 (96.6% full). My hunch is that the other 1,030 fans might be found at hometown hero Hrbek’s Bar – a spacious gathering spot in the stands of the Target Field.
Although the pre-game festivities and competition provided great entertainment, I eagerly awaited the breaks between half-innings to peruse the details in the Minnesota Twins 2010 Record and Information Book – a 396 page tome filled with 6 point type. Nearly every page features a statistic biased in favor of the team or a particular player. This is done by focusing on one specific attribute and then choosing the time frame which puts it in the most flattering light. For example, we learn on page 122 that “Anthony Swarzak became the first starting pitcher in club history to pitch 7.0 scoreless innings in his Major League debut.” I like the way they put the carry the statistic to the tenth’s decimal. : )