The death of the Dome

On Saturday I attended what may well be my last Twins game at the Metrodome. For as long as I have been alive the Teflon-covered circle has been the "home of the Twins," but next year they will start playing outdoors at Target Field.

The Dome certainly has its drawbacks. After several decades without a good scrubbing, the ceiling is a dirty gray that is not exactly as romantic as looking at an unobstructed starry night sky. There are a lot of outfield seats that are about as far from home plate as St. Paul (though that doesn't stop inebriated fans from yelling, "C'mon, that was right down the middle," when they disagree with the umpire who looks a little like an amorphous black or light blue blob from that distance). The artificial turf causes almost cartoonish bounces that turn slap-hitters into Tony Gwynn, which was probably not what baseball's founders had in mind.

But there's a lot of things I'll miss about the Dome, too, beyond just the obvious "no rain-outs and always 75 degrees with low humidity" selling points:

1. It's always been affordable — One of the nice things about watching baseball in a football stadium is that there's a lot of seats, even if some don't provide the most desirable view (see paragraph 2). That means high supply and low demand and reasonable prices. When I was a little kid going to my first games, my parents were able to get tickets in the cheap seats for $3, which won't get you into a Little League game now. During high school and college we could get in for a paltry $5 once a week on "Student ID Night." Hmm, buy an extra value meal or go to a Twins game? Not a hard choice. Even this past Saturday, at 28 years old and with no special discounts, Tim and I were able to get in for a very reasonable $10 each. My guess is those prices will no longer be around once Target Field opens.

2. It's a cool place to hang out — The Dome was always a great place to gather with friends, especially before we were 21. The low prices meant we could all afford to hang out, socialize and sometimes even watch a little baseball in a parent-free environment. It was a good place to meet girls, although lately all the girls there are in love with Joe Mauer, which is hard to compete with.

3. It never sold out (figuratively. In terms of selling all the seats, that occasionally happened) — The Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome is named after a Minnesota luminary. Target Field is named after a Minnesota corporation. But maybe we should just be glad that Target outbid Tampax.

4. It's a great home-field advantage — The Twins were able overcome a lot of bigger market teams with high-priced sluggers over the years by using speed and their wacky turf to turn slap-hitters like Greg Gagne and Nick Punto into serviceable starters. And there was something hilarious and exhilarating about watching grown men on opposing teams throw up their hands in confusion and frustration when they lost fly balls in the dingy roof, only to have them drop a few feet away.

5. It has history — The Twins won two World Series under that filthy old dome. Frank "Sweet Music" Viola mowed down hitters there. Juan Berenguer "boogied" there. Kent Hrbek drilled towering homeruns there. Jeff Reardon and Rick Aguilera pitched electric ninth innings there. Torii Hunter made countless impossible sliding, leaping, sprawling, diving catches there. Kirby Puckett hit a walk-off homerun to force a World Series Game 7 there in 1991 — probably the most famous at-bat in Twins history. That's a hard act for Target Field to follow. Here's hoping it at least comes close.