June 19, 2008 at 9:18 a.m.
Town ball to Twins, there's baseball for everyone in Lakes Area
Town ball to Twins, there's baseball for everyone in Lakes Area
With the tantalizing aroma of a perfect mix of sun-drenched grass and dirt coated with with a month's worth of rain upon us, baseball options are endless throughout the dog days of summer.
Although the high school baseball season ended last weekend, that season is a mere precursor to the whirlwind of ball that goes on in Minnesota summers.
For some local flair, a sturdy town ball team offers up their services. The Chisago Lakes Bulldogs are coming off a 20-9 season. The'Dogs play their home games at the baseball field at the Chisago Lakes high school.
Jon Kent manages the team full of local ballplayers, most with some sort of post-high school experience under their belts, so its a treat to watch.
Minnesota is one of the last great outposts for town ball. There are still over 300 town ball teams scattered around the state, divided among three different classes.
Town ball rules consist of the same baseball rules that college and professional teams adhere to. Nine-inning games and no 10-run mercy rule like high school means an authentic baseball experience in the heart of the Chisago Lakes area. The Forest Lake Brewers also suit up for a town ball schedule, and they play their home games at Schumaker Field in Forest Lake.
If there isn't a town ball team suiting up, then there is the always-entertaining St. Paul Saints playing at Midway Stadium in St. Paul.
The wacky giveaways and funky promotions that the Saints put on are only equaled in the effort by the ballplayers on the field at Midway.
On June 7, the Saints held the 'Purple Game' in honor of Prince's 50th birthday. To celebrate the Minnesota-born icon, a cover band was on hand to crank classic Prince hits, and the players wore purple threads, with symbols on them instead of numbers.
If you're still aiming higher than tthe Independent League, Twins games are the best value ticket in town. As the Vikings and Wild ticket prices skyrocket, andthe KG-less Timberwolves plummet to the bottom of the NBA standings, the Twins are the best bet to see a good professional team at an affordable price.
The best thing about it is that the Twins run a boatload of promotions to fuel fan interest at the game.
Wednesday's are dollar Dome Dog nights, where, just as the name implies, famous Dome Dogs are only a buck apiece.
The best deal, however, for the summer is the six more "All-You-Can-Eat nights" at the Metrodome for a Twins game. After having one earlier in the season that was a hot ticket, the Twins announced a few weeks ago that they were having more.
Monday June 30, and Tuesday, July 1 will be the first batch of the food-gorging when the Twins take on American League Central Division rival Detroit Tigers.
The second round of ballpark heaven, in which ticketholders can eat as many nachos, hot dogs, pretzels popcorn and peanuts they want, as well as drink as much pop possible, is on Monday, July 28 and Tuesday, July 29 against the Twins' southside rivals, the Chicago White Sox.
The last two games are on Monday August 18, and Tuesday August 19 agaist the green- and gold-clad Oakland Athletics. All games start at 7:10 p.m. and each game will only sell 600 of the tickets, so get 'em quick.
And the next two summers are merely serving as a passover as the lame-duck Metrodome will be in the Twins rearview mirror soon. A brand new outdoor ballpark will be opening it's doors to begin the season in 2010.
What's better than professional baseball in the summer?
I'll tell you what is. Professional baseball OUTSIDE in the summer, and that is creeping up on the state of Minnesota
If watching a game of baseball isn't your forté, there is plenty of leagues to play in in different places over the summer. Beer leagues, competitive leagues or recreational leagues, there is a flavor for everyone to indulge in in America's favorite pasttime.
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