Last weekend, I attended a Minnesota Twins baseball game. They played the Chicago Cubs, whom they defeated 11-3 in entertaining fashion. It was a lovely afternoon for a ball game. I had a few beers and baked in the early summer sunshine.
Often times I forget about Target Field. It really is a lovely stadium, despite its lack of history. But even Fenway Park had to start somewhere. Every once in a while, when I am pining over the MCG, Lord’s, and Wankhede, it is nice to remember that I have a world class stadium in my backyard. Wrong sport, of course, but still…
And baseball, despite its flaws, is a lovely game. Full of America and history. The play itself has a balance to it that I really enjoy. You are not constantly sitting on the edge of your seat like you are in a football match, but there is just enough action to keep you occupied. Further, the game has its little moments that I enjoy, like when the crowd got on an opposing batsman for repeatedly asking the umpire for time.
Yesterday, I mentioned that cricket was the best parts of baseball, tennis, and golf. And while I stand by that, I want it to be clear that baseball and cricket are vastly different games. They should never be mentioned in the same breath, even.
Also a few days ago I mentioned that cricket needs to cease thinking that its three different formats are competing against each other, and in that same vein, American cricket fans need to stop seeing baseball in competition with cricket. The two sports are incomparable, and one can enjoy both equally and separately. (Brandon Decker from the Forward Defensive is a great example of an American who gets it.)
One point I thought of during Spain-Ireland last night: in cricket, the bowler earns the hattrick – a stat normally set aside for the offensive side of games: football, hockey…etc. And that’s just it, in cricket, the boys in the field are the offense, the ATTACK, not the defense. Baseball is the polar opposite. The games are incomparable.
A few pics from last weekend:
Enjoy the weekend.
Limited Overs 
Thanks for the mention! And lovely pics too; Target Field always looks nice on telly when the Royals play there and it’s very high on my list of stadia to which I want to go.
Great pics. I love how downtown looms over the stadium. Australian cricket grounds are near the centre, but generally surrounded by parks. Not a bad thing at all, but there is a charm to the stadium integrated into the streetscape.
Spot on with respect to polar opposites too. It took me a long time to “get” baseball because I was looking for the wrong things – from a cricket perspective it is just a lot of really bad batting. Once you realise that the game is centred on the pitcher’s defence, it becomes a lot more interesting.