Twins Home Opener Will Be a Frozen Tundra Record Opener
We took a chance a few years ago by opting for an outdoor Twins baseball stadium in Minnesota, and it's going to bite us again for the home opener on Thursday with record low temps.
Back in 2010 Target Field officially opened and outdoor Twins baseball came back to Minnesota. We all knew the chance we were taking with unpredictable weather in April playing outdoor baseball in Minnesota, but we still wanted an outdoor stadium.
We've been slightly lucky since Target Field opened, with an awesome opening day on April 12th of 2010, with a game day high of 68 degrees. The worst opening day at Target Field was on April 1st of 2013, when the high was 36 degrees. Here's what the temp on each opening day at Target Field has been since it opened in 2010, according to the MN DNR:
- 4/12/10 - 68 degrees
- 4/8/11 - 64 degrees
- 4/9/12 - 48 degrees
- 4/1/13 - 36 degrees
- 4/7/14 - 60 degrees
- 4/13/15 - 64 degrees
- 4/11/16 - 44 degrees
- 4/3/17 - 53 degrees
This year's 2018 home opener on Thursday will be a record low of 33 degrees for the high, and 12 above for the low. The game starts at 3:10 pm with the temperature dropping shortly after the game starts.
You may remember that before the Metrodome was built, the Twins played outdoor baseball in Bloomington at Metropolitan Stadium, which is where the Mall of America is located now. The coldest home opener was set all the way back on April 14th of 1962 (the 2nd season they played at Met Stadium) against the Los Angeles Angels, with a high temp of 34 degrees. The warmest home opener we've had in an outdoor stadium was also at Met Stadium, where the temp was a hot 90 degrees on April 22, 1980.
If you're superstitious then you'll be worried about this year's home opener, as every time the home opener has been in the 30 degree temps, which there has been only two times, the Twins have lost that game. In 1962, when it was 34 degrees, they lost to the Angels 5-12. In 2013, when it was 36 degrees, they lost to the Detroit Tigers 2-4.
This year's winter has really taken a toll on us and doesn't show any signs of letting up, at least this week. On Thursday, April 12th, it looks like spring will finally force its way into Minnesota and push the winter season out for good. A high of 49 is expected, with temps in the 50's from that point forward. Until then, bundle up with heavy winter gear if you plan to see any Twins home games!