[新聞]Twins plan big sendoff for Metrodome
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MINNEAPOLIS -- Kent Hrbek grew up going to Twins games at the old Metropolitan
Stadium and remembers the fun of watching outdoor baseball -- even if it meant
bundling up in his hunting outfit early in the season.
But while Hrbek has a strong passion for outdoor baseball, nearly all of his
14 seasons with the Twins were spent inside the Metrodome.
That's why Hrbek admitted feeling a little bittersweet on Monday, when the
Twins unveiled the plans for the club's final season in the Metrodome at a
rally held at the IDS Crystal Court in downtown Minneapolis.
"It will be sad, because my career was in the Dome," said Hrbek, a Bloomington,
Minn. native. "I am fired up about outdoor baseball. I loved outdoor baseball.
But it's kind of a hit-and-miss thing there [saying goodbye]. We have a lot of
good memories, yet the Dome is a horrible place to watch baseball. I found
that out after I quit playing. And so it will be good to get back to playing
outdoors."
It was a gathering of Twins new and old on Monday to kick off the 2009 season,
in which the ballclub will say goodbye to the Metrodome, the place it's called
home since 1982.
Current Twins Justin Morneau and Glen Perkins were on hand for the event,
modeling the throwback uniforms that the club will don for Saturday home games
this season.
The uniforms are similar to the ones the Twins wore during the inaugural season
of the Metrodome in 1982 -- solid white with a red Twins script on the front
and a red and blue stripe down the sides of the pants. But these uniforms
feature a few tweaks, of course, such as belts and button-down jerseys, rather
than the old elastic waistband Sansabelt pants and pullovers.
The Twins will also wear vintage red hats on throwback days, and just like
in '82, these retro uniforms will not have the players' names on the back.
It's the first time the club has donned jerseys without names since 2000,
Twins president Dave St. Peter said.
Both Morneau and Perkins seemed to be big fans of the new look.
"I'm a big throwback, vintage kind of guy," Morneau said. "I like most of the
old uniforms, and these are pretty sweet."
"The first thing I said is that we'll probably try to wear these more than just
Saturdays," Perkins added. "I think they did a really good job. ... It's a
break from the pinstripes. I think everyone will really like them."
St. Peter said the throwback jerseys will be worn on Opening Day of the 2009
season at the Metrodome and on all Saturday games at the Dome, but it's
unlikely they'll be used more consistently than that. The team also plans to
have a similar sort of commemorative uniform during the opening season at
Target Field in 2010, which will mark the 50th season for the Twins in
Minnesota.
"I think the current players enjoy the history of the heritage being passed
down, and certainly one of the ways you can do that is with uniforms,"
St. Peter said.
The Twins also revealed their final-season logo on Monday. The logo will be
displayed throughout the Metrodome, on commemorative baseballs used during
every home game and on all the 2009 uniforms as a special patch. The club also
has plans to select an All-Metrodome team, and fans will get a chance to take
part in the voting process.
In addition to inviting back former players throughout the season, St. Peter
also said that the Twins are planning to a host a postgame event following the
regular-season finale against the Royals. It will be a chance to say goodbye
to the place where the Twins won their only two World Series championships and
have won four division titles in the last seven years.
Like Hrbek, Perkins is also a Minnesota native, and the 25-year-old grew up
going to the Metrodome. He said his family used to sit in the upper-deck seats
in right field, and like many kids today, he tried to get players to throw him
balls during batting practice -- he even caught one from former Twins player
Chili Davis.
"When you think of baseball in Minnesota, you think of the Metrodome,"
Perkins said. "But at the same time, I think it's good we are getting a new
stadium. I think it's really going to help up as a team to have that
excitement. I'm looking forward to it."
Morneau is also eagerly anticipating the new ballpark, although he hopes to
send the Metrodome out in style before moving on to Target Field.
"Yeah, we have an advantage at the Metrodome, and opponents don't like playing
there, but my countdown has been on since they announced that we were getting
a new stadium, because I'm not a big fan of the Metrodome," Morneau said.
"Hopefully, we have a better year than we did last year and go out with a
championship."
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