Minnesota Twins: Twins president trolls fans about snow

With concerns about snow impacting the Minnesota Twins home opener, Twins president Dave St. Peter went to Twitter and added some flame to the icy discussion.

The Minnesota Twins have frequently faced frigid weather early in the season. Such is the case when you are in the frozen tundra early in the baseball season. Heck, just five years ago, ahead of the 2013 home opener with Detroit, the Minnesota Twins stadium staff was removing snow from the stands hours ahead of the home opener that was 35 degrees at first pitch, and the stadium was full of snow a matter of days later when a snowstorm moved through just after the first series completed and the Twins left town.

This Thursday’s home opener against the Seattle Mariners is scheduled to be just barely above that 2013 home opener in first pitch temp, with a forecast first pitch temperature of 36. That would put the game on par with the coldest home openers in team history, with the 1962 home opener against the Angels in old Met Stadium registering the lowest at Baseball Reference at 33 degrees.

The Minnesota Twins have been fielding plenty of calls at team offices about the game being moved or rescheduled, and that prompted a tweet from Twins President and CEO Dave St. Peter:

The #BoldNorth hash tag was a rallying cry during cold weather football, especially during the Super Bowl as massive media descended upon the Twin Cities area and began to realize that February in Minnesota was (SURPRISE!) cold. It became a rallying point for many in the region, but apparently not when it comes to baseball, as this reply to St. Peter was not uncommon in the replies to his tweet:

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The Minnesota Twins have played a home opener under the guise of snow as well in 1972, once again at old Met Stadium in Bloomington, MN, against the A’s, and that was even on April 23rd. Of course, of these three games mentioned (1962, 1972, 2013), that was the only game the Twins won, so perhaps the team may want to consider reconsidering their decision!

Regardless of whether the white stuff is flying or not, the Minnesota Twins will look to continue the success their starting pitching had been seeing until Monday’s encounter with the Pirates, as Twins starters did not allow a single run in their opening series with the Orioles.

The probable starters for the home opener on Thursday are Kyle Gibson, who finished 2017 on fire with a 3.15 ERA and 1.26 WHIP over 10 starts and 60 innings from the All-Star break through mid-September, after which he looked a bit tired his last few starts of the season, finishing with a second half record of 7-3 over 13 starts, with a 3.78 ERA and 1.28 WHIP over 76 2/3 innings with a 22/70 BB/K ratio, facing off against James Paxton of the Mariners.

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So, throw on your parka and get your hand warmers (convenient link to one of Walmart’s available options!) for what should be a fun start to the home season at Target Field, Minnesota Twins fans!