It’s not often that a baseball team replaces a fully enclosed dome with an outdoor stadium, but that’s what the Twins did in 2010. Many were skeptical of the decision to not include a retractable roof at the new venue as 40-degree days in April and September are all too common in Minneapolis. But the low temperatures are not as extreme as some may have anticipated as only about 10% of games at Target Field are played below 50 degrees throughout the season.
As much as Target Field is different than the Metrodome, the new field included a few prominent design characteristics that paid homage to its predecessor. Most notable is the 23-foot wall that extends across the entire right side of the field, which matches both the height and placement of “the baggy” at the old dome. There’s even a section of bleachers on that side uniquely hanging over the warning track that was designed to emulate its former.
Target Field can be solidly characterized as a pitchers park. While the left side measures further than average at all points, the right side’s shallower dimensions are protected by the aforementioned wall measuring 23 feet in height. While the tall RF fence can be a good target for doubles and triples, every part along the outfield perimeter is at least a moderately difficult home run spot. Ballpark Pal ranks Target Field 27th for home runs and 18th for doubles and triples.
An interesting tidbit about Target Field is that its 8.5 acre footprint is the smallest in MLB. As a result of the small plot of land it sits on, the stadium architects were forced to creatively stack and angle the bleachers vertically, which creates somewhat of a bowl shape. This likely makes fly balls less receptive to wind as Ballpark Pal rates it 15th for wind effect (below average for fully outdoor stadiums). The venue does tend to vary a decent amount throughout the season (10th in park variation). This has a lot to do with the varying temperature in Minneapolis as about 40% of games are played either below 60 or above 80 degrees.
