From This Valley

By Pete Steiner

They paved paradise ...

Fans of Joni Mitchell will, of course, be able to complete that line: “and put up a parking lot!”

We could be speaking of countless beautiful spaces in innumerable places, some even here in Mankato.

But this particular lament was prompted by a tweet from my friend, the writer and Minnesota State University professor Rachael Hanel, a month back.

It was about the legendary old Metropolitan Stadium in Bloomington, original home of the Twins and Vikings (and the site of the only appearance by The Beatles in Minnesota, in July of 1965.) You know what occupies that space now – the Mall of ‘Em All.

Rachael says she’s too young to have ever gone to a game at the Met. Although I might only wish I were still that young, I can treasure some memories of the great Vikings’ Super Bowl years.

Once when the Rams came to town for a playoff game in 1974, I was with a group of theater folks having cocktails at the old Thunderbird on the 494 strip.

Fred Dryer and some of his ‘mates from that great Rams team came in for dinner, and we tried to “psych” them saying, “You guys are gonna freeze!”

It was late December, the game would be outside in the snow, and everyone knows that Vikes coach Bud Grant did not allow sideline heaters. Man up! (The Vikings won the game.)

The Twins played a great World Series at the Met in 1965. (I didn’t get to attend in person.) Unfortunately for the Twins, in game 7, we had to face the Dodgers’ incomparable Sandy Koufax. The Twins lost, 2-0.

On June 3, 1967, legendary Twins slugger Harmon Killebrew launched a home run at the Met that traveled 522 feet – one of only two balls ever hit into the upper deck there. (Harmon hit the other!) That home run remains one of only about a dozen that have ever been hit that far in major league baseball, and the seat where it landed was painted bright orange in commemoration.

Decades later, at the Metrodome downtown, I was a guest broadcaster on the Twins’ network, with my daughter Grace. We met announcer John Gordon, who took us to lunch, where we sat down with … Harmon Killebrew!

Gushing, I asked him about that mammoth home run, and he nodded in acknowledgment but immediately shifted the conversation to Grace’s ballet.

Anyone who ever met Harmon will confirm how gracious and self-effacing he was, something I have to think is unusual in an athlete of that stature.

I was at the Met for the last Twins game played there (I have a certificate of proof!) in September 1981, before the move to the Metrodome.

I went with a group of Mankato musicians; a photo I still treasure is displayed above my desk. The Twins were in one of their down cycles that year and, as a result, drew a smallish crowd.

A light drizzle was not enough to delay the game, which was a good one.

Clint Hurdle (most recently fired, then retired, as manager of the Pirates) was a former No. 1 draft pick, playing first base for the Kansas City Royals; it’s a good trivia question: Who hit the last home run at old Met Stadium?

It was Hurdle, to give the Royals a lead. The Twins had a chance in the bottom of the ninth, with good-hitting shortstop Roy Smalley (now a Twins’ broadcast analyst) at the plate with two outs. But he popped up, and that was it.

Many fans stormed the field at the conclusion, with some grabbing up souvenir chunks of turf. Our group went onto the field but settled for the photo.

You might recognize some of the musicians in the picture, although the two gents on the far right were photo-bombing us.

It’s gratifying to express a few thoughts about a great old stadium as we are underway in a new baseball season.

Of course, now we have a beautiful Target field in downtown Minneapolis. Hopefully, some of us will be able to attend a game or two there in person this year after missing all of last year due to COVID.

Random thought: Interesting that as we began to emerge from winter and COVID caution, by mid-March, the standard Minnesota greeting had morphed from “Cold enough for ya?” to “Got yer shots yet?” Here’s to vaccines and a more sociable summer than last year’s!