I want to hear your Metrodome horror stories. Did your favorite team have a nightmare play, a horrible game or just a bad memory of this ill-fated football venue where baseball was played? I want to hear about it.It doesn't matter what team it is. Even Twins fans, I'm sure, have horror stories in that place. It doesn't matter if your team is the home team or a visiting American League or visiting National League team. I want to hear a horror story that involved your team getting the shaft.
Here's the format for the contest.
Team: xxxxxx
Bad memory: xxxxxxxxxxxx
The winner will be randomly selected by random.org.
The winner will receive this lovely 2009 Topps Chrome Rookie Autograph of Brian Duensing, numbered to 499. Brian was the last starting pitcher to face the White Sox in the Metrodome.
Contest is open to anyone. One entry per person. Invalid entries will not be included. Entries must have team name and bad memory to be counted. If you enter an invalid entry, you are out of the contest, so make sure your first and only entry count! Only your first entry will be considered.
Contest ends on September 11, 2009 at 7:10 PM Central time, which is the scheduled start time for the Twins last home stand in September. The last home stand is actually in October, but I didn't want to stretch the contest out that long.
Good luck!
15 comments:
Oh man... so many in my midwestern life.
Team: Oakland A's
Bad memory: When I was little, I was the biggest Mark McGwire fan around, and once a year the family would go to the Dome to see the A's play. On our 1989 voyage to the Big Baggie, I somehow thought it would be a good idea to put two bratwurts into my ten-year-old body, which is strange because I doubt I could eat two Dome brats now. Anyway, I pounded the brats and then went down to the Oakland side of the field for batting practice and to try to get McGwire's autograph. While waiting, I realized something wasn't quite right and I began to sweat a little bit. My stomach was suddenly in knots, but I couldn't afford missing him signing. After a lifetime of gastrointestinal agony (five minutes, probably), he made his way over and I was mobbed my a gigantic crowd, all wanting a sig. Somehow I was able to hold out just long enough to get him to sign. And I mean JUST LONG ENOUGH - as soon as I got the card back in my hand, I turned around and puked on another kid who couldn't have been much older than I was. Apparently, my stomach knew it was okay to no longer fight it.
I've probably been to about 50 games there, but that one will always stand out as the most vivid in my mind. The same can probably be said for the kid I hucked on.
I dunno if this will be valid or not, since I don't really have a team or specific horror story to type about, but it's worth a mention I guess.
The Metrodome just looks like the most horribly uninviting stadium in all of baseball, if not all of sports. It's just so bleak and dreary looking, there's probably weird unaccounted for creaky noises & stuff like in a creepy old house. The hefty bag wall makes me think of the ghost house in Super Mario World. The only reason I can even see the Twins enjoying playing there is because of the easily exploitable elements.
Sorry if that isn't valid, I just had to get that off my chest.
Word Verification: cones!
Slette: that sounds brutal, but at least you held in there and got the sig. Not what I was going for, but it is still a valid entry.
lonestarr: so close. Great criticism of the place, but not team specific enough. As much as I'd like it to be, it's not valid for this contest. Thank for getting that off your chest though!
Team: Mariners
My one and only trip to the Metrodome was in 1998 (i think, it may have been 97?) and I saw the Twins against the Mariners. At this point Ken Griffey Junior was still in the home run race (i think he had around 20) and I thought if nothing else, maybe I would see a piece of history. I wasn't a fan of any player on the field that day. In the end it was A-Rod who homered and the guy who caught the ball didn't want to throw it back. I was only a few sections away and I could see the mob closing in. I remember wondering if the security guards would help the guy out but they ignored it and eventually he threw the ball back and left. I wasn't impressed. I do wish I had been there back in 1987... To make matters worse, I ended up seeing A-Rod hit at least two more homers in a dome that year-the victims-the rays...Again, my year may be cloudy, when you drink to forget, it makes it hard to remember...
Team: Atlanta Braves
Memory: Oh the Humanity.... October 27, 1991 Braves at Twins, Game 7 of the World Series. Old vet Jack Morris against Young Gun John Smoltz. Final score 1-0 in extra innings.
The best world series ever, if not fo rhte result. Four games decided on the FINAL PITCH. Three go extra innings, five games decided in the last at bat....
I could just cry...
Team: Texas Rangers
Memory: There have been some heartbreaking losses at the Metrodome, but on May 26, 2000, the Rangers came into Minnesota having won 8 of 9 and 4 games over .500 at 25-21. Minnesota put the game away with 5 in the 7th and went on to a 10-2 win. They proceeded to sweep the next two in the series and Texas spiraled out of the playoff picture going 46-66 the rest of the way. Terrible, but typical results for a team with a wretched playoff history.
team: dodgers
memory: now, i don't mind seeing the twins win, and have been to many games at the dome, but would rather see the dodgers anyday. so, imagine my joy turning to horror when my beloved dodgers (in first place!) made the trip to the dome in june of 2006 for a 3-game series. i went to all 3 games, and witnessed the dodgers get manhandled by the twins. they left in 2nd place with their tails between their legs having lost to carlos silva, francisco liriano (who was 8-1) and johan, and were outscored 23-7. the real dodger killer was joe mauer who went 11 for 13 during the series. it sucked to see my favorite team get swept in person like that, even if i have a soft spot for the twinkies.
Sad stories. Keep 'em coming!
I can understand a soft spot for the Twins. Kirby was one of my favorites growing up. To this day I can still respect the type of players that Minnesota produces.
Team: White Sox
Memory: 5/22/2004 - My first trip into that thing they call a stadium. Brad Radke was going up against Neil Cotts. Do I have to go further? Ok I will. Lecroy hit a two run homer, and Morneau hit a solo shot amonst other runs scored in a 9-1 blowout. The fans in the bleachers were brutal to me in my Sox gear, but we got revenge the next night beating Santana 17-7. For a memory when I was not there I was have to say Hunter bowling over our catcher, and us not doing a thing about it. That spelled the end of the 2003 playoff run for the Sox.
Braves.
Hefty Bags, Air conditioning on full blast during the top half of every inning, Kent The Goon Hrbek, Skates getting juked, Charlie Leibrandt, Jack Morris, Dirty cheeters.
When the Sox played the twins and torii DEMOLISHED the catcher. there should have been some sort of team fight. I mean come on. Anyway I created a new blog which I am trying to get publicity for at www.toriihunter.wordpress.com I would like for everyone to check it out as I am doing some reviews and small contests in the next week or so. Thanks for the support and please add me to your blogroll if you have a blog. Thank you
Team: Tigers
Memory:
This one's easy, although I had to consult Baseball Reference to get the some of the details. Here's what I remember.
2006: Jeremy Bonderman vs. Johan Santana
Bonderman is stellar for the game, and the Tigers knock Santana out early. Bonderman is cruising into the eigth when all of a sudden: Bam! Error, error, bloop, balk, infield hit IMPLOSION.
Twins win the game, Tigers win a few more and then spiral out of control and lose the division by one game.
Here were the details: Tiger up 3-0 going into the bottom of the 8th.
1. Infield Single + Throwing Error
2. Ground Ball to 1B, Error, Run Scores
3. Single
4. Infield Single
5. Balk, Run Scores (Bonderman separated his hands while on the rubber to ask the catcher to go through the signs again. I vividly remember my heart sinking when he did this.)
6. Groundout, Run Scores
7. Fly Out
8. Intentional Walk (to Joe Mauer)
9. Triple, Two Runs Score.
Tigers go down 6-3 and get to face Joe Nathan for the 9th.
Ugh. This one stands out the most in my mind, but this was always the stuff that would happen to the Tigers in the metrodome. Infield hits, errors off of weird hops, just weird, random stuff would always doom them. I'll be a happy camper once that place is dead and buried.
Team: Braves
Moment:In the WS Hrbek pushed Gant off the bag for an "out." Still think that dude deserves a MLB-style beat-down for that.
There are so many for me also. I have really grown to hate the baggy dome over the years. My story will be my first bad memory.
Team: Lions
Moment: In 1980, after many years of suck the Lions drafted a Heisman Trophy winning running back out of Oklahoma with the first overall pick in the draft. Billy Sims would go on to give Lion fans hope, something that they did not have much of since moving into the Silverdome. They started off like gangbusters in 80, but missed the playoffs. In 82 they made the playoffs, only to lose to the Redskins in the first round. Back again in 83 they lost to the 49ers in teh first round when Eddie Murray shanked a field goal. Things were looking up in 84 as they were coming off back to back playoff appearances, including a division crown. All of that changed midway through the 84 season as Billy Sims tore his knee up on the crappy turf. At the time Billy was the all-time leading rusher in Lion history. It was a shame to lose a great player, before he finished his 5th season.
Team: Braves
Bad Memory: 1991 World Series.
Growing up in Oregon, I had very few outlets when it came to MLB teams. The only teams on television at that time were the Atlanta Braves and the Chicago Cubs. I glommed on to the Braves and endured several years of heartache because of it. It did not help that during the same time the Seahawks were just terrible and the Blazers would get close, but never over the top.
So worst memory is game 6 and 7 of the 1991 World Series. Yes, Gant got screwed, but the most frustrating part was that the away team just could never get over the top on this series. The Braves had two...TWO chances to put away the Twins, but could not get over the hump. I was totally deflated when Gene Larkin (injured none-the-less) came through and punched in the winning run in the bottom of the 10th.
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