Minnesota Twins: Most Memorable Moments in Target Field's Young History

When the Minnesota Twins said goodbye to the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome in 2009, a new era began—an era of outdoor baseball at Target Field.

Despite having only played 2.5 years at Target Field, this elegantly crafted stadium has been the location of several unforgettable moments in Twins history.

This article relives some of the most memorable moments during the last three seasons at Target Field.  

Note: Moments are not in a particular order. The order is open to interpretation.

Thome Passes Killebrew

It was July 3, 2010 and Jim Thome had one of his many career multi-home run games.  In this particular game, Thome added home run numbers 573 and 574 to his career total.

As any baseball fan knows, this put him past the legendary Twins slugger, Harmon Killebrew.

What made this moment so special was a video message from Killebrew, congratulating Thome on passing him on the all-time home runs list.  It was a heartfelt moment from one classy slugger to another.  

Twins Clinch AL Central, Gardenhire’s 800th

On September 21, 2010, the Minnesota Twins clinched the AL Central with a come-from-behind victory against the Cleveland Indians. Thousands of fans witnessed the Twins' first AL Central title since moving to Target Field. 

This great victory was not only the franchise's first playoff birth since moving, but Ron Gardenhire's 800th win. Gardy eventually won AL Manager of the Year that season.

An unforgettable day at Target Field.

Joe Nathan Becomes Twins All-Time Saves Leader

One of the most dominant closers in the mid-to-late 2000s, Joe Nathan led the majors in saves from 2004 to 2009 with 246.  After offseason surgery and a year spent in recovery, Nathan returned to the Twins roster in 2011.

On August 10, 2011 Nathan recorded his 255th career save to pass Rick Aguilera as the Twins all-time saves leader.

Though that was only Nathan's ninth save of the 2011 season, it was a special moment for Nathan and Twins fans as the closer showed incredible perseverance to come back from surgery and earn this franchise record.

Thome Walks off to Beat ChiSox

On April 17, 2010, Jim Thome made Target Field history and MLB history. Thome homered in the 10th to not only beat the White Sox, but hit Target Field's first walk-off home run.

This moment in Twins history became a historic moment in MLB history, too. The bomb put Thome in an eight-way tie as the all-time walk-off home runs leader.

The victory also put Minnesota four games ahead of the second-place White Sox in the 2010 AL Central race.

An epic night at Target Field. 

Twins Retire Number 28

During January of 2011, in his 14th year on the ballot for the MLB Hall of Fame, Bert Blyleven was finally selected to be enshrined at Cooperstown.

To commemorate this historic moment, the Minnesota Twins celebrated by retiring Blyleven's No. 28, adding him to the likes of Harmon Killebrew, Rod Carew, Tony Oliva, Kirby Puckett and Kent Hrbek.

On July 16, 2011, Blyleven accepted the honor in front of 41,000 Target Field fans.

Killebrew Memorial

Though the death of Harmon Killebrew was by no means a happy moment, the celebration that the Twins held at Target Field was memorable.  

During the ceremony, numerous Hall of Famers and current Twins paid their respects to the great slugger. The stadium housed a sense of sadness never felt before at Target Field.  

The gloom quickly vanished when a smiling Jim Thome appeared in the outfield stands, holding a game worn Harmon Killebrew jersey, marking Killebrew's famous 520-foot home run.

Quite simply, it was a sincere celebration of a Twins baseball legend.

Opening Day

The first day of a new era.

After nearly three decades in the teflon-covered Dome, the Twins opened a new chapter in their history at the beautiful Target Field.

Their opening day events included the unveiling of a bronze Kirby Puckett statue, ceremonially opening of stadium gates by Twins legends and raising of the championship pennants by former Twins.

All this on top of a 5-2 victory over the Boston Red Sox. Quite a day.

Honorable Mention

There certainly are other great moments at Target Field that are worth mentioning:

July 17, 2011: Jim Thome slugged career home run number 596, which traveled 490 feet.  A Target Field record.

October 6, 2010: Target Field’s first playoff game against the Yankees, a 6-4 loss.

June 17, 2012: Denard Span plays hero in the longest game played at Target Field. Span's single led the Twins to a 5-4 win in 15 innings over the Brewers.