Home Opener Arrives With No Game

Mother Nature has done her part. The grounds crew has the field all set. The Twins would have been ready as well. But the Home Opener for the Minnesota Twins will pass Thursday, April 2 with no baseball at Target Field, yet another major event to come and go during the coronavirus pandemic that has shut down many aspects of everyday life.

Minnesota Twins Executive Chair Jim Pohlad emailed a letter to fans Thursday, "Dear Twins Fans, For nearly 60, Twins baseball has been the thread that binds our state's fabric from early spring through the summer, and - in those most magical of years - deep into the fall."

Major League baseball shutdown spring training in mid-March and awaits clearance from national health officials before resuming action. Talk has been held on whether games might be played without fans in the stand, of neutral site locations to reduce team travel, or of multiple doubleheaders.

Pohlad continued, "Today, although we are not gathered together at Target Field to celebrate the 2020 Twins Home Opener, it is still a day of unity, a day of possibility, and - yes - a day of hope. Today, we are all teammates in a great cause: joining together to stop the spread of the COVID-19 virus by staying home."

Pohlad final words in the letter are, "we wish you and your family safety and good health at this difficult time. Together, we will face these challenges. Together, as one Twins Territory, we will perservere - and we will be even stronger moving forward."

Visit twinsbaseball.com for more information from the team. The squad was hoping to build on the success of a division championship in 2019.

Big Nine Conference high school baseball was scheduled for its first game on Wednesday, April 1 with Rochester John Marshall and Rochester Century scheduled to play at Mayo Field. Owatonna was supposed to go to Mayo Field Thursday, April 2 for a match up with the Mayo Spartans. The Faribault Falcons would have been at Albert Lea on Thursday for their opener.

The Minnesota State High School League has sports on suspension until at least May 4 in line the Minnesota Department of Education's distance learning policy through at least that date.