On April 6th, 1982, The Minnesota Twins played their inaugural game at the brand-new Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome. Twins rookie Gary Gaetti had four hits with a pair of home runs, but Seattle won, 11-7.

The Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome was home to the Minnesota Twins for 27 years, from 1982-2009.

I have always felt like the Dome got a bad rap. Unlike many, I loved it and it will always have a fond place in my heart.

My first job when I moved to Minnesota in 1986 was three blocks from the Dome so I could see it out my office window. It is the place where I saw the local nine win two different World Series. Over the years and hundreds of games, I saw great moments there like Game 7 of the 1991 World Series, Eddie Murray’s 3000th hit, and Cal Ripken’s 2000th consecutive game played. And from my first game there in 1986 to 1995, I got to see Kirby Puckett patrolling centerfield every time I went there.

The Dome was the kind of quirky ballpark that is fun to watch games in. Anything could happen. High flies lost in the white roof, Dan Gladden stealing an out by trapping a left-field double against the plexiglass and acting like he actually caught it, a soft double off the Hefty Bag.

Baseball in the Dome was also cheap. Three dollars would get you a seat in the upper-deck of right-field (just above the hefty bag), where once I watched Bo Jackson experimenting with the idea of hitting left-handed. On Thursdays, the tickets were two dollars. And after the 4th inning it was easy to sneak down to the good seats.

Don’t get me wrong, Target Field is great. But there is a corporateness to Target Field that is difficult for this fan to be fully comfortable with. (The Dome was named after one of the great sons of Minnesota after all, not the highest bidding corporation!)

Baseball felt more accessible to me in the Dome than it does now at Target Field. And don’t get me started on 12-dollar beers! (How can anyone afford to take their family to game anymore?)

Here is a very partial list of the players that I got to see play in the much-too-maligned, Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome:

• Kirby Puckett
• Rickey Henderson
• Nolan Ryan
• George Brett
• Robin Yount
• Paul Molitor
• Dave Winfield
• Jack Morris
• Mark McGwire
• Wade Boggs
• Sammy Sosa
• Cal Ripken, Jr.
• Eddie Murray
• Roger Clemens
• Don Mattingly
• Ken Griffey, Jr.
• Alex Rodgriguez
• Bert Blyleven
• Ichiro Suzuki
• Randy Johnson
• Willie Wilson
• Kent Hrbeck
• Gary Gaetti
• Dan Gladden