When I tune into an away game and see that Byron Buxton is batting leadoff for my local nine, the Minnesota Twins, I always feel like the Twinkies have a chance. Nothing sets the tone of a game like a 1-0 start. As readers of ClimbingSky may know, my favorite leadoff hitter of all time, Rickey Henderson, specialized in the feat.

I recently started thinking about lead-off homers I may have seen and decided to do a little amateur research on the subject at Stathead.com.

I began with the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome, the teflon home of the Twins from 1982-2009 and the place where the Twins won two World Series.

Since I am not a data person, I am not certain that I did the research correctly, but if I am right, here is the breakdown:

• In all just 38 Lead-off homers were hit by opposition players in the Metrodome
• 33 different players did so
• Curtis Granderson did it 3 times
• Rickey Henderson did it 2 times
• Pitcher Brad Radke gave up 5 lead-off homers

Next I wanted to compare those numbers to the numbers at the Twins new outdoor ballpark, Target Field. Since 2025 is not complete, I just researched the 2010-2024 seasons. Here is that breakdown:

• In just 14 seasons a total of 29 Lead-off homers were hit by opposition players in Target
• July & August the month where the most were hit 16

Two things I suspect contribute to the numbers accumulating faster at Target Field. First, summer humidity and heat in an outdoor ballpark vs. in indoor one. Second, the changing nature of the game and particularly the lead-off hitter in today’s, data-driven game

Tomorrow, I am going to look at 1st inning homers by Twins players at the Metrodome and Target Field