Metrodome

I have been watching Spring training baseball. Our team, Colby's and mine, are the Minnesota Twins. This year the Twins have moved into a beautiful new outdoor stadium, but Colby and I liked the old Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome with the fly balls that got lost in the white ceiling and the funky baggie in right field.

I first took Colby to a twins game when he was four. We sat above the third base dugout in July of that year watching such Twins greats as Kirby Puckett, Dan Gladden, Greg Gagne, and Brian Harper. Those men, along with Chicago catcher Carlton Fisk, went on to become baseball heroes for Colby. My baseball heroes: Harmon Killebrew, Tony Oliva, Rod Carew, Vida Blue, and Bert Blyleven also came from the Twins organization and I remember seeing them play when I was not too much older than Colby was then.

When Colby was younger, he was an outstanding young catcher. He was also a great hitter and outfielder. He first picked up a baseball bat (a plastic one) when he was eighteen months old and about didn't let go of one until he was a teenager. Even when his interest in playing waned, he always wanted to go see a game whenever we were in Minnesota. He stayed up on the players, the stats, and the standings. Colby's collection of baseball cards is extensive and he lovingly and carefully stored his most valuable cards. Some of the cards were mine when I was young. Those he especially treasured because somewhere along the way my heroes had also become his.

Even though we both were fans of the old stadium, I would love to share the experience of a ballgame with Colby in this new Twins ballpark. I'd love to sit above the dugout just one more time and debate the merits of the Twins farm team vs. the young Red Sox players. I'd like to think that wherever Colby is, that he can go to a game anytime he wants. I'd like to think he can sail above the bleachers along with the ball and visit the players in the locker room, which is something he always wanted to do. Maybe he and Kirby Puckett are up in the nosebleed section, eating popcorn and cheering. I hope so,

I'm not sure if I will ever attend an event in the new ballpark. I don't think I could get through the game without Colby in the chair next to me, mustard from his hot dog smeared across his face, rooting for the Twins. Someday, maybe. For now I will continue to watch. I'll monitor the team, and remember some wonderful times with my son. I am glad for the memories.