As members of the American League since 1901 and the Central Division since 1994, the Minnesota Twins have held team colors of navy blue, red and white and donned nicknames like “Nationals” and “Senators” during that naming era. Another shortened name was the “Nats”. Historic parks where the team has played are the American League Park from 1901 to 1902, National Park from 1903 to 1910, Griffith Stadium from 1911 to 1920, Metropolitan Stadium from 1961 to 1981 and the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome from 1982 to 2009.

In their history, the team has won many major league titles. When it comes to World Series titles, the Twins earned this distinction in 1924, 1987 and 1991. They have won six American League Pennants in 1924, 1925, 1933, 1965, 1987 and 1991. The Twins earned Central Division titles in 2002, 2003, 2004, 2006 and 2009. They also have West Division titles to their credit for the years of 1969, 1970, 1987 and 1991.

With so many titles indicative of the great playing the Twins have done, it should come as no surprise that there is quite a long list of Twins Hall of Famers and more than a couple of numbers that have been retired. These numbers include Harmon Killebrew’s 3, Tony Oliva’s 6, Kent Hrbek’s 14, Rod Carew’s 29, Kirby Puckett’s 34 and Jackie Robinson’s 42; the last of which was retired by baseball. In addition to the aforementioned players who had their number retired and were inducted into the Twins Hall of Fame, other additions include Calvin Griffith, Jim Kaat, Bert Blyleven, Bob Allison, Earl Battey, Frank Viola, Zoilo Versalles, Gary Gaetti, Rick Aguilera and Brad Radke.

Although there have been some dry spells for the Minnesota Twins, they have continued to prove to be quite the force to be reckoned with when it comes to getting on the field and playing some fantastic games. With three World Series Championships under their belt and 17 American League Batting Champions, honor is certainly being given where it’s due.

Target Field, located at 1 Twins Way in Minneapolis, Minnesota is the current home of the Twins. First opened in January, 2010 it will be the first year that the Twins are playing in this new facility. With a seating capacity of 39,504 and a grass playing surface, both exhibition games and the regular season games are planned. As compared to their previous location, the Metrodome, Target Field has fewer seats but offers upgrades like 3,000 club level seats, 820 disabled seating spaces, twice as many lower club seats that are between first and third base, and less than 200 seats with obstructed views. There are also more than twice as many restrooms and more group party suites.

Although construction began in 2007, a year later, there were upgrades announced. These upgrades included a full roof canopy soffit to protect patrons. The scoreboard was also upgraded to one that is 101 feet long by 57 feet; the fourth largest in the world.

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School is out — of funds

Many Minneapolis high school athletes practice and play at inadequate facilities, and future budgets don’t provide for any quick fixes.

Dean Spiros, Star Tribune

Minneapolis South senior defensive end Zeke Shepherd plays on a football field with no lights, no electricity, no rest rooms, no ticket booth, no concession stand and no press box. He is not without shame.

“We went up to Cambridge [for the first game of the season] and the paper there pointed out we had never seen concession stands and things like that,” Shepherd said. “We have seen them — just not on our field.”

For the most part, Shepherd said, you learn to do without. But when singled out by others for lacking even standard amenities, you are drawn to re-evaluation.

“I didn’t realize how embarrassing it is,” Shepherd said.

Embarrassment, resentment, anger and resignation are among the emotions often packaged with the equipment handed out to athletes at Minneapolis public high schools. Those feelings fight for supremacy against the pride, commitment and determination that allows the athletes and administrators to rise above the failings.

The lack of quality facilities also can have an impact on a student’s decision to join a team or attend a certain school. In some cases, safety is an issue.

John Washington is in his 10th year as athletic director for Minneapolis’ seven public high schools. His experiences date back over 40 years to his days as a basketball player at North, continuing on as a coach and athletic director at Henry. The best moments of his job are spent watching young athletes perform. Too much of his time is spent saying no to coaches and ADs trying to give those athletes the type of experience they deserve.

Talk of the outdated, dilapidated, sometimes nonexistent athletic facilities of the Minneapolis public schools has long stopped qualifying as breaking news. But with each new freshman class come new sets of disbelieving eyes being introduced to the harsh reality.

“I’ve been working on [trying to improve] facilities for 10 years, which is how long I have been here,” South athletic director Mark Sanders said. “Every year we are asked to put together a needs list. Thus far, none of those needs have been met.”

Washington said enough money is allocated to the schools to keep equipment functional and the programs running each year, but there is no money for upgrading facilities. Booster clubs and fundraising events raise some revenue, but not enough to pay for “big-ticket items.”We realize Minneapolis is hurting for dollars,” Washington said, “but there has to be a way we can generate the monies necessary to rebuild the facilities.”

Taking a look around

Each of the seven schools has its own problem areas, and a recent tour of three schools offered some examples.

The biggest concerns of Edison athletic director Brandon Phillips involve the football/soccer field. The bleachers, which typically are on the outside of the track that rings the field, are on the inside of the track at Edison because surrounding buildings limit available space. Not only does the setup render the stands useless for track meets, the bleachers are dangerously close to the field.

To make matters worse, the ground along the sidelines drops off significantly toward field drains. Athletes — still inbounds — are forced to slow down to prevent slamming into the surrounding chain link fence.

“We have to put mats down [over the low areas] to prevent the kids from getting hurt,” Phillips said.

Henry athletic director Dave Wicker proudly shows off his school’s gym, which was updated with new lighting and a new scoreboard last year. The school also boasts a baseball field; all the other schools play on city fields.

Henry’s needs lie around the football field.

Portable toilets are brought in on gamedays because there are no permanent facilities. The concession stand is so decrepit the school rarely uses it, setting up folding tables instead.

But, by far, the worst conditions are found at South, which has the largest enrollment among the Minneapolis schools.

What serves as the football practice field would best be described as a vacant lot. It is South’s only practice field. The green patches are not grass but straggly tangles of weeds. “It’s not fun to get tackled on,” Shepherd said. “It’s dangerous, too. I find broken pieces of glass once in a while. It would be a lot more reassuring if we had actual grass.”