Minnesota Twins postpone 2022 season opener at Target Field due to weather

The Minnesota Twins announced Wednesday morning that 2022 Opening Day at Target Field has been postponed due to weather.

Originally scheduled for Thursday, the game against the Seattle Mariners will now start Friday at 3:10 p.m. at Target Field. Gates will open at 1 p.m. Thursday's forecast calls for a high in the upper 30s, with a 60 percent chance of either rain or snow. Friday's forecast calls for a high of around 42 degrees with mostly cloudy skies, but dry.

All the season opening events, including the Breakfast on the Plaza, have been moved to Friday as well. 

People with tickets have several options according to the Twins:

  • Utilize their tickets for admission into the April 8 rescheduled Opening Day game.
  • Utilize their tickets toward any future Twins regular season home game in 2022 (subject to ticket availability). All exchanges must be made at least 24 hours before the April 8 game. (Please note that due to their limited capacity, tickets in the UnitedHealthcare Suite Level, Thomson Reuters Champions Club and Budweiser Roof Deck will be valid only for the April 8 rescheduled game).
  • Tickets for the postponed game are not subject to refunds.
  • Tickets purchased from a secondary ticket reseller will be good for the April 8 rescheduled game only.
  • Complimentary tickets are valid for the April 8 rescheduled game only.

Tickets for Friday's game are still available.

Opening Day at Target Field is expected to be a sellout crowd as the Twins made some splash moves in the offseason. It started with the Twins signing Byron Buxton to a seven year, $100 million contract to keep the star center fielder in Minnesota long-term. When healthy, he's one of the most impactful players in baseball. Buxton was off to an MVP-caliber start last season `before it was derailed by injury.

The Twins then went to free agency to find pitching, and a star infielder. They signed starting pitchers Sonny Gray and Chris Archer, who are both hoping to bounce back in 2022 from previous injury-riddled seasons. Gray is a two-time All-Star, and spent the last three seasons with the Cincinnati Reds. Archer comes to Minnesota after pitching just 19 innings with the Tampa Bay Rays last season, and missing 2020 with an injury. He's a two-time All-Star, most recently in 2017.

The biggest fish? Carlos Correa, a World Series champion and arguably the best shortstop in the game. He's a two-time All-Star and finished fifth in MVP voting last season. He hit .279 with 34 homers last season, and signed a three-year, $105 million deal to join the Twins. He wants to bring a World Series, and a championship culture, to Minnesota.

The Twins needed to give fans a jolt, and a reason to fill the seats at Target Field again. After winning division titles in Rocco Baldell's first two seasons, the Twins won just 73 games in 2021 and finished last in the AL Central. The hope is the signings of Correa, Gray and Archer can get them back to the playoffs and beyond. 

Joe Ryan will get the start as the Twins open the 2022 season against the Mariners at 3:10 p.m. Friday at Target Field.