Shipley: Baseball is beautiful at its best. And, as the Saints just reminded us, also its worst
St. Paul Saints pitchers walked 20 batters in a 19-3 loss to the Worcester WooSox on Tuesday night, which had to be frustrating for an organization dedicated to emphasizing the fun that can be had at the Ol’ Ballpark. One day before April 1?
The Saints set a franchise record with the 20 walks, which ,while not that impressive historically — the Saints’ rebirth as the Twins’ Triple-A club dates only to 2021 — will be difficult to beat. As the kids said 10 years ago, it’s pretty epic. Speaking of 10, that’s how many runs the Saints allowed in the sixth inning, another franchise record that will almost certainly have a shorter shelf life than the 20 walks.
The free passes are more remarkable and easier to make jokes about. What’s the official distance between Target Field and CHS Field? Twenty walks.
Rim shot. But we come here to praise Baseball with a capital B, not bury the way the Saints played it Tuesday or the current state of Twins baseball writ large. Baseball is a difficult game; failure is inevitable.
Sometimes it comes down like a hard rain and stays for a bit. And like getting caught in a downpour, at some point you give in and it becomes fun. And as Mike Veeck probably still says, fun is good.