For the first time in 30 seasons as a team, the St. Paul Saints are opening their regular season before the Minnesota Twins.
The Saints, who are in their second year as the Twins Triple-A affiliate, embark on their new season with six-straight road games against the Louisville Bats, the Triple-A affiliate for the Cincinnati Reds.
While Major League Baseball teams wondered if their season would ever begin, the Saints' season was never in doubt.
"The lockout was never going to play a roll in whether the Saints played or not," said Sean Aronson, the Saints Vice President and Director of Broadcasting and Media Relations. "Where it was going to play a roll was with the 40-man roster guys. If the lockout had continued into our season, none of the 40-man roster guys would have been able to play with us."
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Aronson, who's in his 16th season as the Saints play-by-play voice, says there are plenty of players who he expects to trade-in their Saints jersey for a Twins jersey at some point this season.
"Guys like Jose Miranda who absolutely destroyed minor league baseball a year ago, and someone like Royce Lewis who I know every Twins fan is excited to finally have the opportunity to watch. It's been two years since he's been able to put on a jersey and play in a game because of the pandemic and an injury."
Aronson says opening day for Triple-A teams can get tricky as players can get called up even as they're traveling to play in their first minor league game of the season. He recalled when shortstop Nick Gordon was called up almost immediately in 2021.
"[Nick] took the bus with us to Omaha and then as soon as we got into Omaha, he was on a flight back to Minneapolis because there was an injury in the big club."
The 2021 season also brought some new energy to CHS Field in St. Paul. For the first time in his career, Aronson says he heard fans booing the Saints last season.
"We were not playing well and we were not hitting well," he said. "I think it was the third or fourth game of the opening homestand and our team was booed by the fans."
However, Aronson says, the booing wasn't necessarily a bad thing.
"That meant for the first time, other than a playoff-type series, that fans came out here and for the most part, the majority of them cared what was happening on the field," he added. "Usually we're the place where fans came, enjoyed the entertainment, and whether we won or lost wasn't a big deal. People were just out having a good time."
Saints fans will have to wait just one week after Tuesday's season opener in Louisville to return to CHS Field.
The Saints host Indianapolis for their home opener on April 12.