Doubleheader done right: two for price of one

"They've got to do something about it," he said.

Here's one way to make a game feel quick: Attend two games in one day. Kruse jumped at that opportunity on Tuesday.

"You think I'm crazy, don't you?" he asked.

Not necessarily. Who doesn't enjoy the rare 2-for-1 special?

The Twins and Chicago White Sox played a rare traditional doubleheader at Target Field. One ticket, two games, a 45-minute break in between and 5 hours, 44 minutes of baseball viewing combined.

Kruse, a self-employed electrician, attends about 10 Twins games every season. He put doubleheader on his bucket list after seeing the Twins play a twin bill last season.

"I said if they do that again, I want to do that," he said.

"I always liked them [as a player]," Twins manager Paul Molitor said.

Really?

"Yeah," he said. "You get twice as many chances to get a hit."

If your parents were like mine, they viewed doubleheaders as a savvy financial investment. Two games for the price of one is easier on the family budget.

Split doubleheaders have become far more common because teams can charge gate for two games. Business usually comes first.

Goodness.

Kruse never leaves a game early, even in blowouts, so naturally, he watched the doubleheader start to finish, all 18 innings. He and a few buddies scored club seats for $36 apiece.

"I couldn't believe it," he said. "For two games?!"

Game 1 was a throwback in pace: 2 hours, 37 minutes. Eduardo Escobar earned a standing ovation and curtain call after drilling a three-run home run in the eighth inning for a 4-2 win.

Zach Littell probably wishes he had a do-over to his major league debut in Game 2. The White Sox pounded him for four runs in the first inning and the Twins couldn't catch up, losing 6-3.

He's getting married in October. His two brothers planned to visit him with the White Sox in town. When they found out about the doubleheader, party on.

Baggett even broke out his White Sox jersey for the occasion.

"[Doubleheaders] never happen," he said. "We almost hate the Cubs. But Ernie Banks saying 'Let's play two!' … it's an old tradition."

Baggett is 43 and grew up watching doubleheaders as a kid, but this was his first one as a fan. He figured two games meant twice the fun.

"I like the game, I like the atmosphere, it's a nice day, I like eating junk food and drinking beer," he said. "To double that? That sounds awesome."

"Feed them snacks and root beer and they'll be fine," Baggett said.

Smart. And for the record, they made it to the final out.

Eight-year-old Gavin shared words of wisdom with his dad at one point.

"If you bring someone to a doubleheader," he said, "you better like baseball."

Or root beer.