Twins announce opening day plans, including return of ‘Breakfast on the Plaza’

A week before the game, the Minnesota Twins have announced plans for opening day 2022.

On April 7, the Twins will begin the regular season at Target Field against the Seattle Mariners, with first pitch set for 3:10 p.m.

It will be the team’s first opener without restrictions since 2019 and features the return of some fan-favorite traditions.

Some of the highlights include the return of Breakfast on the Plaza, where fans can grab a free ballpark breakfast from 6-9 a.m.; free Twins jackets to the first 10,000 fans at the April 7-10 games; and a flyover featuring “Miss Mitchell,” a WWII-era B-25J Mitchell based out of the Commemorative Air Force Minnesota Wing in St. Paul.

The full list of the club’s announced plans include:

• A multitude of local buildings will be lit in Twins colors, including Target Plaza South, the IDS Building, the Lowry Avenue Bridge and the Interstate 35W Bridge.
• Fans are invited to join the Twins for Breakfast on the Plaza (6-9 a.m.) and drive, walk or bike down Seventh Street to grab a free ballpark breakfast, enter to win Twins-themed prizes and hear live music from DJ Mad Mardigan.
• Target Field will be officially opened for the 2022 season at 1 p.m. by current Twins players (Twins Season Ticket Holder Gate near Target Field Station) and legends Tony Oliva (Gate #6), Kent Hrbek (Gate #14), Tom Kelly (Gate #3) and Jim Kaat (Gate #29), along with Kirby Puckett Jr. and Catherine Puckett (Gate #34). The first 10,000 fans in attendance will receive a Twins Jacket.
• Families can enjoy all the fun of the Target Bullseye Fan Zone located just inside Gate 34.
• Both teams will be introduced along the foul lines, with fireworks accompanying the Twins’ Opening Day starting lineup.
• An In Memoriam video and moment of silence will pay tribute to those who died during the offseason.
• 94-year-old World War II veteran, Technician 5th Grade Arnold Skow, and his son, Randall (a Vietnam-era veteran) will raise the American flag inside Gate 34 as part of the Salute to America. Arnold joined the Army at the age of 18 and served with the Engineer Corps in the Aleutian Islands, while Randall joined the Army at 19 years old and served in Korea and Japan as an optical lab specialist.
• Returning to the field on Opening Day for the first time since 2019, Twins Season Ticket Holders will unfurl a second, giant American flag.
• The National Anthem will be sung by North Minneapolis’ Shiloh Temple International Ministries Choir.
• A flyover will feature “Miss Mitchell,” a World War II-era North American B-25J Mitchell based out of the Commemorative Air Force Minnesota Wing in St. Paul. “Miss Mitchell” served in the 310th Bomb Group, 57th Bomb Wing of the 12th Air Force in North Africa and Italy, completing more than 130 missions with no crew fatalities.
• In celebration of the return of baseball, the first of 162 regular-season games in 2022 and the first Opening Day at Target Field without restrictions since 2019, a special “Thank You, Fans” video will honor Twins fans – the heart and soul of baseball, and the ones who turn a building into a ballpark.
• The ceremonial first pitches will be thrown by Twins icons and 2022 National Baseball Hall of Fame electees Jim Kaat and Tony Oliva, caught by Twins Hall of Famers Tom Kelly (Kaat) and Kent Hrbek (Oliva).
• After the final out of the fifth inning, a Twins season ticket holder will turn the first number on the giant counter and officially begin the “Countdown to Cooperstown.” The countdown will end on Sunday, July 24 when Jim Kaat and Tony Oliva are inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York.
• “God Bless America” will be performed by Army Sergeant First Class Ben Hanson.
• Twins fans will lead Target Field in a rendition of “Take Me Out to the Ballgame.”