Saying goodbye to the Metrodome

Last week we marked the occasion as the San Francisco 49ers played their final game at Candlestick Park, a longtime MLB venue dating back to the 1960's. Yesterday another former baseball park turned off the lights for the last time, as the Minnesota Vikings played their final home game at the Metrodome. Demolition is scheduled to begin next month.

The Twins abandoned the dome years ago, moving outside to Target Field in 2010. Between the building's opening in 1982 and its final MLB game in 2009, though, the Brewers were the visiting team at the Metrodome 182 times.

The Brewers were the fifth opposing team ever to visit the dome when they lost to the Twins 7-4 on April 30, 1982. Roger Erickson was the Twins' starting pitcher in that game. Another Erickson, Scott, threw a no-hitter against the Brewers under the roof in 1994.

Prince Fielder homered three times in 12 career games in the Metrodome, including an inside-the-parker in 2007. Fielder was one of 40 Brewers to homer at least once in the ballpark. That list includes Robin Yount and Paul Molitor, but also guys like Eddie Perez, Ned Yost and Dale Sveum. Ryan Braun is perhaps the most notable Brewer who never homered there.

Speaking of Yount, 69 of his 3142 hits came in the Dome. Four of them came in a single game during the ballpark's first season in 1982, a game where he also homered twice. This is one of just 19 MLB ballparks where Yount appeared in a regular season game.

Last week I mentioned that 14 of the 16 MLB parks where Warren Spahn pitched in a regular season game are now defunct. Robin Yount retired almost three decades later, but there's a similar statistic for him: 12 of the 19 MLB parks where he appeared in a game have since closed.

Like Candlestick Park, there probably aren't too many people who are going to miss the Metrodome. However, a little bit of Brewer history will disappear with it when the ballpark is bulldozed this winter.