The only thing better than a beautiful night at the ballpark is a beautiful night at a beautiful ballpark. The St. Paul Saints now can offer both.
Thursday night, the Saints played their first game at CHS Field. The ballpark, tucked into the Lowertown section of St. Paul, feels like an extension of the nearby warehouses.
What stands out most are the views of the ballpark from the left field berm, highlighting the St. Paul skyline, and the view of the upper deck from the lower concourse behind home plate.
If you look up, you will see hundreds of rows of pristine cedar planks.
If you looked toward the field Thursday, you saw a different kind of lumber.
Cleanup hitter Ian Gac went 4-for-4 with a home run, and Minnesota-born Willie Argo hit the game-winning homer in the seventh inning, giving the Saints an 8-7 victory before a packed house of 8,592.
"He didn't go to spring training with a team this year," Saints manager George Tsamis said of Argo. "We didn't even know if he was going to make our team, and here he is, hitting third for us, and hitting the big home run. It's awesome, man."
Argo said his parents lived in St. Paul briefly after he was born. He grew up in Davenport, Iowa, and, like most independent league players, he's looking for another shot with a major league organization. "But right now, it's all about winning games," he said.