Kubel gives excited S.D. fans a link to team, even if it’s a stretch

MINNEAPOLIS — Minnesota Twins designated hitter Jason Kubel smashed a first-inning line drive off Red Sox first baseman Kevin Youkilis’ glove Monday afternoon.

But the RBI single wasn’t the hardest-hit ball that came off Kubel’s bat.

Forevermore, Kubel — who was born in Belle Fourche — will be known for hitting the first-ever regular-season home run at the Twins’ new outdoor ballpark, Target Field.

His 391-foot shot easily cleared the left-centerfield fence in the bottom of the seventh inning and gave Minnesota a more comfortable 5-1 lead over the Boston Red Sox. The Twins won the game, 5-2.

“I’m happy I was the guy,” Kubel said of the homer that sent the 39,715 fans into a frenzy.

Kubel, who moved from South Dakota to California before his first birthday, settled in at Target Field rather comfortably. He and last year’s American League MVP Joe Mauer each had a three-hit, two-RBI day to lead the Twins.

He said his solo home run ranks third on his alltime favorites list in a career that now includes 73 long balls.

“I was trying to soak it all in, and it’ll be something I’ll remember for a long time,” Kubel said. “I’ve got a couple big ones, but that one is easily in the top five and top three, actually.”

Kubel — whose grandmother, Annetta Kubel, resides in Tyndall — said his walk-off grand slam against the Red Sox in 2006 and his grand slam to complete the cycle against Los Angeles last April are the only ones that top Monday’s shot.

“Solo home run at Target Field on Opening Day, that’s right up there with those,” Kubel said.

Although Kubel isn’t to South Dakota what Mauer — a St. Paul native — is to Minnesota, he said the positive reception he gets for being a former South Dakota resident is appreciated.

“My parents grew up (in South Dakota), and that made the Twins my parents’ team,” Kubel said. “I grew up in California, but to know people in South Dakota think of me as one of their own is pretty special.”

With a 162-game schedule, a wife and a 1-year-old son, Kubel said it has been tough to find time to make it back to South Dakota.

Now 27, Kubel said the last time he visited was when he was “around 19 or 20.” He has hunted pheasants in the state, though.

“It’s been a while,” Kubel said. “With the schedule now, and we have a little son, it’s been tough to make it back. It seems like it’s only California or here.”

Despite his knee problems early in his career, the Twins have been hoping Kubel can be another consistent, lefthanded threat in a lineup that also has two former league MVPs in Mauer and Morneau and a designated hitter who’s chasing 600 career homers, Jim Thome.

Last year, Kubel finished with a career-best 28 home runs and 103 RBIs.

He’s already hit two home runs for the Twins (6-2) and has five RBIs this season.

And he’s enjoying his new surroundings in Target Field, where the natural surface is easier on players’ knees.

“I think this is going to be good out here,” he said. “We’re on grass every day now, so there shouldn’t be as many problems.”

“This is a pretty special place. It’s so early, but everyone is already here and already into it. I’m pretty excited for this; we’ve been waiting for it for a long time.”

Tags: jason kubel, belle fourche, sports, twins