Scoggins: Take me up to the ballgame — like 18 stories up

Connie Smallman wore her Twins hat and Twins earrings to work Thursday. She does this every time they play a weekday matinée game at home.

"The guys get mad if I don't," she said, sitting on a stool as she watched the first inning of the series finale against the Boston Red Sox.

Smallman and "the guys" have the best seats in the house — even though, technically, their seats aren't even in the house. These seats are free, and the view is spectacular. And if your nerves can handle heights, this is an unbeatable spot to watch a ballgame over lunch break.

This crew sits high above Target Field, taking out their sandwiches and grabbing a bucket or stool for a few minutes away from construction work on the high-rise building going up over left field.

Most days, Target Field is empty and quiet when the Kraus-Anderson crew stops for lunch. But on getaway days, when the game starts around noon, they get to enjoy free entertainment.

Too bad every game isn't a day game, eh?

"Then we won't get anything done," joked Clint Rademacher, foreman of the sprinkler fitters.

Fans who have been inside Target Field this season can't miss their job site. Towering above the stadium's left-field upper deck, the project called North Loop Green by global developer Hines will have 34 residential floors, plus offices and a one-acre green space, come next spring.

Earlier this season at a day game, I noticed workers gathered near the edge of floors still under construction — no windows or outer wall — watching the game during lunch.

Three thoughts popped into my head. One: What's it like to watch the game way up there? Two: How are they not scared to be sitting in that spot? Three: I'd love to have lunch with them to check it out.

That last one sneaked up on me, as I'm terrified of heights, especially terrified if the structure is not enclosed. You know that stomach-turning-inside-out feeling? I experienced it just looking up at the workers eating lunch that day.

So, naturally, I asked if could join them Thursday.

And they accepted.

Gulp.

I tried to prepare myself the day before by visiting the top row of section 329 in left field. Row 16. True nosebleed seats.

As I looked down at the field from that bird's-eye view, it dawned on me that these seats will feel like the Champions Club compared to my location the next day.

I packed a ham sandwich, chips, granola bar, soda and water for my lunch. I briefly considered bringing a sickness bag as well, just in case, but I feared that might earn me a nickname. Hey Barf Bag, how long have you been a sportswriter?

The service elevator took us to the 18th floor. The crew was working here, which provided a perfect view of the field. Good news for my nerves too: it's not one of the top floors.

"I have yet to be at a game in this stadium," Rademacher said as he watched Joe Ryan pitch a 1-2-3 first inning.

He was having lunch with two of his apprentices, Tommy Lamere and Macsim Polivaev. They install sprinkler pipes on every floor. It takes them about eight days to complete a floor.

Polivaev calls himself "more of a hockey guy," but this view during lunch is persuasive.

"It makes me like watching the Twins," he said.

The ball is easy to see from this high up. The building sits close enough that the crowd's roar makes it feel like we're inside the stadium.

Smallman leaped to her feet when the ball exploded off Carlos Correa's bat and soared our direction in the first inning. A 418-foot home run to left field.

"That's the way to start the game," Smallman yelled, clapping her hands.

A yellow railing provides a safety barrier from the edge, which kept my stomach from rolling around. Smallman, a veteran heavy-equipment operator, offered me her seat and scooted it back a few extra feet away from the railing.

"I like being up top here," she said, surveying the downtown skyline. "I've been doing this a long time so I can see all the job sites and all the buildings and projects I've worked on."

She attended a Twins game recently and got the reverse view. "It was kind of cool being inside the stadium looking at our job site," she said.

Within minutes, she stood to cheer again as Byron Buxton blasted a 466-foot home run that looked like it would land up with us.

"Another one," she yelled, letting out a whoo!

Lunch was almost over. Smallman gathered her stuff.

"This is a cool stadium for sure," she said.

The crew returned to their hard work constructing a high rise. Down below, Ryan pitched a complete-game shutout as the Twins cruised to a 6-0 win. And I made it through without puking.

A successful day by all.