Article: An All-Star Showing from the Twins

[Nick Nelson]

You can view the page at http://www.twinsdaily.com/content.php/3239-An-All-Star-Showing-From-the-Twins

[glunn]

The Twins have a long way to go to become competitive. There are plenty of reasons to be negative. On the other hand, there are also some reasons for hope, and in the meantime we are all in this together.

[curt1965]

Great article, Nick. I am a relatively new participant in TD, and it was particularly interesting to me to read accounts of how your group started, your goals, and how the 5 of you interact. I see nothing but good coming to the TD group.

[DarrenVahtra]

Scott diamond is gone. I think thats a huge positive for this season.

[FlsPrpht]

The Twins were right to issue that apology. That show was completely out of line with city ordinances.

[clutterheart]

There have been some pretty incendiary and harsh things written about the Twins in recent weeks, here and elsewhere -- what with the team in last place, Joe Mauer on the shelf during a miserable season and Ricky Nolasco thus far shaping up as an epic free agent bust.

 

Ive been in the NE area for the past 2 months. One listen to the local sports talk radio tells me Twins fans don't understand what "incendiary and harsh" means.

[Squirrel]

Great write up, Nick. I'm not one who usually watches much of the game, but I did last night. Having Perk and Suzuki to come in and finish it off for the win was as good as it gets.

[Longdistancetwins]

Great write up, Nick. I'm not one who usually watches much of the game, but I did last night. Having Perk and Suzuki to come in and finish it off for the win was as good as it gets.

 

Really, hats off to John Farrell. Let's face it, neither Perk nor Suzuki are superstars, and the fact that he planned that final battery was really moving to me. He also announced it during a game interview, so I knew I actually had to stay up for the whole game! (I'm on Eastern time, if that's an excuse). I'll always think well of Farrell.

[jokin]

The Twins were right to issue that apology. That show was completely out of line with city ordinances.

 

Except the city's lifeblood depends on Target Field, which results in drawing mega-events like this- the city coffers make Million$. I'm sure a variance to the city ordinances was drawn up in the contract with MLB and the Twins. This was on the City of Minneapolis in not getting a heads-up out to all its citizens.

[JB_Iowa]

It looks like it was a great week.

 

When TF was set to open, the Twins appeared to focus intensely on the "fan experience" and making TF a destination -- the ASG festivities seem to be a culmination of that.

 

But in doing so, it also appeared that they lost focus on what, to baseball fans, is more important -- the product on the field.

 

All the marketing in the world can't succeed if the product is a bust (at least for long). I understand your appreciation for the "bells and whistles" but they don't mean much to me. I just hope tha the BASEBALL management of the Twins returns them to respectability soon.

[Mr. Ed]

it looks like it was a great week.

 

When tf was set to open, the twins appeared to focus intensely on the "fan experience" and making tf a destination -- the asg festivities seem to be a culmination of that.

 

but in doing so, it also appeared that they lost focus on what, to baseball fans, is more important -- the product on the field.

 

All the marketing in the world can't succeed if the product is a bust (at least for long). I understand your appreciation for the "bells and whistles" but they don't mean much to me. I just hope that the baseball management of the twins returns them to respectability soon.

 

hear! Hear!

[nicksaviking]

Ive been in the NE area for the past 2 months. One listen to the local sports talk radio tells me Twins fans don't understand what "incendiary and harsh" means.

 

No kidding, the Twins get off easy compared to East Coast teams. Phil Hughes would die from hysterical laughing if Joe Mauer ever complained about his recent negative media attention.

 

Of course negative attention is better than no attention as the saying goes. If they were in California, any exploits would be met with a shrug of the shoulders and a change of conversation to celebrity fashion or legalizing all drugs, depending on if you're in the southern or northern part of the state.

[Menth12]

Great article! Completely agree with your thoughts, sometimes it feels like we, as fans, lose focus about how great an organization we have here!

[jokin]

It looks like it was a great week.

 

When TF was set to open, the Twins appeared to focus intensely on the "fan experience" and making TF a destination -- the ASG festivities seem to be a culmination of that.

 

But in doing so, it also appeared that they lost focus on what, to baseball fans, is more important -- the product on the field.

 

All the marketing in the world can't succeed if the product is a bust (at least for long). I understand your appreciation for the "bells and whistles" but they don't mean much to me. I just hope tha the BASEBALL management of the Twins returns them to respectability soon.

 

The yin and yang for the small market teams has to be the Twins "yin" to the Rays "yang".

 

The Rays have generally been very, very good since 2008, (arguably) the best field manager, GM, talent developmental staff and scouting system in terms of return on investment in working from a very small revenue base and payroll. Around half their home games they get to host the behemoth draws in their AL East foes, the Yankees, Red Sox, Orioles and Jays as well as in-state rival Marlins. Yet the Tampa Bay marketing department seemingly can't even give away their compelling on-field product, apparently the "experience" in their poorly situated plastic dome and lack of imagination in selling the Rays outweighs the positive results on the field- and in a demographic area where the majority of the people have all kinds of free time and disposable retirement income to spend.

 

The Twins marketing group are geniuses by comparison- they put one of their marketing guys, of all people, into the GM chair- and why not?- he helped get 3 million people to watch indoor baseball in an ugly, outmoded park built for football. Then they sold a dream to governmental bodies and the taxpayers to build them their very own outdoor Field of Dreams. Too much time and effort spent on selling the dream, not enough on the light-of-day reality.

[Lakeside]

The yin and yang for the small market teams has to be the Twins "yin" to the Rays "yang".

 

The Rays have generally been very, very good since 2008, (arguably) the best field manager, GM, talent developmental staff and scouting system in terms of return on investment in working from a very small revenue base and payroll. Around half their home games they get to host the behemoth draws in their AL East foes, the Yankees, Red Sox, Orioles and Jays as well as in-state rival Marlins. Yet the Tampa Bay marketing department seemingly can't even give away their compelling on-field product, apparently the "experience" in their poorly situated plastic dome and lack of imagination in selling the Rays outweighs the positive results on the field- and in a demographic area where the majority of the people have all kinds of free time and disposable retirement income to spend.

 

The Twins marketing group are geniuses by comparison- they put one of their marketing guys, of all people, into the GM chair- and why not?- he helped get 3 million people to watch indoor baseball in an ugly, outmoded park built for football. Then they sold a dream to governmental bodies and the taxpayers to build them their very own outdoor Field of Dreams. Too much time and effort spent on selling the dream, not enough on the light-of-day reality.

 

Agreed, but don't forget the Twins have an over 50 year tie with Minnesota and the Upper Midwest in branding, history, etc. That leads to tons of loyalty. Tampa Bay is about half of that and many Tampa people are transplants with other team loyalties.

 

I think, in general, one of professional sports big challenges is to get the young people to be fans. . . just the fact that they have so much to do begs the question, "Will they continue to spend on pro sports as the generation before them has?"

[Dantes929]

Ive been in the NE area for the past 2 months. One listen to the local sports talk radio tells me Twins fans don't understand what "incendiary and harsh" means.

Yet, so many posters on here appear to be jealous of East

coast fans as if incendiary and harsh is something to aspire to. Ok, so Yankee fans would boo Mauer and criticize him more on talk shows. To some fans here it means they hold him more accountable as if that will make him try harder or perform better. I haven't liked some of the moves that Twins have made in the last 6 years but I look at the long term and I like to build from within. 2011 could be excused because of all the injuries but it also revealed a rot in the minor league system and to me 2012 was the low point. Everything this year except the injuries to Buxton and Sano point to a brighter future. The current crop of prospects are exciting but if they fail I will look forward to the next batch. We had a great 9 year run just a short time ago. A few years down can be digested if it results in another good run.

[blindeke]

Except the city's lifeblood depends on Target Field, which results in drawing mega-events like this.

 

Minneapolis is waaaay bigger than Target Field. The Warehouse District was thriving before it was built, and the majority of the city's economy and the hundreds of thousands of people of live here could care less about the Twins.

[zenser]

It looks like it was a great week.

 

When TF was set to open, the Twins appeared to focus intensely on the "fan experience" and making TF a destination -- the ASG festivities seem to be a culmination of that.

 

But in doing so, it also appeared that they lost focus on what, to baseball fans, is more important -- the product on the field.

 

All the marketing in the world can't succeed if the product is a bust (at least for long). I understand your appreciation for the "bells and whistles" but they don't mean much to me. I just hope tha the BASEBALL management of the Twins returns them to respectability soon.

 

I wonder how soon the youth movement will take place now. I would assume that the season ticket sales will be down next year since they pushed the ASG hard. They need something to keep ticket sales up.

[nathanaakre]

To some fans here it means they hold him more accountable as if that will make him try harder or perform better.

 

Nailed it.

[jokin]

Minneapolis is waaaay bigger than Target Field. The Warehouse District was thriving before it was built, and the majority of the city's economy and the hundreds of thousands of people of live here could care less about the Twins.

 

I'm not sure about any of your conclusions. The city went all out to get the park, and then to get it built where it was, there can be no doubt that it was acquired for the millions of fan and tourist dollars beyond the thousands of Minneapolitans (maybe that's why they oppose having to pay for it) and the prestige it brought to downtown, especially to build up the Warehouse District. If it wasn't such a big deal, why is it at the nexus of the entire metro public rapid transportation system- which will end up being a multi-multi billion dollar enterprise when it ends up with 6 rail lines?

[Richie the Rally Goat]

I'm not sure about any of your conclusions. The city went all out to get the park, and then to get it built where it was, there can be no doubt that it was acquired for the millions of fan and tourist dollars beyond the thousands of Minneapolitans (maybe that's why they oppose having to pay for it) and the prestige it brought to downtown, especially to build up the Warehouse District. If it wasn't such a big deal, why is it at the nexus of the entire metro public rapid transportation system- which will end up being a multi-multi billion dollar enterprise when it ends up with 6 rail lines?

Because baseball and it's 81 home games from April to October every year is a boon for municipal taxes such as alcoholic beverage and sales taxes that it drives. Medtronic and Honeywell mean far more to the inhabitants of Minneapolis than the Twins and Vikings combined. Sure we all love our sports, and we all pay big money to watch and follow, but I choose my income over my hobbies every time.

 

Getting back to the subject at hand, I'm very happy for the organization, and it was great to see a strong showing by Twins players and Twins fans alike, despite the poor performance on the field. It appears to have been successful for all of the parties involved (pun intended).

[DaveW]

I have been to a couple all star games now, and Minneapolis/Target field absolutely crushed it in every way.

 

-Getting around was a breeze, they had a green arrow from the hotels to the ball park, which was genius/simple but allows all the drunks/tired/weary to easily find out how to get to and from the ball park.

 

-The ammenties at Target field were just top notch as always. That new beer machine was fun to use and they had some awesome food options including an ridiculous bloody Mary that includes a slider or brat on it. Those beer machines actually made the total cost of beers cheaper I believe, $6 got you a full cup of frosty cold bud light.

 

-Downtown was clean/safe/fun and the parties were second to none. Those fireworks were LOUD we remember thinking it must be pissing off some of the people in town who had to work the next morning.

 

-The game was fun and made even better by the Perkins 1-2-3 perfect inning. The staff at the ball park were great.

 

-The Derby was a blast as well, however it still runs a little long IMO and gets a little redundant. It's a shame that Morneau/Dozier didn't make it out of the first round.

 

-All star game souvieners get an F from me, typically I don't complain about high prices, but good lord: $45 for t-shirts, $60 for hats. There is zero possible way for someone to take a family to that game which is a shame.

[oldguy10]

I thought Honeywell was no longer headquarted in Minneapolis.

[Craig Arko]

I thought Honeywell was no longer headquarted in Minneapolis.

 

Correct. After the Allied Signal merger the HQ is in New Jersey. And ATK's HQ is in Virginia.

 

Things have changed a lot since I worked there.