The Twins were mentioned on Last Week Tonight

[kydoty]

You can see the whole segment below if you want (it's about sports stadiums in America), but here is the Twins angle.

 

Apparently in 1997, the Twins showed an ad of Marty Cordova visiting a kid being treated for cancer at a hospital in Willmar.  And the ad had the tagline "If the Twins leave Minnesota, an 8 year old from Willmar undergoing chemotherapy will never get a visit from Marty Cordova."

 

Two thoughts went through my mind when I heard that.

 

1.  That is a horrible and shameless thing to do.

 

2.  Holy crap, I forgot just how terrible we were in the mid to late '90s, especially when Marty Cordova was the best we could offer.     

 

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xcwJt4bcnXs

[nicksaviking]

I don't remember that, but it sounds about right.  Carl Pohlad said the same thing to rural folks back during the depression except he was talking about their homes and farm land.

[Otto von Ballpark]

From City Pages, circa 1998:

 

http://www.citypages.com/news/soft-sell-6711866

 

 

Then there was the TV ad aimed at prodding fans to rally the legislature, which depicted Twins outfielder Marty Cordova going to see a sick child at the Minneapolis Ronald McDonald House. "If the Twins leave Minnesota, an 8-year-old from Willmar undergoing chemotherapy will never get a visit from Marty Cordova," the announcer intoned, as the screen faded to black. To make matters even more repulsive, it turned out that by the time the ad aired, the patient had died. Even Cordova, unaware that his charity would be parlayed into a stadium shill, protested.

 

[TheLeviathan]

Wow.  Just...wow.

[DaveW]

That's why I have stated that it's a travesty that Carl Pohlad has a statue at target field. I'm sure he is still laughing in hell.

[PseudoSABR]

That's Rookie of the Year Marty Cordova.

[DaveW]

Someone needs to find copy of this video!!!