It was 20 years ago today: Contraction

[Yawn Gardenhose]

Twenty year anniversary of a historic date in Twins history.

https://collection.baseballhall.org/PASTIME/letter-jim-pohlad-minnesota-twins-employees-2001-november-09

Every now and again, and especially when I read praise of the Pohlad family, I google this sucker and have a blast reminding myself of this gem of a document. To my knowledge it's a one-of-a-kind document, at least in modern sports history - an owner signing the death warrant of their own franchise. They weren't planning on selling the team or moving the team - they were planning on taking the team out behind the woodshed and shooting it in the head. Even Montreal Expos fans can't claim an owner that did that - they were owned by the league at the time of the contraction talks. Consider yourself lucky. 

Some great bits here - I always love the "finger pointing" bit. Even the more subtle parts of the letter - the letterhead with the World Series years, the "Dear Twins Employee" boilerplate, the smattering of rhetorical questions - just brilliant work. 

I wonder if we'll ever know if Selig was really planning on going through with contraction or it was all just a ruse to pressure the state legislature to build the Pohlads a new office building. But we at least have this letter, and I'll sure be cherishing it for the rest of my days. 

[Otto von Ballpark]

Wow, I didn't realize the Baseball Hall of Fame had a contraction letter!

Do they have any correspondence between the Pohlads and Don Beaver?

[bean5302]

I sometimes wonder why nobody has purchased the team from the Pohlad family or made public pushes to acquire the Twins.

Carl Pohlad supposedly nearly sold the Twins in 1997 which would have resulted in the Twins moving to Charlotte, NC after declining offers from Clark Griffith and other investors who would have kept the team in Minneapolis. A judge ruled the Twins could use their escape clause to leave the Metrodome after 1998 and things were looking pretty dire, but some shady dealing behind the scenes was brought to light, and MLB ownership was unlikely to approve the sale after surveys showed poor interest among citizens in Charlotte for team support and the optics of the shady dealings in Minneapolis. Ultimately, the sale attempt truly fell apart when Charlotte taxpayers shot down a stadium funding bill in 1998.

Carl Pohlad also engaged in some shady stuff with Selig prior to the 2002 contraction attempt. Pohlad had lent Selig millions while Selig was the owner of the Milwaukee Brewers a few years earlier, violating the crap out of MLB rules. Selig, now the commissioner of baseball was pushing to have MLB buy the Twins as part of a contraction effort where Pohlad stood to make far more than the market value for the club looked very much like quid pro quo. The optics looked terrible and MLB owners weren't interested in getting tangled up in a legal mess associated with trying to contract the Twins.

It's all pretty shady. I don't doubt the Pohlad family treats their employees well or fosters a positive employment atmosphere within the franchise; however, I also don't believe that family would hesitate for a second due to an emotional attachment or risk operating the Twins in a net loss manner in an attempt to grow future revenues.

[Brock Beauchamp]

39 minutes ago, bean5302 said:

I sometimes wonder why nobody has purchased the team from the Pohlad family or made public pushes to acquire the Twins.

Carl Pohlad supposedly nearly sold the Twins in 1997 which would have resulted in the Twins moving to Charlotte, NC after declining offers from Clark Griffith and other investors who would have kept the team in Minneapolis. A judge ruled the Twins could use their escape clause to leave the Metrodome after 1998 and things were looking pretty dire, but some shady dealing behind the scenes was brought to light, and MLB ownership was unlikely to approve the sale after surveys showed poor interest among citizens in Charlotte for team support and the optics of the shady dealings in Minneapolis. Ultimately, the sale attempt truly fell apart when Charlotte taxpayers shot down a stadium funding bill in 1998.

Carl Pohlad also engaged in some shady stuff with Selig prior to the 2002 contraction attempt. Pohlad had lent Selig millions while Selig was the owner of the Milwaukee Brewers a few years earlier, violating the crap out of MLB rules. Selig, now the commissioner of baseball was pushing to have MLB buy the Twins as part of a contraction effort where Pohlad stood to make far more than the market value for the club looked very much like quid pro quo. The optics looked terrible and MLB owners weren't interested in getting tangled up in a legal mess associated with trying to contract the Twins.

It's all pretty shady. I don't doubt the Pohlad family treats their employees well or fosters a positive employment atmosphere within the franchise; however, I also don't believe that family would hesitate for a second due to an emotional attachment or risk operating the Twins in a net loss manner in an attempt to grow future revenues.

While I generally agree with this across the board, I'm hesitant to group Carl in with the rest of his family. While there's more than ample evidence he was a pretty awful guy in a variety of ways, I have yet to see the same from his children, other than the fact that the mere existence of a billionaire class is viewed by many as an ethical problem unto itself.

[nicksaviking]

20 minutes ago, Brock Beauchamp said:

While I generally agree with this across the board, I'm hesitant to group Carl in with the rest of his family. While there's more than ample evidence he was a pretty awful guy in a variety of ways, I have yet to see the same from his children, other than the fact that the mere existence of a billionaire class is viewed by many as an ethical problem unto itself.

I would agree, the children are not their father. On the other hand, that letter was very passive aggressively written by JIM Pohlad.

The Twins made the state pay for 75% of their stadium. At about the same time, the similarly sized market Cardinals made the state pay for 12% of theirs. There's no question we don't have the worst or most money grubbing owners in the league, but I don't think their at the top of the spectrum either.

[Brock Beauchamp]

Just now, nicksaviking said:

I would agree, the children are not their father. On the other hand, that letter was very passive aggressively written by JIM Pohlad.

The Twins made the state pay for 75% of their stadium. At about the same time, the similarly sized market Cardinals made the state pay for 12% of theirs. There's no question we don't have the worst or most money grubbing owners in the league, but I don't think their at the top of the spectrum either.

No arguments here.

[Rosterman]

It was always about the money.

 

If you look around, you see the Pohlad used Twins losses to offset profits elsewhere. He also supposedly leveraged the team by borrowing as much against its perceived worth whenever possible. Strange that a banker would borrow from others on his own property.

 

The Twins have had fairly loyal employees. They msut pay something. Yet baseball, as a whole, doesn't pay a lot of employees much...as there is such a demand to work in the business (look at what the minors pay anyone in management or office).

 

The whole Charlotte thing was a mess. He wouldn't sell to Clark Griffith and his cronies. But would consider selling to Charlotte. 

 

And then what was major league baseball going to pay him to...literally go under. A selloff.

 

Considering a sports franchise usually did nothing but go up in value, no matter how badly it was run.

[Otto von Ballpark]

1 hour ago, Brock Beauchamp said:

While I generally agree with this across the board, I'm hesitant to group Carl in with the rest of his family. While there's more than ample evidence he was a pretty awful guy in a variety of ways, I have yet to see the same from his children, other than the fact that the mere existence of a billionaire class is viewed by many as an ethical problem unto itself.

FWIW, the 2001 contraction letter shared by the OP was signed by current Twins chairman Jim Pohlad, not Carl.

[bean5302]

https://www.twincities.com/2009/01/05/minnesota-twins-next-leader-jim-pohlad-already-in-place/

“Just like his father, Jim has said he wants the focus to be on putting a team on the field that is competitive, and doing so in a fiscally responsible way,” St. Peter said. “Under the Pohlads, we would put our record, on and off the field, up against any medium- or small-market team.”

Jim Pohlad insisted in a February 2008 interview that he and his younger brothers, Bob and Bill, have no interest in selling the team and that “there are certain things in our (Target Field) lease that would make it not the smartest thing to do anyway.” Besides, he said, his son and nephews also have interest in operating the team long term.

And as for his attitude toward matching payroll with revenue, Pohlad sounded very much a believer in his father’s doctrine.

“We’re willing to up the payroll, but we’re not going to be foolish about it,” he said. “If we couldn’t find a player or players who give us value, I’d rather give that money away to charity. I’m not saying that to be funny – I just don’t want to throw away money.”

From what I've seen, Jim Pohlad runs the Twins in a very similar manner to Carl Pohlad. Very conservatively with a strong aversion to losing money, but without an eye to grow value and revenue. Then there was the IRS settlement from Carl improperly transferring his ownership in the Twins in an attempt to avoid taxes and the Pohlad family fighting the IRS tooth and nail on the issue rather than taking their medicine. Jim Pohlad may not be quite as much of a penny pincher as Carl was, but he's an adept and scrutinous businessman who is undoubtedly "crafty" in interpretation of business rules and how to squeeze blood from turnips.

I don't want this to come across like I dislike him or I have ill will towards him or something. I'd just like owners who are more aggressive and may subscribe to the spend money to make money mantra.

[theBOMisthebomb]

Not the greatest moments in Twins history. I prefer to relive the memories of 1987, 1991, 2019, etc. I think it's pretty clear that the Pohlad empire wasn't necessarily built in the most scrupulous way. Didn't Carl make some nasty banking maneuvers back in the day? 

[Sousy]

1 hour ago, theBOMisthebomb said:

Didn't Carl make some nasty banking maneuvers back in the day? 

Carl made his fortune largely in buying and selling debt. Small banks in the Midwest during the 1980s farm crisis meant foreclosing on a lot of small farms and profiting.

I don’t know if you’d classify that as nasty, but no one has clean hands in those scenarios.