Max Kepler, Josh Donaldson, and the Power of Good Clubhouse Vibes

[Cody Christie]

Max Kepler's second-half resurgence has helped keep the Twins at the top of the AL Central. Winning can help build confidence in a clubhouse, but there haven't been all positive vibes in recent Twins history.

Image courtesy of Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports

Clubhouse culture can be complex for fans to gauge from the outside. If the club wins, many of the team's players will report that everything is going great, even if clubhouse issues are under the surface. On the other hand, a clubhouse can devolve into disarray when a club is in the middle of a long losing streak. Fans will point to the team's coaching staff or the veteran players for building a toxic work environment, but things are not always that simple. 

Max Kepler looked lost at different points in the first half of the season. He provided little offensive value, and his excellent defense seemed to erode. In 64 first-half games, he hit .207/.279/.409 (.688) with five doubles and 12 home runs. Many fans called for him to be replaced on the roster by a younger left-handed corner outfielder like Matt Wallner or Trevor Larnach. Minnesota's front office may have overvalued Kepler in the past, but their faith in him is being rewarded in the stretch run.  

Instead of dropping him, the team stuck with Kepler, and he has been one of the team's best hitters. In 39 second-half games, he has hit .319/.383/.609 (.992) with 13 doubles and nine home runs. He told Ken Rosenthal that it wasn't any specific adjustment that he made. "I can't just credit me as an individual," Kepler said. "It has to do with how the whole clubhouse chemistry kind of changed in the second half."

He went on to say, "Teammates were rooting more for each other. You could really feel that. There is so much individuality that comes with this sport, especially when you hear, 'it's a business.' Players switch up (teams) a lot. Sometimes clubhouses feel disconnected. But in the second half, we all got off on the right page."

Kepler has been on other Twins teams that have tried to build a solid clubhouse culture. During Kepler's rookie season, he joined a Twins roster that included Torii Hunter in his final big-league season. Hunter brought a different attitude to the Twins, including dance parties after wins with lights and smoke machines. The Twins finished above .500, an accomplishment for a team that had lost 92 games or more in four consecutive seasons. During the current season, the Twins have revitalized the clubhouse dance parties, which could be one reason for the team's success. 

Not everything has been sunshine and roses in the Twins clubhouse in recent seasons. Minnesota's front office made an unconventional move by bringing in Josh Donaldson with a four-year deal worth $92 million guaranteed leading into the 2020 season. At the time, it was the richest free-agent deal in franchise history and the second-largest MLB contract for a player 33 or older. The Twins were coming off a season when the club set a big-league record with 307 home runs, and Donaldson was seen as a veteran piece that could help the club win. However, he had a reputation for rubbing some people the wrong way, which might have impacted the team's clubhouse culture. 

The Twins won the AL Central during Donaldson's first season with the club, but injuries limited him to 28 games. He also wasn't available for the playoffs when Houston swept Minnesota. Donaldson bounced back in 2021 to play 135 games while posting a 127 OPS+. However, the Twins were a mess for a large portion of the season and finished with a 73-89 record, which was 20 games out of first place. Following the season, the Twins traded Donaldson to the Yankees while wiping the last two years of his contract off the books. 

Last week, Jeff Passan appeared on the Michael Kay Show and was asked about Donaldson and the trade that brought him to New York. He said, "Especially because the Yankees knew just how poorly he was getting along with people in Minnesota," continued Passan. "There was some toxicity going on there in Minnesota. I don't think you can look at the Donaldson trade in a positive way."

As Parker pointed out on X, there are many ways to view the term toxic. It's usually associated with poor clubhouse culture, but there was also an edge to Donaldson that the front office felt was needed on the team. In hindsight, the Twins were lucky to find a trade partner for Donaldson because he has been a below-average hitter during his Yankees tenure. New York is currently in last place in the AL East, while the Twins sit at the top of the AL Central and the Yankees released Donaldson on Tuesday. Did culture play a role in both teams' performance? It probably depends on who you ask, but Kepler clearly thinks the Twins' culture is helping the team win. 

How vital is clubhouse culture? Leave a COMMENT and start the discussion. 

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[Blyleven2011]

Donaldson was a good player with an attitude once , now he is just an unemployed ball player with an attitude  ... 

 

[Road trip]

Vital?  That's too strong a word.  The early 70's Oakland A's provide a counter example.  The late 70's Yankees, same thing.  Horrible clubhouse drama with both squads, along with World Series victories.  Teams and individuals can hate each other and still win a lot of games, especially in baseball: a team sport that is based on the individual match ups that occur with every pitch. 

A cohesive team/clubhouse probably helps a little.  Some players may focus better when there is minimal drama, and perhaps Kepler is one of those guys.  However if teams can't hit, pitch, catch, and run they will lose no matter how much they like each other.  Josh Donaldson was perceived to be a very valuable player when he was playing well.  He was so greatly valued that he won an MVP vote in 2015.  He became a "problem player" when he stopped hitting a couple of years ago due to age and injuries.  There are many great players that you might not want as a neighbor or friend, but they could really play ball, and they helped their teams win titles.  

[Fat Calvin]

Toxic?  There's another of them thar woids that get thrown around these dayz with no thought.  Nah, Josh was all right.  He was a tough competitor.  He just got old. 

[dxpavelka]

6 hours ago, Road trip said:

Vital?  That's too strong a word.  The early 70's Oakland A's provide a counter example.  The late 70's Yankees, same thing.  Horrible clubhouse drama with both squads, along with World Series victories.  Teams and individuals can hate each other and still win a lot of games, especially in baseball: a team sport that is based on the individual match ups that occur with every pitch. 

A cohesive team/clubhouse probably helps a little.  Some players may focus better when there is minimal drama, and perhaps Kepler is one of those guys.  However if teams can't hit, pitch, catch, and run they will lose no matter how much they like each other.  Josh Donaldson was perceived to be a very valuable player when he was playing well.  He was so greatly valued that he won an MVP vote in 2015.  He became a "problem player" when he stopped hitting a couple of years ago due to age and injuries.  There are many great players that you might not want as a neighbor or friend, but they could really play ball, and they helped their teams win titles.  

Great talent can overcome a crappy clubhouse but most teams don't have great talent.

[shabbos1]

Something tells me chatter of Donaldson's clubhouse toxicity during his time in Minnesota never sees the light of day if he bangs 40ish homers and puts up a ~.950 OPS like he did in 2015-2016 for Toronto.

[Squirrel]

Annnnnd ... rebooting an old story ... really, we've talked this one to death on here.

[wabene]

The Donaldson signing was a good one and the trade even better. 

[old nurse]

If you have enough great players then team chemistry isn’t important. It does seem important as the time passes from the date freer agency was started it seems like the less there are the brawling teams. One of the things free agency allowed was  to get away from people you couldn’t stand   

[Guest]

I don't think you can correlate Max's second half surge with the absence of Donaldson.  

However, I agree wholeheartedly with your point being that something has drastically changed in Max's demeanor that, in the second half, is crystal clear.  Earlier, he appeared desperate, pressing and lost, while over the past two months he exudes a swagger and confidence at all times.  And, I could not be happier for the guy, who I have always felt there was much potential to excel.  Whatever it is, Max, keep it up!

[Riverbrian]

I've never met any of these people. I've never seen any of them interact with each other. 

Has a happy club house ever lost? Has an unhappy club house ever won? Is there some sort of harmony meter that can measure the degree of it and subsequent effect on the Win/Loss Record. 

Has anyone ever seen an office of 25 people in any industry where everybody likes everybody? Ross doesn't like you and he tells Joey, Monica and Chandler that he doesn't like you and they talk behind your back. Is this on Ross or You?  

 Is Ellen DeGeneres Mean? Have the Touhy's done Michael Oher wrong? 

What the hell do we know? 

Social Media ain't teaching us. 

 

 

[Cris E]

Kepler's second half performance has as little to do with Donaldson as his first half performance. That is, Donaldson hasn't been relevant in this clubhouse in almost two years and Max has his transcendent moment five weeks ago. You want to write something relevant figure out what happened over the all star break. 

[PopRiveter]

Just impressions from a distance, but...

 

Josh Donaldson always felt like a Yankee to me. He and Chuck Knoblauch should start a podcast.

I sure am happy to see Max Kepler having a surge of productivity. He's always seemed like a positive spirit. 

Not sure how to measure the impact in a clubhouse, but I certainly get a lot more enjoyment when I'm rooting for guys who at least seem to be good guys. 

[twinfan]

A good clubhouse can make or break a team in most sports. Maybe baseball is less vulnerable to a cancer than most other sports but I am not sure. Of course, talent in baseball wins out compared to basketball, hockey and football but still a bad team member doesn't help at all. And who wants to be around one anyway.

[Cris E]

Baseball has a much longer seasons with more travel and time together than other sports. Teams with good and bad vibes have had great and terrible results over the past 130 years so nothing is certain, but it's hard to hide from an utter jerk over the course of eight months of being together almost daily, over half the time away from home. 

[tarheeltwinsfan]

9 hours ago, Squirrel said:

Annnnnd ... rebooting an old story ... really, we've talked this one to death on here.

I respectfully disagree because Kepler just said a positive change in clubhouse culture was the reason for his amazingly positive turn around the second half of this season. Maybe you are saying the Donaldson "toxicity" rumors have been talked to death, but the Yankees just released him this week. For these 2 reasons, I contend this topic is timely. Thanks Squirrel, for allowing me to disagree with you. 

[David Maro]

A pat on the back has always worked better than a in your face. Donaldson is and was a in your face.

[MGM4706]

There may be a reason Donaldson was not the most popular in Twins Clubhouse. He wanted to win and HATED to lose!

Lots of Twins want to win.The difference? Many including Rocco don't seem to mind losing!

Rocco is known as a "Players" Manager. Donaldson's last year here the Twins was a mess. Like the first half this year except with poor pitching. Rocco just went along staring at his cyber metric cards in the dugout. Donaldson hated that.

This year Rocco waited half a year to have a team meeting. Why?

[PDX Twin]

There is more to clubhouse culture than just "getting along," or "liking each other." A good clubhouse also means a culture that expects effort and success on the field. Sometimes that means calling out players how aren't putting in the required effort. That can be done in a hostile or a friendly manner. Even a good clubhouse can have rivalries, as long as they are respectful and focused on winning.

In the olden days, we heard about "Kangaroo Courts" and fines as a friendly reminder that maximum effort is expected. I wonder if they still have something like that.

[Nine of twelve]

Professionals are able to put personal differences aside when it comes to performing their jobs. Sometimes it’s hard, but it can be done. Joey Ramone and Johnny Ramone had numerous personal differences but their shared commitment to the band made the band great.

[wabene]

2 hours ago, Nine of twelve said:

Professionals are able to put personal differences aside when it comes to performing their jobs. Sometimes it’s hard, but it can be done. Joey Ramone and Johnny Ramone had numerous personal differences but their shared commitment to the band made the band great.

Punk rock analogies are always welcome 👍