The Long Game: Why Patience Is a Virtue for Twins Fans

[Matthew Taylor]

Image courtesy of © Mitch Stringer-Imagn Images

When the Minnesota Twins stumbled to a 7-15 start this season, many fans were ready to throw in the towel. The reaction was swift and intense: calls to fire Rocco Baldelli, trade away veterans, and shift the focus to the future flooded social media. Some had already written off the season by late April. It’s understandable. Sports fans are conditioned to expect immediate results, especially in a world shaped by football’s weekly drama and short season. But baseball doesn’t work that way.

Baseball is unique. It’s a game of long seasons, slow builds, and constant recalibration. A 162-game season means a single game, or even a stretch of 20, doesn’t carry the same weight as it might in other sports. In football, a 1-3 start can derail a season. In baseball, it’s just a blip. That’s why reacting to a poor start, or even a hot streak, too strongly can be misleading. After all, the Twins followed up that 7-15 start by rattling off a 13-game winning streak and now find themselves firmly in the playoff hunt. The same people who buried the team in April are now proclaiming them contenders in May. The truth is probably somewhere in between, and the only thing we know for sure is that we don’t know anything for sure. Not yet.

This isn’t just about the team as a whole. It applies to players, too. Griffin Jax looked broken to begin the season. Through 10 appearances, he had an ERA north of 10 and couldn’t be trusted in any kind of leverage. Fans called for him to be demoted to lower leverage, assuming the version they were seeing was the new reality. But baseball doesn’t work like that. Since that rough tenth outing, Jax has allowed just two earned runs in more than sixteen innings. He looks every bit like the high-leverage weapon he was last year. Turns out he just needed time for his stats to even out.

Royce Lewis is going through something similar. The highly touted third baseman has struggled mightily at the plate since returning to the lineup. He’s pressing, trying to make an impact, and the results haven’t been there. But that doesn’t mean he should be demoted or cast aside. He’s still adjusting. Just like Jax, Lewis deserves the benefit of time. A player can’t be judged after 20 games—just like a team can’t be judged after 20 games. These things take time. That’s just the nature of the sport.

Baseball is a game of sample sizes. It’s designed to weed out flukes and expose consistency. The key is not to ride the highs too high or let the lows pull you too far down. That doesn’t mean fans shouldn’t be passionate or emotional; it’s part of what makes following a team so fun. But it does mean we should try to keep perspective. Baseball doesn’t give you instant gratification. It rewards those who wait. It rewards those who keep watching, keep caring, and keep believing, even when the results aren’t there yet.

The Twins are still writing the story of their season. We don’t know the ending. We don’t even know what kind of team this is yet. By July or August, we’ll have a much better sense. Until then, the best thing fans can do is stay patient, stay balanced, and enjoy the ride. Because that’s what baseball is. A journey.

---

How is your patience level? How are you holding up? Tell us about it in the comments.

View full article

[DJL44]

It wasn't just the bad start that had people so disillusioned. It was the bad start combined with the total collapse at the end of 2024. The Twins were one of the worst teams in baseball for 3 solid months. Nobody expected them to produce the 2nd longest win streak in franchise history. 

Since the streak ended, they're winning half their games. That's probably the best measure of this team right now.

[Rod Carews Birthday]

I completely agree where the overall team is concerned.  The beginning of the season produced far too many “sky is falling” comments and the streak produced a bit too much optimism.  The twins are probably that 85-87 win team that they were predicted to be, although they took the bizarre path to get there. 

I agree less when it comes to individual players.  Perhaps someone with a very long track record of excellence — Byron Buxton, Carlos Correa — deserves a very long leash with regard to substandard performance. However, players that have had limited success probably need to be looked at somewhat more skeptically, like Julien, Miranda, or Lewis.  Those guys aren’t finished products and sometimes they may need their run in a lower stress environment like AAA to ultimately be successful in the big leagues.  

[LambchoP]

Agree with the article except in regards to Lewis. It hasn't just been this year, but the end of last year too. He looks uncomfortable and awkward at the plate, totally lost. He's a hole in our lineup right now that we can't afford. I think he could benefit greatly from a minor league trip. Get his timing and confidence back and then come back ready to mash. He doesn't look completely healthy either which may be a factor. Either way, they need to do something with him. Same with Alcala and Funderburk....

[bean5302]

Twins fans are patient. They're patiently waiting for a good game day experience which will probably require new ownership before we start attending games much.

Lewis is making loud contact now and he's beginning to drive the ball. The Twins needed to give up another week or two in AAA before calling him up. Not now after he's showing that the rust is largely gone.

[dxpavelka]

5 minutes ago, bean5302 said:

Twins fans are patient. They're patiently waiting for a good game day experience which will probably require new ownership before we start attending games much.

Lewis is making loud contact now and he's beginning to drive the ball. The Twins needed to give up another week or two in AAA before calling him up. Not now after he's showing that the rust is largely gone.

Step up.  Make an offer. Buy the team.  I'll come to a game.

[FlyingFinn]

Saw the headline and immediately thought this article was directed at @Peter

[MileHighTwinsFan]

Love this piece. There is a reason they call it the great American past time.  Going to a game is about enjoying the leisurely pace of the game and the season. No one game means a lot, it allows one to live in the moment and just enjoy what is on the field. If your team wins - Great! If they lose, well you got to enjoy a summer day, have a beer and a dog, and there is a game tomorrow. In a time where life is creating stress from every direction - baseball should be the antidote.  Enjoy the ride my friends and thank God you are not a Rockies fan. 

[Rod Carews Birthday]

1 hour ago, bean5302 said:

Twins fans are patient. They're patiently waiting for a good game day experience which will probably require new ownership before we start attending games much.

Lewis is making loud contact now and he's beginning to drive the ball. The Twins needed to give up another week or two in AAA before calling him up. Not now after he's showing that the rust is largely gone.

Then some results need to be forthcoming.  REALLY SOON, because it’s getting ugly out there.  

[bean5302]

37 minutes ago, Rod Carews Birthday said:

Then some results need to be forthcoming.  REALLY SOON, because it’s getting ugly out there.  

Looking at Lewis' early batted ball data, watching him spin out in the batters box and clutch his hammy... yeah. It was absolutely brutal.

Thing is, his late batted ball data tells a very different story. I think evaluations like this need to be plotted in order to avoid bias. Right now, plotting his batted ball data and looking at xwOBA shows he's gotten better. Letting young guys play through hard times is also what the teams the Twins are supposedly trying to emulate also do.

[mikelink45]

I am not sure this is what fans need to hear.  The Twins are now in their 65th season.  They have been to the WS three times, they have won two.  They endured a record playoff losing streak.  Owners threatened us with contraction.  Then we were winning the owners announced that they were not going to do anything about it.  And even before that Calvin Griffiths racism cost us Rod Carew.

The fans and all the other Minnesotans have paid for a good portion of three stadiums. I remember when were told that we needed to have an inside stadium and then when the next argument was that baseball is meant to be played outside.  

We have had seasons like 2016 where our run differential was -167 and we had a 364 winning percentage! We also had 2011 63 - 99 -185 run differential and 2012 - 13 both 66 - 96 with run differentials of -174 and -131.  

By decade - 

1960s	862	747	.536
1970s	812	794	.506
1980s	733	833	.468
1990s	718	833	.463
2000s	863	758	.532
2010s	765	855	.472
2020s	356	352	.503

Minnesota Twins	1961-2025	5067	5117	.498

It has always been the long view, but then football came along and saw that people wanted my instant gratification and basketball rose because people wanted non-stop action.  (I cannot explain soccer).  

Perhaps what the article should have been is congratulations you long term fans who have stuck around even then the stadium deflated along with the team.  

[tony&rodney]

The chart above, by mikelink45, really serves as an excellent reminder of those 1960s and 2000s decade teams. I have often thought that the 1970s teams has some really good excitement and were similarly flawed to the current versions of Twins baseball.

As for being a patient fan this year, I would say that my wild guess of 83-87 wins looks fair still. Baseball has a lengthy season.

[Whitey333]

Thanks for the lecture about how Twins fans need to be patient.  What a bunch of crock!  All of us diehard Twins fans have been patient for many years.  It gets old when people get criticized because they are critical of the team.  Last year you ( sports writers) lectured us to be patient.  You over hyped this team the past few years.  Last year they choked the final month and a half.  I would imagine you called it a good stretch of baseball.  I hope the win the division.  We shall see.

[Aerodeliria]

Patience is a two-way street...last year, we saw in which direction are patience led...