The Chorus of "Sell The Team" Chants at Target Field Are a Dose of Reality for Despised Ownership

[Nick Nelson]

Image courtesy of Bruce Kluckhohn-Imagn Images

On Thursday night, after the Minnesota Twins dropped their series opener against the Tigers at Target Field, the Twins TV postgame show was interrupted by a group of fans, who gathered nearby the studio setup on the stadium concourse and began chanting "Sell the team" so loud that it audibly overwhelmed the broadcast.

It was impossible for analyst Tim Laudner to cogently get his thoughts out while competing with the sound of this angry chorus. I felt genuinely bad for him, and I commend Laudner and Katie Storm for handling a tough situation as professionally as they could. I don't feel so bad, however, for the target of these boo-birds — an ownership group that completely brought this upon themselves. 

It's not so much what they've done, but what they say. I'm sure that in the minds of the Pohlad family, there were good reasons for the payroll slash following the 2023 postseason breakthrough. I'm sure they have enduring confidence in the people running this team, and in their own ability to steer things in the right direction with support from a more engaged and invested set of minority partners. 

Fans just don't wanna hear it. We're tired of the endless stream of empty platitudes and meaningless corporate speak coming from this organization. For Joe Pohlad to come out and talk about how much they want to win, following a deadline (full of "baseball decisions") that all but dashed such hopes for this year and next, rings hollow. It was transparently about money. His comments about the nature of this non-sale of the team are an affront to the intelligence of fans. It was transparently about money. 

We see what you're doing. You're not cute or slick. The more this ownership group tries to blow smoke and claim that "No actually, everything's fine and this leadership is good," the more resentment will fester from fans who care about this team, who care about the future of baseball in Minnesota.

What we saw erupt on Thursday's postgame broadcast was not just frustration, but outright anger and disgust. It's justified. If the Pohlads were surprised or taken aback by it, then maybe it's a wake-up call they needed. Expecting any other reaction to Thursday's news would hint at a delusional level of obliviousness, but then, that's par for the course with this operation.

I like to think there is a way forward out of this, even if the team remains technically under Pohlad control. There is a world where the new limited partners are actually invested in the team's success, rather than insisting upon it as unsubstantiated lip service. If these newcomers, minority stakeholders though they may be, are ousting Pohlad family holdovers who didn't care, that could be a potentially substantial shift in the right direction. Massive debt coming off the books could lead to greatly increased spending flexibility, theoretically.

I hope that happens. I hope the chanting and the lamenting and the rancor come to a simmr. Not because I'm sympathetic for the Pohlads and the heat they're getting, but because I'm sick of hearing about it. I'm sick of ownership being a central topic of conversation. I want to talk about the controllable things that really matter to winning baseball games: development, decision-making, performance. If this shakeup leads to ownership just getting out of the way and fading into the background again, that would be wonderful.

Unfortunately, on this and many other fronts, comments from the people in charge give us little reason for belief. The tone-deaf rambling from Joe Pohlad and Derek Falvey are only worsening sentiment around this organization and it's morale-crushing course of action. But at this point I don't think anyone really cares what either of one of them has to say anymore. 

Until we actually see something different, the Pohlad ownership will continue to vilify themselves and ensure they are the center of attention and angst in Twins territory. It only feels like a matter of time before fans are being escorted out of the stadium for slinging SELL t-shirts.

“Our fans are passionate. Our fans want to win. We have that in common — we want to win, too," Pohlad told the Star Tribune when asked about the vocal criticism direct toward his billionaire bunch. "I’d rather have passionate fans than fans who are disengaged." 

Better put some kind of action behind that claim or Joe is going to find his stated preference really put to the test.

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[Reptevia]

[LewFordLives]

Just speaking for myself, I would respect them more if they just came out and said the team is losing money, and this can't continue.

[David Maro]

Tired of hearing that this is all about payroll. The whole organization is a mess. The Rays,Cleveland,Brewers and more do fine with less.

If this FO is so good at evaluating players why is it that they sent 11 of them out the door. And now what is left couldn't beat the Saints. This organization will be lucky to sell 1,000 season tickets next year.

[ChermesZ]

Booo-urns! Boo-urns!

they probably thought the fans were cheering their limited sale of the team.

[Jeff K]

Very nice job of capturing how many of us feel.  The Twins needed a reset, but the commentary from Pohlad and Falvey has been downright insulting.

[USAFChief]

Just now, LewFordLives said:

Just speaking for myself, I would respect them more if they just came out and said the team is losing money, and this can't continue.

That would be another lie.

[Doctor Gast]

You can't believe what most FOs & owners say most of the time. It's a breath of fresh air if you find one who's sincere & honest. So it doesn't matter what they say, it's all BS. You are naive if you believe otherwise. It matters most to me what they do. We are the Pohlads' clients, and when we are supporting the Twins, we are supporting them with our money. Joe is disillusioned if he thinks that he's the answer to the Twins. He has no idea how to run a baseball team. If he has any love for the team, he'd stop maximizing the profits & step aside & let a person who knows what he's doing, clean house & change direction.

[Original_JB]

💩-lads

[Whitey333]

Nice article.  I think it explains the feelings of most of thr fans.  The attendance figures of late show 24,000 fans per game since the purge.  However those include season tickets and tickets purchased well before such purge.  So again don't believe the Pohlad take that fans like what they are doing because so many people are showing up.  It's just another lie.  Sound familiar?

[Jack207]

I live in Pennsylvania and have been a Twins fan since the 60's. My son now lives in St Paul so I travel to Minnesota every September to visit my son and attend 2 or 3 Twins. There is NO chance that I will be attending a Twins game this year or ever with the existing ownership. I am surprised more people don't do the same.

[Old Crow]

39 minutes ago, David Maro said:

Tired of hearing that this is all about payroll. The whole organization is a mess. The Rays,Cleveland,Brewers and more do fine with less.

If this FO is so good at evaluating players why is it that they sent 11 of them out the door. And now what is left couldn't beat the Saints. This organization will be lucky to sell 1,000 season tickets next year.

Whats left basicly are the Saints.

[Launch Angle]

47 minutes ago, Jack207 said:

I live in Pennsylvania and have been a Twins fan since the 60's. My son now lives in St Paul so I travel to Minnesota every September to visit my son and attend 2 or 3 Twins. There is NO chance that I will be attending a Twins game this year or ever with the existing ownership. I am surprised more people don't do the same.

I actually think a lot of people are doing the same. Attendance for the rest of the year will continue to dwindle and next year I ticket sales will fall drastically.

I've been following the twins daily for decades but I'm at a point where I'm completely disinterested in them. When you lose a fan like me (and sounds like you as well) you've completely f****d up an organization. 

[Jasper]

Pay off debt with others money, Trade Pablo, Ryan and Jeffers then put team back on the market, Pohlads get their 1.7 billion and run.

[ChermesZ]

1 minute ago, Launch Angle said:

I actually think a lot of people are doing the same. Attendance for the rest of the year will continue to dwindle and next year I ticket sales will fall drastically.

I've been following the twins daily for decades but I'm at a point where I'm completely disinterested in them. When you lose a fan like me (and sounds like you as well) you've completely f****d up an organization. 

And they couldn’t care less.
 

That is the sobering feeling many of us feel. 

[rv78]

The only sound that the Pohlads would understand better than chants of "sell the team" would be crickets "chirping". Joe says he'd rather have passionate fans than fans that are disengaged. What he doesn't understand is that the disengaged part has begun and THEY are the reason for it.

[DJL44]

I really hope every remaining game doesn’t turn into a protest for upset fans. People need to relax, literally. It’s a baseball game. It’s not important. It’s a chance to unwind and enjoy summer.

I have been attending more Saints games lately, but mostly because the tickets are cheaper and access is easier from my house. I would attend a Twins game again even if the Pohlads continue to own the team because it’s not about them. It’s about me enjoying watching baseball at the highest level.

I really don’t want other people telling me I can’t enjoy baseball anymore. If you are disgruntled please stay home. If you want to protest and change the world, pick something that actually matters. There are hundreds of other things that are broken in this world that could use that energy.

[Blyleven2011]

This is a B esser organization  , if they want to show the fans that they really want to win then they need to fire the front office to start with , we are tired of the falvey BS and Rocco's BS too ...

Falvey BS has proven he is not the smartest person in the room and Rocco's BS has proven he is not a major league manager ...

If the pohlads want enthusiasm from the fans,  fire them and fire them now and hire a qualified front office that can get more bang for the buck in finding the right mix of players to fill the positions , this team has had holes to fill for a few years and the holes haven't been addressed  ( gallo is a good example , good defense but couldn't hit a lick except for a few homeruns , Margot couldn't play good defense and was a terrible pinch hitter ,  it was a waste of money and please dont sign another long term contract that hinders our finances to add other players , its been proven with donaldson and now Correa , and might as well throw in mauer's contract as well ) we signed these big contracts and it gets us no where , be smart and spend the money wisely , falvey is not smart , falvey is only hopeful that his additions work out at a waste of the pohlads dollars ...

Let's build a team that isn't just consistent and a contender , let's build a dynasty but year after year it doesn't seem to be on the agenda , just a team good enough to win enough to put fans in the stands   ...

Please the fans , fire the whole bunch cause they have embarrassed Minnesota once again  , ( the total system failures of the ) white Sox and Rockies are laughing at us because they now believe their losing records will be broken by the ( total system failures of the ) twins in 2026 ...

Baseball is a great game but the people in charge are ruining it , especially in Minnesota  ...

[TheLeviathan]

[jmlease1]

I just don't think the Pohlads care. Joe is the only one who is a baseball fan, and I doubt most of them have been coming to the games. It's not like they're going to get shamed in their rich people circles, and they've demonstrated pretty clearly that money is far more important to them than the fans. There will be no wake-up call. But I'm still glad they got this in.

As team owners, they're a bunch of tossers, the lot of them.

[LastOnePicked]

"If the Pohlads were surprised or taken aback by it"

Nick, this may be the funniest thing you've ever written. You can't possibly think that the Pohlads pay even a microsecond's attention to fan response in any way, shape or form. That's an absolutely absurd thought, even as an "if."

"Fans" are an abstract concept to them, and don't even factor into their equations. They get their money from the league now, and they're fine with that. They probably didn't even realize that fans weren't permitted in the stands during the COVID year. And that's what the stands will look like going forward.

[Blyleven2011]

35 minutes ago, Jasper said:

Pay off debt with others money, Trade Pablo, Ryan and Jeffers then put team back on the market, Pohlads get their 1.7 billion and run.

You can make a sure safe bet that Pablo and Joe will be traded this off season  ..

[TheLeviathan]

So yeah....plot twist to this author's argument in July: Ownership does matter.  It can be overcome by some other organizations and is sometimes overstated....but sometimes a family so terrible and incompetent owns your organization and it is THE issue.

[CRF]

I'd bet the ranch that the Pohlad's couldn't give a sh*t whether they're despised by the fanbase. As long as they're making money, that's all they care about. 

[Vanimal46]

8 minutes ago, LastOnePicked said:

"If the Pohlads were surprised or taken aback by it"

Nick, this may be the funniest thing you've ever written. You can't possibly think that the Pohlads pay even a microsecond's attention to fan response in any way, shape or form. That's an absolutely absurd thought, even as an "if."

"Fans" are an abstract concept to them, and don't even factor into their equations. They get their money from the league now, and they're fine with that. They probably didn't even realize that fans weren't permitted in the stands during the COVID year. And that's what the stands will look like going forward.

The chances of the Pohlads being at Target Field for a game or watching the Twins on TV is as close to 0% as mathematically possible. Same thing with Derek Falvey attending games. 

People can fan however they want… Let the boo birds fly and yell Sell the Team. Just know that it’s going to fall on deaf ears. 

[Mike Sixel]

I suggest never listening to owners, GMs, or coaches. Just watch the game or not. Like, it annoys almost all of you to listen, why keep listening? Life is too short .

[tony&rodney]

Despite being owned by a corporation the Twins are a bit of a public trust except the fans have zero input. The Pohlads can run media, film, and real estate businesses into the ground where many people lose their jobs and become unemployed, but the incompetent ownership of a baseball franchise includes a few million others. MLB should be forcing out these incompetent owners. No person can buy into the exclusive club of MLB ownership without approval and I'm pretty sure there exists a mechanism to force the sale of a team. Problem is that there are more than a couple of woeful owners and then there is Manfred, so nothing will be done until fans force the issue by boycotting the team.

[AceWrigley]

2 hours ago, Doctor Gast said:

So it doesn't matter what they say, it's all BS.

The state of most things really. Those with power and money will take whatever steps they believe are necessary to maintain their power and money.

[mluebker]

Joe Pohlad: "I’d rather have passionate fans than fans who are disengaged."

He’ll get both: fans who hate ownership with a passion and who disengage from coming out to see the team.

As family with deep roots in banking and financial services, they still managed to turn the Twins into one of the most debt-ridden franchises in baseball, spend too much on the “stadium experience” instead of the team that’s on the field, then want us to believe what they SAY they’re doing instead of what anyone can plainly SEE they’re doing.

I’m too old and set in my ways to change my allegiances, but boy do they suck.

 

[BSLinPA]

I posted this on Oct 10, 2024:

What have the Polad$ done to instill any confidence in what is about to play out??  Expect another circus.  Paging Donald Watkins.....lol.  Stir in the sway of woke commish Rob Manfred and this could easily become a mess. And nothing good happens if this lingers; thru the off-season or worse yet into the 2025 baseball season (or longer??).  This provides another perspective on Thad Levine's departure (he may have jumped off a sinking ship??).  I sincerely hope my gut is wrong on this.

Hopefully, given that the Pohlad$ have gone public with this, I'm way off base and there is a viable buyer/owners group lined up.  Time will tell.

JD-Twins, Mike Sixel and NYCTK gave it thumbs down........what part of this posting was "wrong" guys????