Why Twins Fans Should Keep Going to Target Field

[Matthew Taylor]

Image courtesy of © Matt Blewett-Imagn Images

Last week, the Pohlad family made it official: they’re not selling the Twins. After nearly a year of dangling the idea that ownership might finally change hands, they announced they’ll stay on as principal owners and only sell a portion of the team to minority investors. For Twins fans, that shifts everything. A new question is front and center now: if the Pohlads aren’t going anywhere, should we still go to games, knowing it means putting money in their pockets?

It’s hard to think of an ownership group that inspires less confidence. The Pohlads have made it clear, over and over, that their priority isn’t building a winner—it’s protecting the bottom line. They’ve had decades to prove otherwise, and they haven’t. Look no further than this year’s trade deadline, when the front office appeared to be under a mandate to shed payroll. To many fans, the fire sale appeared not to be about making the team better; it was about cutting costs. In the wake of the announcement about the future of the team, fans got empty corporate doublespeak from Joe Pohlad. It’s clear where their values are.

That leaves fans with a tough choice. On the surface, boycotting games feels like the natural response. Why give money to billionaires who refuse to invest in the team at a competitive level? But here’s the reality: In all likelihood, the owners will take lower attendance as an excuse to justify slashing payroll even further. They’ll claim revenue is down, and instead of responding by making the team more competitive to draw fans back, they’ll lean on the same tired logic. Cut costs, keep profits steady, and let the product suffer. It’s not a cycle we should accept. It’s a cycle they’ll exploit.

Now, that doesn’t mean fans who walk away are wrong. If you’ve had enough and you cancel Twins.TV, stop buying tickets, or simply check out altogether, nobody can blame you. Ownership has earned every bit of the frustration it gets. There’s no “wrong” way to show displeasure with how this team has been run, as long as what you're doing is motivated by the protection of your own time, rather than the notion that you can influence the Pohlads.

But if you still want to go to the ballpark, you shouldn’t feel guilty about it, or let others make you feel bad. Going to Target Field doesn’t mean you’re supporting the Pohlads. It means you’re taking back something that already belongs to us. The stadium was built with public money. It’s not their private playground. It’s Minnesota’s ballpark, and it’s where our connection to this team lives, no matter how poorly it’s managed at the top.

Being there also doesn’t have to mean sitting quietly. Fans have power, and it comes from showing up, making noise, and refusing to let ownership own the narrative. Boo when payroll is slashed. Chant when frustration boils over. The Pohlads may hold the title of “owners,” but they don’t own what really matters: the passion, the culture, and the heartbeat of Twins baseball. Just make whatever you do is an authentic and reasonable reaction to what you see out there, rather than either a forced gesture or an unconsidered reflex.

This team isn’t just a business, it’s part of Minnesota’s fabric. It’s the memories of 1987 and 1991, it’s Joe Mauer’s debut, it’s Game 163, it’s Byron Buxton making highlight-reel catches. It’s fathers and daughters, friends on a summer night, the joy of a walk-off win or the shared groan of a bullpen collapse. Those belong to us. Giving them up doesn’t punish the Pohlads. It just gives them more power.

So yes, if you want to go, go. Don’t let ownership steal the joy of baseball from you. Don’t hand billionaires the satisfaction of taking away nights at Target Field with your family, your friends, and your community. This isn’t just their team. It’s ours.

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[DJL44]

Buy tickets if you think the price is fair for the entertainment. Otherwise, don't. This is really a simple decision.

[Nshore]

It'd be appropriate for the fans to request that they start showing a disaster or horror movie after the game - The Poseidon Adventure, The Hindenburg, Apocalypse Now, The Shining, The Exorcist - all kind of go with the general theme.

[D.C Twins]

If they slash the payroll the team gets even worse and attendance/ratings plumet further which substantially reduces the franchise value. 

Even from a selfish business perspective they should increase payroll to break the above deleterious positive feedback cycle. 

If the Pohlads want to steer into the death spiral though.... that is their prerogative 

[The Great Hambino]

12 minutes ago, D.C Twins said:

If they slash the payroll the team gets even worse and attendance/ratings plumet further which substantially reduces the franchise value. 

Even from a selfish business perspective they should increase payroll to break the above deleterious positive feedback cycle. 

If the Pohlads want to steer into the death spiral though.... that is their prerogative 

It would be nice if this were true.  Unfortunately, the Pittsburgh Pirates exist and show that it isn't.

They've been doing what we fear the Pohlads might be in the process of doing for years.  They've done this with no repercussions.  They have "sell the team" chants.  They have faced a union grievance.  They've been next-to-last in NL attendance every year since 2018.  Doesn't matter.  The profits keep coming.

If boycotting or chanting "sell the team" or anything like that gives you some form of catharsis, then by all means, do what makes you happy.  If you think your entertainment dollars are better spent elsewhere, go for it.  You don't owe the Twins anything.  But if you think that these things will spur any sort of positive changes we fans would like to see, then I'm afraid you're going to be disappointed.

 

[Blyleven2011]

The twins will draw fans  , the younger fans will still go to games for entertainment and partying  ( alot of them have no passion for the game ) ...

The twins will lose alot of the conservative veteran fans that have the passion in the sport to follow and don't want to spend their money on a inferior product and dysfunctional organization  ...

I for one stated last off season that I would not attend spring fest , spring training games or games at Target field and fan apparel and I will continue to not spend my money unless I find vintage twins memorabilia at flea markets  ...

This is my option , call it boycotting if you will , I call it sensible because it's just not a professional organization  ...

[JBK]

Why own a team that were world champs twice, just to field a losing team now?  My goodness, you've tasted victory twice.  Don't tell me you've lost that feeling of being on top of the world.  I can't honestly say Alan Rhoden and Cody Clemens are the answer.  They can do so much better.  Show us something.  Anything.  Show us you want to win.

[LastOnePicked]

I have no delusions about influencing the Pohlads with my own personal boycott. It's simply a personal decision - giving money to the people who disrespect me sends them a clear message that they can continue to disrespect me. Everyone has to make their own choice. For me, it's my dignity and self-respect.

[In My La Z boy]

Why doesn't MLB fix this competitive problem? In other pro league's we have a salary cap, and we have a salary floor. MLB has a minimum for individual players, why not for a whole team? This competitive disfunction with some teams well over $300M and some teams well under $100M is ridiculous. I blame Manfred and MLB for allowing this. 

[TwinsChupacabra]

The fans have one play.  That is to boycott so successfully that you keep next year's average attendance to under 2,000 per game.  Pohlads will keep continue to slash payroll and pocketing the profits, but MLB will be forced to address the situation. (They will have to address Pittsburgh and others as well)

All other paths continue the slow death of the team until they move or become completely irrelevant in the community.

To the fans that still want to go:  the Pohlads are giving you the finger straight to your face.  Do you really want to respond to that by giving them more money?

[djvang]

I've been a Twins fan my whole life. Through good teams and bad teams. I'll keep going because I like baseball, win or lose, If you want to call me names, have at it if it makes you feel better. 

[Dave Borton]

Option #4. Follow other ball. 

Yesterday I listened to the radio broadcast of Reds/Brewers. Best broadcast (thanks to Tommy Thrall/Jeff Brantley - take note Atteberry/Gladin) and game I have heard all year. Back and forth as Brewers streaked for 15th in a row. Reds prevailed.

Listened to the Dodgers/Padres series all weekend. Listen to the Yanks for Susie (great access to back stories and insights) and seek Yanks to get thumped. Listen to Giants and Jon Miller doing a stellar job on play-by-play, Tom Hamilton edging in as a delightful homer and Dan Dickerson calling the best play by play of any broadcaster. Toss in Berrios game from Toronto (good radio booth) and my life is very full for $25/yr on MLB.com.

Lots of options out there, especially those of you with MLB.TV. 

Play ball! And keep posting on TD, folks. 

[NYCTK]

55 minutes ago, In My La Z boy said:

Why doesn't MLB fix this competitive problem? In other pro league's we have a salary cap, and we have a salary floor. MLB has a minimum for individual players, why not for a whole team? This competitive disfunction with some teams well over $300M and some teams well under $100M is ridiculous. I blame Manfred and MLB for allowing this. 

The players don't want a salary cap for obvious reasons, it does nothing but steal money from the worker to give to the boss.

The solution to competitive issues would lie more in greater revenue sharing and/or greater competitive imbalance penalties on teams like the Dodgers and Mets. 

If we get down to it and there is a work stoppage in 2027 in MLB because the owners insist on a salary cap, remember that the players are almost certainly the good guys in the negotiations. I remember people complaining about the GREEDY players back in 1994, and those people were easily duped marks. 

[Dave Borton]

10 minutes ago, NYCTK said:

...

If we get down to it and there is a work stoppage in 2027 in MLB ...

If?

Players should agree to a salary cap and demand a more civilized 154 games per year.

[NYCTK]

42 minutes ago, Dave Borton said:

If?

Players should agree to a salary cap and demand a more civilized 154 games per year.

Screw a salary cap. They lack of a salary cap is NOT why the Twins suck. It's not in the top 20 reasons. 

 

[Dave Borton]

13 minutes ago, NYCTK said:

Screw a salary cap. They lack of a salary cap is NOT why the Twins suck. It's not in the top 20 reasons. 

 

I am talking the game in general.

If the owners are demanding a salary cap and lock out, then a negotiation chip is a reduced schedule. A beginning position in negotiations, that's all.

[Dman]

48 minutes ago, NYCTK said:

The players don't want a salary cap for obvious reasons, it does nothing but steal money from the worker to give to the boss.

The solution to competitive issues would lie more in greater revenue sharing and/or greater competitive imbalance penalties on teams like the Dodgers and Mets. 

If we get down to it and there is a work stoppage in 2027 in MLB because the owners insist on a salary cap, remember that the players are almost certainly the good guys in the negotiations. I remember people complaining about the GREEDY players back in 1994, and those people were easily duped marks. 

I think you have this backwards.  The game is for the fans.  Not the owners,  Not the players.  Without the fans there is no money for either side.  The less interest in the game the less revenue to go around.

With a cap there is still room for both sides to make plenty of money. Other sports have done just fine with a cap. In Football the cap is so bad that QB's are making 40M per year.  

What game can you think of where one player starts with an advantage while the others start with a disadvantage?  I can't think of one.  Card games, most any game you all start with an equal chance to win.  If you and I sat down for a game of poker and I get to start with three aces every hand how much fun is that gonna be for you?  It would get to a point where it is pointless to play and I think that is where baseball is headed. The game is for the fans and when your favorite team can only be competitive once every ten years because you have to start over with young players it starts to feel pointless.  

If the players association doesn't want "fair" competition then yeah as a fan I am going to blame them for the fact that my team has little to no chance year in and year out to win a world series and or be competitive year in an year out.  I like the sports that have caps that create a level playing field. I

If the major money makers don't want to revenue share then maybe have them buy out the smaller market teams and have them create a 12 team league.  Or maybe take the the top 10 to 15 teams and create an uncapped league with the bottom 15 being a capped league. Then at least teams could be closer competitively than they are now.

I think both sides are being short sighted and eventually it seems to me they will make it miserable enough that too many fans lose interest and neither side will make any money.  They need to solve this issue.

[Vanimal46]

35 minutes ago, NYCTK said:

Screw a salary cap. They lack of a salary cap is NOT why the Twins suck. It's not in the top 20 reasons. 

 

There’s a clear gap between the haves and have nots in this league and it’s growing every year. 

2011 was the last year the Twins were top 10 in payroll with $112 million. Highest payroll was the Yankees at $200 million, lowest is KC at $36 million. Today the gap between the Dodgers and Marlins is $274 million. 

[chpettit19]

1 hour ago, NYCTK said:

The players don't want a salary cap for obvious reasons, it does nothing but steal money from the worker to give to the boss.

The solution to competitive issues would lie more in greater revenue sharing and/or greater competitive imbalance penalties on teams like the Dodgers and Mets. 

If we get down to it and there is a work stoppage in 2027 in MLB because the owners insist on a salary cap, remember that the players are almost certainly the good guys in the negotiations. I remember people complaining about the GREEDY players back in 1994, and those people were easily duped marks. 

It all depends on how they determine the cap and floor. If you require 48% of league wide revenue (NFL percentage) to go back to the players, do you think that would be more or less revenue going to the players? I don't know, it'd depend on how much the large market teams are putting in now and whether that number would be raising or lowering their percentage.

If the MLBPA agreed to the reported previous proposals from ownership that were just set numbers not based on anything, it'd be a massive, massive win for the owners. But there's a chance the players could actually increase their cut if they can actually get the owners to open their books and agree to a deal that's based on a percentage of revenue. I don't know how likely that is, but it's not just a guaranteed win for ownership to have a cap. It depends on how the system is set up. And it depends on what percentage of revenue teams are actually spending now. Which we'll never know.

[Cornholio]

I wonder how much the 4 billion dollar sale of the Portland NBA team has to do with the Pohlads taking the team off the table.

[Twinkies are for eating]

Baseball will never be the same for me. It started with paying to watch the Twins on television. I’ll never do that. Baseball has gotten way too greedy for their own good. There should have been a clause in the contract with the city of Mpls and the Pohlads that they would have to spend a minimum amount to sign FA’s and retain their own players. How they got off with a tax payer funded stadium is beyond me. I hope Bud Selig and Carl P are eternally hot. My 4 year old son and I were watching the Yankees and Twins game the other night for free. Bases loaded, no outs and all we could muster was one run. My son looks at me and says dad this team needs better players. I laughed and said you might want to pick a different team to cheer for bud. 

[DJL44]

Worth reminding people that baseball has the most parity of any major sport. The Brewers have the best record in baseball.

[Dman]

30 minutes ago, DJL44 said:

Worth reminding people that baseball has the most parity of any major sport. The Brewers have the best record in baseball.

For all that parity you would think that more than two revenue sharing teams would have won the world series in the last 20 years.  The Royals were the last one before the Marlins in 2003. Maybe the Brewers can make it 3, but they'll have to get through the big teams to do it.

[yeahyabetcha]

1 hour ago, DJL44 said:

Worth reminding people that baseball has the most parity of any major sport. The Brewers have the best record in baseball.

And I think they rank like 23rd in payroll.  Does that mean their owners are cheap and greedy?😊

[big dog]

Well, I guess the fishing is usually pretty weak in August so there's that.

[Parfigliano]

4 hours ago, Dman said:

I think you have this backwards.  The game is for the fans.  Not the owners,  Not the players.  Without the fans there is no money for either side.  The less interest in the game the less revenue to go around.

With a cap there is still room for both sides to make plenty of money. Other sports have done just fine with a cap. In Football the cap is so bad that QB's are making 40M per year.  

What game can you think of where one player starts with an advantage while the others start with a disadvantage?  I can't think of one.  Card games, most any game you all start with an equal chance to win.  If you and I sat down for a game of poker and I get to start with three aces every hand how much fun is that gonna be for you?  It would get to a point where it is pointless to play and I think that is where baseball is headed. The game is for the fans and when your favorite team can only be competitive once every ten years because you have to start over with young players it starts to feel pointless.  

If the players association doesn't want "fair" competition then yeah as a fan I am going to blame them for the fact that my team has little to no chance year in and year out to win a world series and or be competitive year in an year out.  I like the sports that have caps that create a level playing field. I

If the major money makers don't want to revenue share then maybe have them buy out the smaller market teams and have them create a 12 team league.  Or maybe take the the top 10 to 15 teams and create an uncapped league with the bottom 15 being a capped league. Then at least teams could be closer competitively than they are now.

I think both sides are being short sighted and eventually it seems to me they will make it miserable enough that too many fans lose interest and neither side will make any money.  They need to solve this issue.

Bad QBs make $50+ mil a year.  Ask Zak Prescott.

[DJL44]

2 hours ago, Dman said:

For all that parity you would think that more than two revenue sharing teams would have won the world series in the last 20 years.  The Royals were the last one before the Marlins in 2003. Maybe the Brewers can make it 3, but they'll have to get through the big teams to do it.

Seven more revenue sharing teams lost a World Series in those 20 seasons. That adds up to almost 25% of the teams in the World Series. The Cardinals and Tigers are basically revenue neutral and they made it.

[Parfigliano]

3 hours ago, Twinkies are for eating said:

Baseball will never be the same for me. It started with paying to watch the Twins on television. I’ll never do that. Baseball has gotten way too greedy for their own good. There should have been a clause in the contract with the city of Mpls and the Pohlads that they would have to spend a minimum amount to sign FA’s and retain their own players. How they got off with a tax payer funded stadium is beyond me. I hope Bud Selig and Carl P are eternally hot. My 4 year old son and I were watching the Yankees and Twins game the other night for free. Bases loaded, no outs and all we could muster was one run. My son looks at me and says dad this team needs better players. I laughed and said you might want to pick a different team to cheer for bud. 

If you watch via any thing other then over the air broadcast TV via rabbit ears or antenna on your dwelling you are paying to watch baseball.

[Dman]

9 minutes ago, DJL44 said:

Seven more revenue sharing teams lost a World Series in those 20 seasons. That adds up to almost 25% of the teams in the World Series. The Cardinals and Tigers are basically revenue neutral and they made it.

Yeah but in the end they lost to higher revenue teams.  So I'm not sure what that really means other than they were closer than other revenue sharing teams, but still couldn't overcome the odds of losing to a higher revenue team.

I'm not looking to pick a fight or anything.  You have great posts.  I think we just disagree on this one. All things being equal I'd rather the Twins had the Dodgers payroll so I could Watch Otani and win my division every year for the last ten years in a row. I'd like my team to go shopping for the best players in free agency.  I just don't see parity there or any way the Twins can do those things without the revenue.

You can say hey, but the Brewers and while they are having a great season they have never won a world series ever and they have had to endure really bad teams at times in their history for a really long time. Sure every now and then a Royals type team rises up, but mainly teams that spend more win the big one more.  I believe that is the reason they spend more else why not do what lower revenue teams do and spend less?

[Twinkies are for eating]

1 hour ago, Parfigliano said:

If you watch via any thing other then over the air broadcast TV via rabbit ears or antenna on your dwelling you are paying to watch baseball.

Always one of you in the crowd. I’m talking about paying for a streaming service to watch the Twins. So yeah, I pay for hulu, but I’m not paying to watch every Twins game. Did I explain it well enough for you? Prob not.