BREAKING: Twins Dismiss Manager Rocco Baldelli

[Doc Lenz]

2 hours ago, farmerguychris said:

Agreed he was responsible.  Problem with that is - he didn't even get to pick the coaches he would be responsible for.  Those were people picked by the F.O.

Could you please provide proof he didn’t have a say in the staff. I’d appreciate it. Thank you.

[Nshore]

The players on this roster stank so bad that they got their boss fired.  Hopefully that disgrace will light a fire under some of them for next year.  For others, the skills just aren't there and they need to be gone - and that was Falvey's fault not Rocco's.

[Rufus]

The Guardians parted with one of the best managers of all time.  A certain HOFer two years ago.  His replacement was manager of the year last year and has to be a strong candidate to repeat this year.   Francona was hired by the Reds this year and they are in the playoffs for the first time in how many years? The Twins were under .500 in 2018 and won 101 games the following year, They followed that up with another division winner in 2020.  Baldelli was manager of the year in '19. It might not be that the manager is bad, a change of philosophy and perspective can be just what a team needs.  I know in my working years, I had many changes in managers, some were good and some were bad.  But each time it definitely shook up the work place

[Richie the Rally Goat]

Good luck to Rocco in his future endeavors. He’s reputedly a good person, and I thought he was mostly a good but not great manager.

however, it was time. There was no coming back from this circus of a season.

[h2oface]

FINALLY! Amazing how much crap one used to get by saying Baldelli should go in back in 21 and 22 from those that finally came around. Glad it happened however long it took. That Falvey didn’t go with him is tragic. Even more tragic is Pohlands still owning the team. 

This is the manager that kept running Manny Margot out there to pinch hit. What a genius. A legend in his own mind. Nobody made him do that. All Baldelli. Like his countless pinch hitting and bullpen decisions.
 

Fire these invasive McDonalds adverts too! (infecting the phone site)

[Richie the Rally Goat]

11 minutes ago, Aggies7 said:

Why in the world did they pick up his option so early on in the season? Has that ever been explained 

It was reported in June. We don’t know when the contract was signed, may have been the offseason.

[Nshore]

1 hour ago, Old Twins Hat said:

Face it:  the Twins were not a fundamentally sound baseball team, and they haven't been for quite some time.  

Running the bases?  Most years, just terrible.

Holding runners?  Terrible.

Hitting with runners on base?  Terrible.

Defense?  Mediocre.

Desire to win?  Nope.

I know the players are ultimately responsible for sound baseball plays, but the manager can and should dictate what is acceptable and what isn't when he fills out the lineup card.

Great guy, very articulate, cared for his players.  

But, the Twins just did not play like a well-coached team.  

For that, look to Milwaukee.

 

I agree with your points.   And I think it paints a larger picture of concern than just the manager -  It goes all the way through the core of the Twins' system of player development. IMO, a player that gets called up to the Major Leagues better have a pretty firm grasp of how to play their position or run the bases.  I wouldn't think a ML manager has time to run a baseball fundamentals school on the side in the midst of a season.

[Aggies7]

6 minutes ago, Richie the Rally Goat said:

It was reported in June. We don’t know when the contract was signed, may have been the offseason.

Even if it were the offseason when they did it….he could possibly have been let go a year ago with how things went down the stretch. At the very least, it should have been wait and see mode. 

[JDubs]

1 hour ago, rdehring said:

Which team had the largest payroll this year, the Twins, Guardians, Detroit, Kansas City or Milwaukee Brewers?

Did the Mets have a higher payroll than any of these teams?

[JD-TWINS]

50 minutes ago, shimrod said:

Ideally they improve. The Twins young players haven't. 

Call it development, call it improvement, whatever. Twins youngsters haven't done it. They more often regress. The manager, responsible for both players and coaches, has to bear some responsibility for improving and optimizing the play of the team. 

 

 

If Miranda spends the entire year at AAA & sucks after having a 12 game, historic hit streak last July, it seems to me that’s the failure of a 3rd year guy. Julien, essentially the same thing.

Wallner hits .275 for a month and then hits .195 for 2.5 months…….the other 2 months are on IL or in St Paul for past 3 years.

IMO, guys have to look in the mirror and figure it out. Listen to Plouffe describe how Morneau spent hours and hours in the cage nearly daily …..,,. 2 time batting champ & MVP. Work ethic & grinding season after season is how guys maintain and improve……..along with coaching/instruction. Coaches don’t have a magic wand……if they did, nearly all prospects would make it to the Show & be successful.

Keaschall - Larnach - Wallner - Julien - Miranda all have access from same group of guys.

Popkins was clueless at end of ‘24 and now he’s the one of the best instructors/coaches in the game as “he’s turned Toronto around” …..,, nobody is saying that. Springer - Guerrero - Bichette and others are all hitting well (at a high level) Kirk as well, 4 guys at .300 or better with 3 more above .265………players play!

[JD-TWINS]

8 minutes ago, Aggies7 said:

Even if it were the offseason when they did it….he could possibly have been let go a year ago with how things went down the stretch. At the very least, it should have been wait and see mode. 

The players quit hitting from mid-August on …… can’t Nanage your way out of that.

How’d the Mets hit this past weekend?

[Aggies7]

2 minutes ago, JD-TWINS said:

The players quit hitting from mid-August on …… can’t Nanage your way out of that.

How’d the Mets hit this past weekend?

What did he do to warrant them picking up his option? Nearly half the league makes the postseason these days and the twins have missed it 4 of the last 5 seasons. Is this still a results based business or only if you aren’t a nice guy?

[jmlease1]

Missed the playoffs in 4 of the last 5 seasons, hard to really argue that he should have stayed. I never disliked Rocco all that much, but it sure seemed like the team needed a change. Will this fix all the problems people have with this team? Doubtful.

Some people around here will immediately hate the next manager, because they'll almost certainly still apply analytics to game decisions, lineups, etc and for some, that's clearly not allowed. I think the most likely differentiation is they could hire someone who is more hands on with both the players and their own and less of a CEO model...but I suspect that won't be sufficient for some unless they get to see the manager showing someone how to steal a base or lay down a bunt personally. They could also go with someone who is a little more hierarchical/disciplinarian, but there's zero chance that it will actually be a Dick Williams/Billy Martin style screamer. 

But none of it will matter unless the players play better and stay healthy.

 

[nicksaviking]

1 hour ago, TheLeviathan said:

I expect whomever we hire to be the equivalent of dumpster diving for dinner.

I don't think manager pay is going to be an issue. Data on manager salaries is sparse but World Series champ AJ Hinch at 1.2M is the 16th highest paid manager. Only 12 guys make more than 2M and 14 are at 1.2M or less.

https://frontofficesports.com/highest-paid-mlb-managers/

These guys just aren't getting paid any longer:

https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/mlb/columnist/bob-nightengale/2023/10/08/major-league-baseball-managers-grossly-underpaid/71106218007/

Baldelli is already near the bottom of the payroll scale and they're willing to eat his salary. Sure, with what they probably aren't talking Joe Maddon out of retirement but I doubt anyone expected that anyway.  Whether they pay the manager 800K or 1.2M, it's probably going to be the same guy anyway.

[MMMordabito]

[gman]

Firing. the owners would have been something meaningful.

[h2oface]

2 hours ago, rdehring said:

Which team had the largest payroll this year, the Twins, Guardians, Detroit, Kansas City or Milwaukee Brewers?

  Does the 33 million the Twins gave to Houston to take Correa count? 😇

1. New York Mets: $323,099,999
2. Los Angeles Dodgers: $321,287,291
3. New York Yankees: $293,488,972
4. Philadelphia Phillies: $284,210,820
5. Toronto Blue Jays: $239,642,532
6. Texas Rangers: $220,541,332
7. Houston Astros: $220,217,813
8. Atlanta Braves: $214,836,398
9. San Diego Padres: $208,909,333
10. Chicago Cubs: $196,288,250
11. Arizona Diamondbacks: $195,294,235
12. Boston Red Sox: $193,629,093
13. Los Angeles Angels: $190,508,096
14. San Francisco Giants: $173,019,524
15. Baltimore Orioles: $162,314,278
16. Seattle Mariners: $146,793,414
17. Detroit Tigers: $143,193,033
18. Minnesota Twins: $142,762,022
19. St. Louis Cardinals: $141,455,581
20. Kansas City Royals: $130,001,503
21. Colorado Rockies: $120,693,976
22. Cincinnati Reds: $115,466,833
23. Milwaukee Brewers: $115,136,227
24. Washington Nationals: $107,653,761
25. Cleveland Guardians: $100,522,729
26. Pittsburgh Pirates: $87,645,246
27. Chicago White Sox: $82,279,825
28. Tampa Bay Rays: $79,216,312
29. Athletics: $73,118,981
30. Miami Marlins: $67,412,619

[Dave Borton]

2 hours ago, chpettit19 said:

 

Joe Maddon has a lot of great stuff out there about the overreaching of front offices into the clubhouse. He's very open about it being the reason he doesn't manage anymore. If the front office isn't going to change their directives to the manager...

Bingo. Loved his book.

The pick will be interesting in that Falvey is hands-on. All the mgrs I would like would never agree to that. My guess is that the next mgr with be BalldelliDeux.

[RpR]

2 hours ago, djvang said:

Because the Saints had such a good season?

He is another Gardenhire, nice guy, lousy coach.

[TheLeviathan]

1 hour ago, shimrod said:

Twins record is 70-92. Who thinks, based on talent, the Twins were actually a 65 win team and Rocco added value? 

So far, reading this page, I've learned that the manager is not responsible for player development, choosing coaches, or strategy. Some doubt he sets the lineup. 

Half the contributors to this site would do a better job of filling out a lineup card. Any who feel it's idiotic to play the infield in in the first inning would set better strategy. Any who thinks it's wise to let young talent face same handed pitching early in their career would be better at player development. 

We'll likely get the cheapest feasible manager available and it's highly likely that manager contributes to winning more than Rocco. 

Probably asking the wrong guy, I think baseball managers don't move the needle much.

I think organizations win in baseball today.  It's why Milwaukee moved on from Counsell and continue to excel.  Dodgers would win 90 with a potted plant on the top step.

Fans believe managers are high impact, but teams don't pay like they believe in that differential.

[RpR]

1 hour ago, Reptevia said:

How many young players didn’t get worse once they made it onto Rocco’s team????  Zero. 

That can easily be the difference between AAA and Major League, But, most did not get better over time.  Good players adjust over time, IF, the coach/es give them ways to so.

[JADBP]

3 hours ago, C-Gangster said:

Ill ask this again how is this Rocco's fault and not the Pholads

There is plenty of blame to go around.  Strong blame goes to Joe Pohlad (for being such a moronic public speaker) and Falvey (who just can't figure out how to continue to change with the changing MLB landscape).  But, everything ON FIELD, regardless of what players he was given, was Rocco's responsibility.  And, there was a significant decline in player performance, particularly over the last three years.  This was simply overdue!  Shudda happened a year ago!

[stringer bell]

1 hour ago, DJL44 said:

I don't think it helped Rocco that Carlos Correa started hitting as soon as he left.

Did he have a good roster? No. Did he get the most out of it? No.

Correa had a .785 OPS for the Astros. Better than his '25 Twins numbers for sure, but not up to his career numbers.

[TheLeviathan]

19 minutes ago, nicksaviking said:

I don't think manager pay is going to be an issue. Data on manager salaries is sparse but World Series champ AJ Hinch at 1.2M is the 16th highest paid manager. Only 12 guys make more than 2M and 14 are at 1.2M or less.

https://frontofficesports.com/highest-paid-mlb-managers/

These guys just aren't getting paid any longer:

https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/mlb/columnist/bob-nightengale/2023/10/08/major-league-baseball-managers-grossly-underpaid/71106218007/

Baldelli is already near the bottom of the payroll scale and they're willing to eat his salary. Sure, with what they probably aren't talking Joe Maddon out of retirement but I doubt anyone expected that anyway.  Whether they pay the manager 800K or 1.2M, it's probably going to be the same guy anyway.

Great post and well made argument.

Counterpoint: The Pohlads are the kind of people to live in a mansion and give kids a single candy corn on Halloween.

[Derojo]

The greatest issue is the owners. Will a different manager make the Twins better? Probably not likely that will happen.

[strumdatjag]

Some of you can do better than me:

THE Fired Guys: Bob Melvin, Don Mattingly, Skip Schumacher, Brandon Hyde (Bruce Bochy?). 
Looking at the great first 2/3rds of 2024 and the later collapse - as well as the 13 game winning streak in 2025 surrounded by poorer playing on either side,  it may be appropriate for the Twins manager to be Mr. Hyde (to go with a Jekyll alter-ego).

Maybe the Twins go after a former Twin who has been a manager and bench coach (albeit for the always underperforming Marlins and Rockies), Mike Redmond.   Could they bring back “naked man”.??? 
Doug Mientkiewicz is only 51, has minor league managing experience and has been managing MLB and USA Baseball’s prospect development league since 2022.   He had a falling out with the Twins but was a candidate for manager back when Paul Molitor was hired.   I suspect Dougie B would have a different approach from Rocco.  It would be entertaining watching him tango with the Pohlads and the FO. 

[LastOnePicked]

1 hour ago, USAFChief said:

From the OP: but (Baldelli) was good at the vital functions of the job: communicating with players, the media, and his bosses in the front office.

 Balderdash. Hogwash.

These are not the "vital functions" of a baseball manager. 

The vital functions of a baseball manager are

-to ensure his team knows how to play the game, and does. 

-making decisions on playing time. 

-strategy 

And these are precisely the areas Baldelli sucked at.

Long overdue canning. It's one critical step on the road back to respectability. 

This just needs reposting. Again and again and again. Rocco was not good at his job. Period.

[Strelnikov]

Bob Melvin?

[tarheeltwinsfan]

I wish Rocco well. I appreciate his efforts, although I did not always agree with his decisions. He was always a gentleman and seems to be very well spoken. Now that Rocco has been fired, can TD  please do something to remove the highlight reel of Rocco's favorite record setting pinch hitter, Manuel Margot? 

[T.O.]

1 hour ago, shimrod said:

Ideally they improve. The Twins young players haven't. 

Call it development, call it improvement, whatever. Twins youngsters haven't done it. They more often regress. The manager, responsible for both players and coaches, has to bear some responsibility for improving and optimizing the play of the team. 

 

 

The manager sets the tone and should utilize players in a way that builds on their strengths and builds confidence. Baldelli managed like a robot that was run by a random number generator. He acted like he didn't care and they played liked they didn't care.