Rocco Baldelli Wasn't the Problem

[Matt Braun]

Image courtesy of © Jesse Johnson-Imagn Images

Rocco Baldelli has been fired. Considering the team was butchered halfway through the season, we can only assume he was a dead man walking for the final excruciating months. These Pohlads are a ruthless bunch. At least he was compensated for his suffering. 

I have to admit, I’m something of a Baldelli sympathist. I think he got too much crap. His hands-off and laid-back approach to managing won him a lot of games: he finished his Twins career with a .511 winning percentage, better than Ron Gardenhire, Tom Kelly, or any Twins manager who manned the job for more than three seasons not named Sam Mele. Irks or quibbles with his demeanor—the “lack of fire” that some interpreted as lethargy or aloofness—to me, stems from an imperfect understanding of leadership. No, he didn’t yell. But he didn’t need to yell. And there are more ways to inspire people outside of yelling. 

At the end of the day, Baldelli’s teams won. Before this season—which should really only half-count against him—the worst Twins season under Baldelli was a 73-89 performance in 2021, a year sunk by the disastrous signings of Matt Shoemaker, J.A. Happ, and Alex Colomé. It’s not his fault they all turned into pumpkins, unless you think he didn’t inspire them hard enough.

Other than 2021, the Twins were competent at worst, and playoff contenders at best. Shoot, his rookie season was literally one of the best in team history: the famous 2019 Bomba Squad that bludgeoned opponents and set home run records. Then, he led the team that beat the streak in 2023, which was a squad that, frankly, overperformed. Bad managers don’t turn a position player group of Kyle Farmer, Donovan Solano, Michael A. Taylor, three rookies, a struggling Carlos Correa, and 85 games of the forever DH Byron Buxton experience into an ALDS appearance. Baldelli did. And he managed his playoff games well.

Yet, the hammer must strike for someone. It’s impossible for nobody to be at fault for such a disastrous season. I believe the onus was on him to buck the malaise that had been circling the team since the end of 2024. He didn’t. Mediocrity continued. One could argue it thrived. That has to be on someone. Still, it feels like the team fired him because it was an easy thing to do, not necessarily because it was the needed thing to do. 

The next person will be asked to conjure magic. They are inheriting little. Knowing how the off-season will likely play out, they will then be aided with little. Until something changes higher up, the system is set up for failure. It appears that the Twins would like to follow in the footsteps of the great Central outperformers, yet they lack the philosophical cleverness or aggressive talent churn that drives such franchises. You can’t expect to be the Brewers when you have the player development and conservatism of the Cardinals.

Rocco Baldelli never swung the bat for the Twins. Nor did he take the mound. He didn’t hand Christian Vázquez $30 million just to point towards contracts like his as the reason why Jhoan Duran can no longer pitch for Minnesota. He didn’t whisper sweet nothings into the player’s ears, causing them to collapse tremendously in 2022 and 2024. He didn’t oversee a hitting philosophy that has utterly, disastrously failed the team for the past five seasons. He also didn’t choose to target largely sedentary athletes, lacking in defensive or base running acumen, while slugging at merely an acceptable rate.

It’s true that something stinks in the organization, but firing one person low in the total decision-making apparatus isn’t the solution. Real, structural change needs to occur, and this is not it.

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Your turn. Let's hear your voice in the comments below.

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[Hubie29]

Yes he was. At least the 1A problem.

[USAFChief]

No objective analysis of Baldelli could reasonably conclude he was good at his job.

His teams routinely sucked at the exact things a manager is directly responsible for.

There are multiple things wrong with this Organization, for sure. Let's not pretend Baldelli wasn't one of them. A big one, at that. 

[Dave Borton]

Rocco Baldelli <s>Wasn't</s> Was Part of the Problem.

FIFY.

[dberthia]

Was he THE problem? No. Was he part of the problem? Without a doubt. The entire organization is dysfunctional, from the owners on down. I can't think of anybody who didn't contribute to the downfall. Well, maybe I'll give the janitorial staff and field crew a pass.

[old nurse]

41 minutes ago, USAFChief said:

No objective analysis of Baldelli could reasonably conclude he was good at his job.

His teams routinely sucked at the exact things a manager is directly responsible for.

There are multiple things wrong with this Organization, for sure. Let's not pretend Baldelli wasn't one of them. A big one, at that. 

Yet you offer no objective analysis that he was bad at the job, just opinion 

[Glorybound]

The base running after the trade deadline was a message from Rocco that he was going to do things his way. I wonder what it would have been like if he was allowed to do things his way the whole 7 year tenure. Might have been quite a bit different.

[CRF]

He wasn't the ONLY problem, but he was a big part of it. Unfortunately, we still have two thirds of the problem remaining. 

[DJL44]

“He didn’t oversee a hitting philosophy that has utterly, disastrously failed the team for the past five seasons.”

He absolutely did that. That is the manager’s responsibility.

[mikelink45]

Too late - next debate!

[T.O.]

Baldelli may have been made a scapegoat but we was also a horrible manager that deserved to be fired. 

"At the end of the day, Baldelli’s teams won"
In the era of the "Bomba Squad" when he didn't have to make so many decisions. 

At the beginning of the season the Twins were picked by many sources to win the division. If everyone had played at their best half the time they would have competed.

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. he was obsessed with analytics and had no ability to make decisions based on human instincts. 

Because the Twins were so painful to watch I watched a lot of other teams this year. It became so clear just how inept Rocco was. 

There is a question as to how many managerial decisions were being passed down by Falvey. No one really knows how much. I doubt Falvey called 30 times and told him to pinch hit Margo or pull a pitcher doing well after 5 with a decent pitch count.

They made him a scapegoat. He was an awful manager.

[USAFChief]

53 minutes ago, old nurse said:

Yet you offer no objective analysis that he was bad at the job, just opinion 

I've done so multiple times in multiple ways, starting last season.

 

[DocBauer]

Baldelli wasn't the problem. But he also wasn't part of the solution either.

Ownership is still the #1 problem. That's a given, IMO, and I doubt anyone would argue that.

Falvey's FO ISN'T entirely poor. He's done a lot of good things behind the scenes, and out front as well. And we can't forget his bosses agreed to extensions for Buxton...well deserved and smart...as well as an extension for Lopez...well deserved...and then the sign and re-sign of Correa and Joe Pohlad making comments that he could see a $180M payroll in the future. 

And then all of that is pulled away suddenly. Falvey didn't do that. I/we might not like some of the things he's done and want some changes within the system, but he isn't responsible for having the magic carpet pulled out from beneath him.

By his own admission, Rocco didn't have a lot to do his first couple of seasons. As the roster began to change, he suddenly got the opportunity to actually "manage" the team he was presented with. At times, I think he did well. At times, I disagreed strongly with different aspects of his management. 

I honestly think there were things he wanted to do, or do better, but didn't always have the roster available to do some of those things. That's on the roster the FO built, and the ownership above that limited potential moves.

How much blame goes toward Rocco and his coaches for development of young players is a concern I've had. In addition to certain aspects of running a game I haven't always agreed with. 

We can argue all day long about young players that should have been ML ready, vs the job of ML coaches CONTINUING their development vs the coaches he was given vs how much control over selection of those coaches.

WHOEVER becomes the next manager, Falvey NEEDS to relinquish some control of HIS ideas and let said manger pick coaches he trusts, with input from Falvey of course.

I have no doubt Rocco will end up with a new job as soon as he wants it, whether it be in a FO capacity, or a bench coach, or as a manager again. And I wouldn't be surprised if he was a successful manager for someone else.

But I do think escape goat or not, it's probably time for a different voice and a different approach for 2026 and beyond. He wasn't the problem, but he also isn't the answer going forward.

My greatest concern is a manager who gets more control and isn't expected to just be a "yes" man.

[h2oface]

Captain Clipboard. Bullpen Bozo. Early  innings Pinch Hitting. And never smart enough to NOT pinch hit Margot. 
Should have AT LEAST been gone at the end of 2024, after managing the great collapse. 
 

 

[T.O.]

My big complaint about the Twins the past two years isn't the not winning. Winning is good but more important is playing well as a team, doing things well, fielding, throwing running, hitting in clutch situations. AND a manager that has good instincts about how to use the players. Before the trade deadline, although some players excelled individually at times. the Twins played like they weren't a team. After the deadline they played like a AA team that wasn't playing like a team.

[h2oface]

8 minutes ago, T.O. said:

My big complaint about the Twins the past two years isn't the not winning. Winning is good but more important is playing well as a team, doing things well, fielding, throwing running, hitting in clutch situations. AND a manager that has good instincts about how to use the players. ……

If a team is doing that, they ARE winning! Goes hand in hand. 

[Permanent Twins Fan]

I think that most Twins fans know that Rocco wasn't the biggest problem in their collapse. It showed in the Athletic survey with 98.5 percent of fans calling for the team to be sold. If given the choice between firing Rocco, or replacing Derek Falvey, most Twins fans would probably chose to keep Rocco and replace Falvey. I don't think that Rocco was a terrible manager, but I do think that bringing in a new face in the managerial position could work to the benefit of the team. I hope that whoever takes over as the manager continues the increased aggressiveness that the Twins showed at the end of this year. 

[S Bart]

I am uncertain if this post was put forth simply to was up dander on fans. The owners and FO raised many of the challenges......but it was time for Roccomania to end. His decisions during games were frequently questionable. There is so much to support that point...it useless to analyze them at this point. He is being paid through 2026 and will land on his feet as a bench coach in my view. 

[Hosken Bombo Disco]

I do miss the 2023-2024 years, when someone finally told Rocco about the platoon split thing, and he would start his pinch hitting shenanigans early in the game, because sometimes the game is won in the 4th or 5th inning. dontchaknow 🙂

[Danchat]

Giving Rocco credit for the Bombas team but then downplaying his impact on 2021-25 is hypocritical. Either he was impactful or both, or the talent on the team is far more important then the managerial impact and that determined the outcome. Perhaps the 2026 squad will retroactively give us some insight on what this roster is capable of with a better manager... or not.

[h2oface]

2 hours ago, Permanent Twins Fan said:

I think that most Twins fans know that Rocco wasn't the biggest problem in their collapse. It showed in the Athletic survey with 98.5 percent of fans calling for the team to be sold. If given the choice between firing Rocco, or replacing Derek Falvey, most Twins fans would probably chose to keep Rocco and replace Falvey. I don't think that Rocco was a terrible manager, but I do think that bringing in a new face in the managerial position could work to the benefit of the team. I hope that whoever takes over as the manager continues the increased aggressiveness that the Twins showed at the end of this year. 

Falvey or Baldelli? How about the both option? They go together. The are/were a self proclaimed team. 

[TNtwins85]

"When I go to the mall and I go to the Dior store, and I want something, I get it... I'm the product here, and if they want my product, they've just got to come get it". Carlos Correa 

this from the supposed eventual leader of the clubhouse. Derek Falvey’s eyes were bigger than his stomach and the real leaders that play with heart and conviction(Lopez, Buxton) took a backseat to a guy that thought he was more valuable than he was. I liked Correa and he performed ok to get the Twins past the hump in ‘23 but he wasn’t the leader he was thought to be for those Astros clubs( obviously it was Altuve, Verlander and Bergman) and he played himself up. He wanted to be the guy in Minnesota and Falvey and Baldelli wanted him to plant the flag and he fell on the way to the hill. I believe he was the cancer in the clubhouse though it may have been unintended. Real leaders lead by example and it became obvious Correa had to lead with his mouth instead of his actions the last two years and that led to dissolution of the young guys over the last two years. I blame Falvey and Baldelli for falling for Correas BS( they should’ve known better and let him walk after ‘22) that’s why I blame Baldelli. He bought the lemon on the lot from the cologne stinking salesman. Correa then led the Astros to a disastrous second half collapse down the stretch just like in Minnesota. Coincidence?

[NYCTK]

4 hours ago, Glorybound said:

The base running after the trade deadline was a message from Rocco that he was going to do things his way. I wonder what it would have been like if he was allowed to do things his way the whole 7 year tenure. Might have been quite a bit different.

Even if that were the case, then he deserved to be fired for refusing to push back on his boss. Maybe he learned something and he can bring that to his next job. 

 

[FlyingFinn]

Things like fundamentals, base running, the manager has control over. Too often we were bad at things we could control. This year, I was ready for Rocco to get fired as I didn't see improvement in areas I thought he should have control over.

[stringer bell]

Baldelli didn't get enough players to develop. Maybe it was the front office choosing the wrong players, maybe it was his coaches, but I think Rocco has to shoulder some of the blame for too many guys coming up who were thought to be at least regulars, if not stars, who weren't good enough to play every day. Sloppy and listless play happened too often and probably that's on the manager as well.

I agree that he wasn't the biggest reason why the Twins have regressed, but he didn't push the right buttons to get the most out of his players.

 

[T.O.]

44 minutes ago, TNtwins85 said:

"When I go to the mall and I go to the Dior store, and I want something, I get it... I'm the product here, and if they want my product, they've just got to come get it". Carlos Correa 

this from the supposed eventual leader of the clubhouse. Derek Falvey’s eyes were bigger than his stomach and the real leaders that play with heart and conviction(Lopez, Buxton) took a backseat to a guy that thought he was more valuable than he was. I liked Correa and he performed ok to get the Twins past the hump in ‘23 but he wasn’t the leader he was thought to be for those Astros clubs( obviously it was Altuve, Verlander and Bergman) and he played himself up. He wanted to be the guy in Minnesota and Falvey and Baldelli wanted him to plant the flag and he fell on the way to the hill. I believe he was the cancer in the clubhouse though it may have been unintended. Real leaders lead by example and it became obvious Correa had to lead with his mouth instead of his actions the last two years and that led to dissolution of the young guys over the last two years. I blame Falvey and Baldelli for falling for Correas BS( they should’ve known better and let him walk after ‘22) that’s why I blame Baldelli. He bought the lemon on the lot from the cologne stinking salesman. Correa then led the Astros to a disastrous second half collapse down the stretch just like in Minnesota. Coincidence?

I had forgotten that quote but that was part of why I didn't want the Twins to resign him. 
That's quite the rant but I've thought all of it myself and posted some of it and gotten many thumbs down. I wonder how many attitudes have changed?

[TNtwins85]

20 minutes ago, T.O. said:

I had forgotten that quote but that was part of why I didn't want the Twins to resign him. 
That's quite the rant but I've thought all of it myself and posted some of it and gotten many thumbs down. I wonder how many attitudes have changed?

I didn’t like him in Houston before but I fell for the expensive new shiny toy syndrome as well. Until the rift between him and Royce last year and Pablo’s comments after his trade. I believe it went deeper. Minnesota always wanted expensive toys after the 90’s- 2000’s teams that got trotted out. The realization is that Minnesota needs to play the organization game of Milwaukee and Cleveland and less like the Dodgers and Yankees. And that’s a good thing. Not a bad thing. Playing the game the”right” yields more dividends than playing the game on paper.

[old nurse]

10 hours ago, USAFChief said:

I've done so multiple times in multiple ways, starting last season.

 

None that I saw, I did see you posting a lot of opinions

[Doctor Wu]

8 hours ago, stringer bell said:

Sloppy and listless play happened too often and probably that's on the manager as well.

Yep, that is definitely something the manager SHOULD have done something about. Maybe being too laid back and low key is not the best way to manage today's players. 

[Whitey333]

IMO Rocco should have been fired a while ago. Ive never been a Rocco fan but I certainly don't agree with making him a scapegoat.  It should have been a double firing Rocco And Falvey.