Minneapolis-Based Twins Fan Googles ‘St. Paul’

Wednesday’s confirmation of the St. Paul Saints as the new Triple-A home for the Minnesota Twins was welcome news to many across the Twin Cities. For Minneapolis resident and lifelong Twins fan Devin Burkhardt, it also led to a surprising discovery.

“St. Paul is literally five minutes that way,” said Burkhardt, 32. “Wow.”

The Twins ended their partnership with the Rochester (NY) Red Wings earlier this fall and are moving their Triple-A organization to CHS Field in St. Paul’s Lowertown neighborhood. They’re also changing their Double-A base of operations from Pensacola to Wichita.

“So, if you keep going past the U of M and the Fairgrounds, that’s where St. Paul is,” asked Burkhardt. “I just thought it was farms and the airport. This is pretty surprising.”

The team expressed excitement that fans could watch up-and-coming prospects and rehabbing veterans at one of the country’s best minor-league facilities, just a short distance from Target Field.

“It says here that St. Paul is the capital of Minnesota,” said Burkhardt as he read the city’s Wikipedia entry. “How come no one talks about this? I always thought it was Duluth, but there’s nothing on their Instagram about it, so it checks out. Totally explains the whole 'Twin Cities' thing too.There's two cities! Wild.”

Twins President Dave St. Peter told The Athletic’s Dan Hayes that the team was “ecstatic. We couldn’t be more thrilled from a player development perspective of the way things turned out.”

“Do they have coffee shops or elevated pub fare in St. Paul,” asked Burkhardt. “Do they use money or is it like a barter system? Are there roads? I’ll be honest, this really threw me for a loop.”

The team expressed hope that fans would be able to attend Saints games in person this season, depending on progress being made against the COVID-19 pandemic.

“This could be a prank, like a Borat thing,” speculated Burkhardt, referencing the Sacha Baron Cohen character. “I’ve lived in Minneapolis my whole life. Someone should have brought up St. Paul by now. It’s a brilliant bit. They've got me fooled.”

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