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In a recent article from John Shipley in the Pioneer Press, Twins starter Pablo López made some interesting comments, which could be described as uncharacteristic for the typically upbeat and ultra-positive pitcher.
“Culture,” López said, “is one thing we’ve been lacking the last couple of years.” He spoke of his intentions to work with fellow remaining vets like Byron Buxton, Joe Ryan, Bailey Ober and Ryan Jeffers in establishing a new culture, but was vague in laying out his vision for the improved state:
“We have an opportunity here to take this clubhouse and say, ‘Hey, let’s take this opportunity to create the culture that we’ve been lacking the last couple years,’ the culture that prevents good teams from losing a lot of games, a good culture where instead of losing five games, you lose two and the guys pick themselves up so fast that it’s like, ‘Hey, we lost two; let’s back in the winning column."
“That is something we’ve discussed as a group, like, ‘Hey, let’s reshape the philosophy and culture of who the Twins are: We hold each other accountable, we play hard, we compete and we don’t take anything for granted. We’re happy to be here. You’re fortunate and blessed enough to wear this (uniform), but you also have to play hard. Just being up here doesn’t fully cut it.”
Personally I have a hard time dissecting the "clubhouse culture" topic as an outsider, although I think it is worth discussing. From my view it's overblown and largely about associations between winning, losing, and the corresponding emotions or "vibes." Let's be clear: culture has been lacking for this team in the last couple of years due to a top-down apathy overtaking the organization, and a snowballing deluge of losing, letdowns and collapse on the field. No one's going to smile or act "happy to be here" while that's going on. If they did, it'd be pretty irritating.
What López is describing in the above quote is simply ... winning. Play hard, compete, don't take things for granted, hold each other accountable, lose two games in a row instead of five in a row: these are basic staples of winning baseball, not cultural touchstones.
Naturally, it's interesting to look at López's comments through the lens of Carlos Correa's departure, because, how could you not? Whatever shortcomings the Twins experienced from a culture perspective would have to be tied very directly to the de facto team leader whose $200 million contract was greatly motivated by his rep in that capacity. "I want to build a championship culture in this organization," Correa said back when he first signed with Minnesota.
In some ways (more ways than a lot of sour fans would like to admit), Correa did deliver on his promise. He struggled for most of 2023 but stepped up in October as the Twins won their first playoff series in two decades. He was an All-Star in 2024, the best player on a top contender in the American League, before going down with an injury and setting off a team-wide spiral that hasn't stopped spiraling since.
One year ago, when the Twins were 15 games above .500, I don't recall seeing any quotes from players lamenting the toxic culture or hinting at Correa's negative influence. Again: it's all reactionary based on the performance of the team and its players. Good for narratives, maybe, but not necessarily for creating an actionable improvement plan.
If we try to read a little deeper into these quotes from López, as well as those from some other Twins players (such as Royce Lewis last September), we might surmise that Correa was viewed as being too demanding of others, or too discontent with losing in a way that negatively affects others. I dunno, honestly, I have a hard time buying into that as a bad thing.
Accountability is what's missing in an organization that promotes, extends and reasserts its leadership amid shocking levels of ineptitude and underperformance. I can understand that the criticism and "let's get it together" urgings might ring hollow from a guy who was chief architect in the team's disappointment this year, but Correa has more track record to back himself up than anyone else in this entire organization. He was undoubtedly as hard on himself as others. Despite apparently favoring a move to third base for some time, he continued to go out there at shortstop everyday without saying a word, because he was the best they had.
Now he's gone, along with the entire bullpen and any pretention of trying to compete in the near future. Rocco Baldelli and the Twins will have the relaxed, laid-back clubhouse they so desire. Meanwhile, Correa will slot back just fine into a perpetual winning culture that he helped build, as he prepares for another postseason run with the division-leading Houston Astros. For the Twins, there's talk of more talent-dumping trades in the offseason and a $100 million payroll in 2026. Somehow we're supposed to believe that Correa's desire to leave is a poor reflection of him and not this sad, rudderless organization.
Correa's exit was not a solution. It's a manifestation of the core issues that will continue to plague this team until something actually changes for the better. That might start with a manager whose team can't start "playing loose" until the games no longer matter and the most proven winner is gone from the clubhouse.
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