Twins Video
On Wednesday, the Pohlads announced they will remain the principal owners of the Minnesota Twins, selling only a minority stake in the team. Joe Pohlad opened his remarks, as quoted in Phil Miller’s Star Tribune piece, by saying, “I don’t think we could have imagined a better outcome than where we landed.” For a fanbase that has spent nearly a year hoping for new leadership, new philosophies, and an ownership group willing to invest more aggressively in winning, this is a slap in the face. It's tone-deaf at best and deliberately insulting at worst, as if we are all supposed to smile and nod at the idea that this was the best possible result.
Pohlad’s entire interview with the paper was filled with the kind of corporate speak that pretends everything is fine, even when it clearly is not. He spoke as though keeping control was a universally positive development, praising “alignment” with the new minority partners and expressing faith in the “future of baseball in Minnesota.” It's empty PR fluff, designed to paper over the reality that nothing meaningful has changed; the same ownership group is still in charge; and the fans who wanted a new voice have been strung along for months. The expectation seems to be that we will all just buy whatever he is selling.
On the trade deadline fire sale, Pohlad claimed the decision to deal 10 players on July 31 “took him by surprise” and that the moves “had little to do with saving money” and were “primarily baseball decisions.” That is simply not credible. In addition to the other nine trades (which were likely financially motivated as well), the Carlos Correa trade was a pure salary dump, the very definition of a move made for financial reasons. Multiple reports say it was ownership, not Derek Falvey, who pushed the trade across the finish line. To tell fans this was “primarily” about baseball is to assume we are too gullible to connect the dots.
He also addressed criticism by saying that being booed is “part of the role” and that he would “rather have passionate fans than fans who are disengaged.” That is not just tone-deaf; it's a lie. This fanbase is already incredibly disengaged, as evidenced by the Twins being on pace for the lowest attendance in Target Field history this season, a pace set long before this ownership news. Saying boos mean all is well ignores the fact that many fans are not booing; they are simply not showing up.
Then came perhaps the most outrageous claim, that the Twins have taken on “significant debt,” up to $400 million, since the summer of 2020. This from a franchise that receives lucrative national media rights money, revenue sharing, and has run average to below-average payrolls for years. We are supposed to believe that, somehow, they have lost nearly half a billion dollars in four seasons. It defies logic. And Pohlad’s follow-up only made it worse:
“As far as I’m aware, that debt was not a hindrance in this process… but with this transaction, we’re going to be paying that debt down," he said. In this context, “process” meant selling the team in full, and claiming that the debt was not an issue in doing so is just not true. It's clear the Pohlads were seeking extra money beyond a reasonable valuation, so they could pay off that debt and still walk away with the payday they wanted. The fact that he frames this as if it had no impact on the outcome is yet another example of how little regard this ownership has for fans’ ability to see through the spin.
In the end, the most disappointing part is not just that bad owners are staying put. It is that they are doing it while acting like Twins fans are too naive to see through the contradictions, spin, and corporate word salad. We were promised change. Instead, we are told this is the best possible outcome, that money is no object, and that ownership is as committed to winning as we are. Their words say one thing, their actions say another, and they expect us to believe them, anyway. That's not just frustrating. It is insulting.
Follow Twins Daily For Minnesota Twins News & Analysis
- Hrbeks Divot, LastOnePicked, MGX and 9 others
-
9
-
1
-
2
Recommended Comments
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now