Notebook: Twins-Red Sox Series Opener Postponed

These statements make it seem like it was a political choice 1st and a safety issue 2nd. Getting old and making the product unwatchable. Just cancel the season already

Right choice (albeit a little late, but likely made as early as possible.) Some things are bigger than baseball.

seems to me if it's unwatchable, you have an easy fix.

I haven’t been watching. I normally purchase Baseball channels or mlb Tv or both. This year I decided not to fund them further and just follow along on twitter for videos. Now I don’t even know anymore. It gets worse and worse each year

After the protests moved into and closer to Minneapolis and the news conference with the Brooklyn Center mayor/chief of police (which made the matter worse), I'm sure the Twins had to get permission from MLB, Bally Sports, and the Boston Red Sox before OKing the postponement. They can't just make a decision like that on a whim without getting a number of OKs. (I'm assuming.) I wish the decision was made before fans were there. I remember a game in 2011 I attended that was rained out. It was raining all day; it was going to rain all night. Twins cancelled the game five minutes before first pitch was scheduled. That game was very clearly a "let's get people in to buy food and beer" decision. This one, I'm again assuming, required a number of signatures to finalize.

I don't understand the "as early as possible" part of your post. If they did it for the reason they said, then what changed between 7am and 1:30pm?

 

Don't get me wrong, I support the postponement. I just think they really screwed up by waiting until the last minute, when most of the fans were already there, ready to see a baseball game. 

I don’t want to lead this discussion down the wrong path, but I don’t see how this decision was at all political. You seem to be making it so by suggesting it is. There is a lot of unrest in the community so for the safety of all involved, they decided to postpone. And Chief is right, if it is so unwatchable, something you have stated a few times now, the choice is simple. Don’t watch.

It's political because it clearly assumes a specific narrative.  After all, the game would not have been cancelled had this incident not occurred, even though 2 other people also died in gunfire last night.  Why does the death of this individual, mentioned by name in the press release, matter more than the death of those two other individuals, to the point of warranting postponement of regularly scheduled events?  The answer is clearly because it's assumed that a white cop gunned down a black person for little/no reason whatsoever, a conclusion that (although possible) can't possibly be drawn right now.

As such, the Twins organization is supporting a specific narrative that millions disagree with, and has largely metastasized along party lines--it is clear which side of the line the Twins have chosen to be on, as is their right as an organization.  That said, it is political, and a non-political path could easily have been taken, for example if the release was something along the lines of the below;

"The Minnesota Twins are aware of an incident between an office of the law and a citizen that ended in the citizen's death.  We are further aware of reactions to this incident, as well as the ongoing trial of Derek Chauvin, that we believe have created an unsafe environment for our players, staff, and fans.  We urge everyone to demonstrate respect for the justice system, and to allow a full investigation of the incident to be conducted before any conclusions are formed."

I don't understand the "as early as possible" part of your post. If they did it for the reason they said, then what changed between 7am and 1:30pm?

 

Don't get me wrong, I support the postponement. I just think they really screwed up by waiting until the last minute, when most of the fans were already there, ready to see a baseball game.

These statements make it seem like it was a political choice 1st and a safety issue 2nd. Getting old and making the product unwatchable. Just cancel the season already

Was it political when they cancelled the game after the I-35W bridge fell too?

Was it political when they cancelled the game after the I-35W bridge fell too?

Public safety is not a political issue. 

The Governor has declared a curfew and the National Guard is on the scene. 

Play Ball!

Not a good look.

I was at that I-35 bridge game. Absolutely surreal. Fans and players all on their cell phones trying to find family and loved ones. And then they played the game because they didn't want 20000 people leaving the Dome and clogging the streets well First Responders we're busy trying to deal with the emergency. They postponed the game the next day. Series with the Indians

Public safety is not a political issue. 

 

The Governor has declared a curfew and the National Guard is on the scene. 

 

Play Ball!

 

Not a good look.

Couldn't agree more.  When curfews must be imposed, sports should not occur.  If the statement from the Twins had referenced only public safety, no rational person would find this political.

To bring you up to speed:

 

The Twins would be undefeated, if not for the games when the other team scored more runs.

Right. If not for the stupid rule where the other team gets to start the inning with a runner on second...

These statements make it seem like it was a political choice 1st and a safety issue 2nd. Getting old and making the product unwatchable. Just cancel the season already

alot of places closed early due to the uncertainty of the situation and fact that there is a 7pm curfew and national guard already deployed. maybe all those places really decided to close to gain political points, but I doubt it.

 

It is another, in what feels like a series, of reminders that as much as we as fans love baseball it is still a game.

Well put, Nate. 

That bridge was pretty close to the metrodome, they may have not wanted a lot of traffic in that area

Unrelated, but the "veterans" at the hospital I work at always reminisce about that day. First and only (pretty sure) Code Orange we've had. It was pandemonium with all hands on deck we were running out of drugs we literally should never run out of. Funny thing to live throught such "interesting times"