The 5 Most Telling Quotes from Derek Shelton's Introductory Presser

The amount of word salad that comes from this organization...

14 hours ago, tony&rodney said:

Hard work and honesty are not an asset in our current world. Who do you know and how can you benefit personally in every transaction? From friends to spouses to children and onward, the prevailing or controlling element today is transactional. People are trying to change that dynamic but power prevails for now. Anyone who expected honesty is not paying attention. If Derek Shelton had answered questions in a direct substantive manner he would have been fired. Things can and do change; people change, hope for change.

Very well stated.  After all the rhetoric, this is the exact point.

5 minutes ago, The Great Hambino said:

There was one interesting point he made buried within all the scripted Falvey-approved gobbledygook.  When talking about player development, he talked about how elite high school prospects are being funneled more and more into these showcase-type events where the emphasis is on talent and skills and not on in-game fundamentals like proper baserunning, defensive rotations, etc.  It's something that has been going on for some time in basketball with the proliferation of AAU and all-star competitions, but I hadn't thought about how much it's happening in baseball now too.  Paraphrasing here, he said when a player comes up to the majors now, you can't assume they know those things.  If there's any positive to be taken from the press conference, I think it was that passage.

Plus, we (or at least I) got confirmation that Jeremy Zoll is a real live person and not just Falvey's imaginary friend

Did Zoll actually say anything?  Really curious as to his role in all this. 

The fundamentals thing is interesting, I've always been fascinated by how the best athletes in the world can dedicate their lives to baseball, work their butt off to make it to the best baseball league in the world and somehow not understand how to run the bases or lay down a bunt.  My theory is all these guys were always the best player on their teams growing up so they were never taught these things in the first place.  The high school showcase thing makes sense and would seem to support that.  

Maybe 30 years ago the conventional wisdom was that development happens in the minors,,,but something has clearly changed.  

Leadership wanted a company man who will walk the company line and they got one. Dark days ahead, I'm afraid.

Just watched the Shelton presser.  And I thought that Shelton seemed very comfortable with his answers and seemed more genuine than I got from Rocco but ultimately came away with the feeling of having smoke being blown up my arse.  Best of luck to Shelton.  He has his work cut out for him.

1 hour ago, The Great Hambino said:

To be honest, I'm not exactly sure what some were expecting from him, especially with Falvey staring at him from like 18 inches away as he answered every question.  Were we really expecting rogue honesty?  That's not very realistic. 

Though it was funny that most of the questions were clearly questions for Falvey/ownership.  I'm pretty sure Shelton isn't the one dictating payroll level and deciding which starting pitchers to trade.  

There was one interesting point he made buried within all the scripted Falvey-approved gobbledygook.  When talking about player development, he talked about how elite high school prospects are being funneled more and more into these showcase-type events where the emphasis is on talent and skills and not on in-game fundamentals like proper baserunning, defensive rotations, etc.  It's something that has been going on for some time in basketball with the proliferation of AAU and all-star competitions, but I hadn't thought about how much it's happening in baseball now too.  Paraphrasing here, he said when a player comes up to the majors now, you can't assume they know those things.  If there's any positive to be taken from the press conference, I think it was that passage.

Plus, we (or at least I) got confirmation that Jeremy Zoll is a real live person and not just Falvey's imaginary friend

I think this is right. I suspect some people were hoping to see him immediately go rogue with his contract safely signed, or do some performative blustery BS to distance him further stylistically from Rocco and/or stick a knife into Falvey. But that was never realistic for well...anyone? 

Manager press conferences like this are pretty meaningless. I'll be more interested in seeing how much changeover there is on the rest of the on-field staff, and then seeing what happens with the roster. Next marker for Shelton will really come in Spring Training, when there's an opportunity to see what he has the team doing differently.

I can tell Nick is out on Shelton already, though. But that seems to be more of a side-effect of him being out on Falvey and ownership than anything really to do with Derek Shelton. Which is fair: can't really blame anyone for having a "prove me wrong" attitude about the Twins right now. (while I don't have the same utter contempt for Falvey that some around here do, I would have moved on from him in the offseason and started this rebuild with a) someone else, and 2) a clean slate. Of course, I was also begging for new ownership. We don't get what we want, sadly...)

He's already got two strikes against him:  1. An owner that won't spend money, 2. An inept front office that stocks the roster with Mickey Gasper and Ed Julien types.

I still can't help but think with a lock out looming in 2027 the Twins really just hired a place holder for the upcoming year anyway. I feel like that pending lockout is going to absolutely kill MLB to a certain degree and the Twins are simply biding their time until another more prosperous opportunity to sell the team emerges. 

Also, still waiting on who the new minority owners are and how they're going to be brought into the fold... or did I miss something? 

1 hour ago, Nick Nelson said:

To be clear my expectation was never that he would "go rogue." I just hoped that he and the front office might have orchestrated or prepared some more compelling answers to these questions they knew were coming.

All I'm asking is for anyone involved with the team to give me a reason to believe or feel inspired. I'm not seeing it. "We're going to play competitive fundamental baseball" is an empty platitude that is completely contradicted by Shelton's track record over the past 6 years. And that is apparently all they got.

3 days on the job and you expect him to know how he can play with the players he has never worked with except for Buxton. His goal of sound fundamental baseball out of a team that very few were at or near their ceiling is a lofty goal. 

A successful job interview hinges on telling the interviewer exactly what they want to hear and convincing them that YOU, above all others, can be trusted to follow the company line without needing to have a babysitter while keeping your comments non-committal, NOT throwing your boss under the bus and are just right to deliver on the expectations.  It will be a disappointing, frustrating season, and Flavey, based on Shelton's recent Managerial history and his familiarity with: the organization, the people at the top, an endless team rebuilding mode is counting on Shelton to toe the line and not bad mouth his boss.

Just for the hell of it, I went back and looked at Derek Sheltons press conference when he was hired by the Pirates. Although not identical, they were very similar. Preaching fundamentals, no talk of a rebuild, exciting young players coming from the farm system.  Oh and the focal point was to have fun. 

4 hours ago, USAFChief said:

I would expect an organization with a ~$1.5B worth to be prepared for a press conference announcing a major change in leadership. This is a big deal. Treat it like such.

I'd think a pro sports team trying to invigorate the 90% of the fan base that actively dislikes them at present to see this as an opportunity to begin turning the ship around, rather than yet another bland and energy-free snooze fest dulled even further by corporate word salad spiced with meaningless platitudes. 

I'd expect ownership to take this opportunity to reassure the fan base they have a plan to provide resources going forward. 

 

Silly me, I guess. 

You don't change the message if you think you are doing everything right. It also isn't a major change in leadership. It's more of the same or they wouldn't have hired Rocco 2.0.  Shelton's answers were well rehearsed and gone over with Falvey before they sat down for the press conference. 

As for trying to invigorate the fan base...... they don't care. They especially don't think that 90% is anywhere close to the number that disapproves of what they are doing. It'll take an empty Target Field for the entirety of the 2026 season for them to get that message. Will everyone give that to them? No. Unfortunately there are still the Dad's that want to take their sons to the ball games each and every summer, no matter how bad the team is. They go for the experience. Winning to them is just a bonus. Only the hard core fans, that take winning as a reason to go, will be boycotting games. Will they be enough? Only time will tell.

As for ownership providing resources going forward.... Why would they spend now? They had a chance to take the next step after the 2023 playoffs and those chose to go in the opposite direction. The 2025 team showed nothing that would signal a bump in revenue would matter. Unless you want to go from a 70-92 team to 80-82.

Made me laugh when Shelty referred to Joe Mauer as "Seven".

On 11/4/2025 at 5:54 PM, Dawgzilla said:

All hyperbole, nothing less, very vanilla, uninspiring, etc.  Any reason for a large season ticket renewal, let alone new ones?  Not!  I see attendance around 1.3 million, which is down significantly; revenues will fall hand-in-hand as a result, hence a perpetual malaise and downward spiral!  Sorry!  You get mediocrity if you push mediocrity!

Yeah...this will substantially improve the value of the Twins franchise....like, REALLY???  Are the Pohlad's really believing the insanity of this plan?  Strip out all of the value of the team so it is more attractive to potential buyers?  That's your plan?  That's how you are going to sell the team for MORE money?  OMG the absolute stupidity is frightening!

On 11/5/2025 at 5:59 AM, Riverbrian said:

Fundamentals should not be an issue at the major league level. 

On any given day, playoffs included, the lack of fundamentals at the MLB level can by seen from any team; bad secondary leads, overthrows to the cut-off man, not knowing the count/how many outs, inability to sacrifice bunt, etc...