Nick Hanzlik

I agree completely. I think baseball is at its best when it uses analytics as a tool, not an absolute defining measure. I think my point got lost a bit, and re reading the article I can understand why, as I don't think I emphasized it enough. I like Rocco for what our options under the the current FO would be. All the on field decisions were going to be the same no matter who they hired. A manager who wanted freedom to do what THEY want on the field would have turned down any hypothetical offer the current regime would have made them. This includes some of the top tier managers mentioned on this thread already (Francona, Baker, etc). I don't like it, but it is just my feeling that numbers rule baseball (and at least the Twins) at the moment, an in that dreary landscape, I take what I can get, and that is a manager that the players like and doesn't get in the way. Plus he has a cool name.

"Check out my ring losers!" - Dusty Baker In all seriousness, the Twins could definitely learn a thing or two from championship level teams like that. While a heavy percentage of decisions are made based on analytics, it does appear that when a mix of numbers and great human intuition/baseball IQ come together, awesome things can happen. The current FO, for better or worse, want to lean much more heavily to the numbers side. That is why I think a player friendly cup of vanilla pudding manager like Rocco is about as good as you can do with that type of mind set. Not saying the mindset is correct, but when you lean that heavily towards data, I don't think managers impact the game as much. That being said, if the Twins don't make a late post season push (ALCS or further), it might be time to look in a new direction for GM and manager, creating a new situation in which we could bring in a manager with more freedom on decision making. Hopefully the brain trust proves all of us wrong and we all watch the twins show off some bling of their own soon!

It's funny, I watch a ton of the games and this isn't something I have noticed too much, except Kepler. I can recall a few beautifully retrievals off the wall and even nabbed a few guys going for doubles because of it. I'll have to keep an eye out more this year. The biggest fundamental thing I see them do wrong is baserunning. Something needs to improve there or they will keep giving away a few outs a game it seems like.

haha maybe so

Why thank you Dr.

I think it got lost in all the chaos here, but I am actually a bit of a romantic when it comes to baseball. I love a great story and narrative. I personally wish baseball headed back towards the way of old as I find it more interesting. I just don't see it happening. Kind of a 'make do with what you have' situation for me, and that is where personally (since I don't see levine and Falvey getting fired), I am a fan of Rocco since he seems to vibe with the players really well. I can see now I am in the minority lol

It is certainly a strange mind set. I think it's roots are from a genuine place though, and that is that they are passionate. They love their team and want to see them do well, so when the team does things they feel are not in line with how to be successful, it can really set them off. So while I find it to be a bummer when fans think like that, I do at least understand it a bit.

Great comment. I would love to see what would happen if they let him loose, but that’s not what they hired him to do. Like you reiterated, they hired him specifically to do what they want, and that’s follow the analytics. Like it or not.

It was sarcastic to a degree in the sense that the analytics have gotten so crazy that there is actually place for a manager like Rocco Baldelli. And I 100 percent agree with La Russa thing when you look at his career as a whole, I think I said he was a no doubt HoF manager. I meant more specifically 2022. He was just too old for an incredibly young team like that in my opinion. Rocco will never be a La Russa, though 3 rings would be nice.

haha it's funny you mentioned that as that is kind of the point I was trying to make. I was debating between the title I gave this blog entry and something along the lines of "Rocco Baldelli; An Ideal Puppet"

Yeah Rocco/Falvey/Levine are probably a package deal. They either all stay or go. Barring the injury bug, I have high hopes for this team, but I certainly understand your complaints. I thinking sticking with Pagan for the beginning was in hopes to not look dumb as a FO for trading Rogers, but regardless I don't wish to see that man on the field at any point in time in which the game is within single digit runs.

Yeah I always found the mind set of “if they do XYZ, then I’ll be interested” to be a bit of a bummer. Part of being a fan is going through the ups and downs, and yea there have been some DOWNS to be sure. Love this post by Alex, I have been guilty of being a bit of a pessimistic butthole when it comes to Minnesota sports. I think the call for accountability and the optimistic look at this season is great. Folks this is a talented squad. Barring the injury plague making a reappearance we should at minimum compete for the booty cheeks AL Central. Add a bullpen arm or two and maybe a right handed bat and who knows?

Yeah I imagine Rocco/Levine/Falvey are a package, or so it seems. If we don’t make the playoffs this year it could be chopping season come winter 🥶

Excellent take. The joined at the hip bit I 100% agree with. Yeah trying to get starters out for that 3rd trip when your 5-7 inning type relievers are average at best is not a good formula. Pen should be better in theory this year. I would love to see one more starter and one more solid reliever to help out. As long as Emilio Pagan is limited to mop up I can unclench a bit when the wave to the bullpen happens.

Not sure I could watch 100 cleveland games if I tried, but I have watched the twins long enough and seen Francona manage with the Red Sox and Cleveland. He is fantastic. He truly is that perfect blend of human skills and adapting to analytics having the impact they do on the game. I should have used a different word than perfect in hindsight. I guess my point is that I like Rocco and in today’s game and how the FO wants to do things, a genius strategist isn’t needed.

Yeah the Baldelli hate always confuses/bums me out. I like the guy and a lot of the game decisions would be be exactly the same if any one else was there. When managers are hired the organization does so to match whatever the front office is trying to do.

Fair enough. In an ideal world I’d agree. Give me a perfect balance of analytics and game feel, I’d love that. However analytics will reign supreme whether we like it or not. It varies in severity from team to team, with the Twins probably being towards the analytical extreme. Because of this, the twins aren’t going to hire a manager that isn’t willing to buy all in on what they are trying to do. This means it doesn’t matter who is out there managing. The same decisions will be made. So why not enjoy Rocco? The guy seems chill. I like him. Also, as far as ticket sales dropping, you should check out my previous blog entries on the popularity of baseball. They are truly amazing reads in my humble opinion.

Numbers, numbers, numbers, they dictate everything in baseball today. What pitch, how far a runner takes his lead, and everything in between is controlled by analytics and NUMBERS. This makes modern-day baseball the perfect medium for a manager like Rocco Baldelli. Scenario time. It's the 6th inning, the score is 3-0, and the starter is at 75 pitches. However, the opposing leadoff hitter is now walking toward home plate for the 3rd time of the day. Baldelli discreetly puts a finger to his earpiece as a mysterious voice tells him, "Do it…." He lifts his finger from his ear, spits out his bubblegum, and slowly walks to the pitcher's mound. The starting pitcher's day is over. Derek Falvey can be seen grinning ear to ear. This scenario plays out across baseball, not just in Minnesota. There are many other examples like it, but the 3rd trip starter yank is the perfect showing of how analytics drive every decision in baseball. You don't have to like it, hell it infuriates me, but it is not changing any time soon, so why fight it? Instead, let us enjoy having Mr. Baldelli as the Twins' manager for as long as possible. Baldelli is only 41 years old, and it was not too long ago he was running around center field in Tampa and ripping doubles into the gap. Going so quickly from retirement to management makes him the perfect player's manager. His job is to be laid back, allow his players to do what they need to, say the right thing to the media, and tell the replay booth to F-off occasionally. The Twins hired him, with that being the expectation. They wanted a manager to gel with the players and serve as a pseudo interpreter/boxing bag between the front office and the media. Someone that would not be rattled by media pushback on their new style of play. That is all his job is, and it is all it needs to be, and it is perfect for modern baseball, where 99% of decisions are coming from the iPad anyway. He is the perfect guy to not get in the way of the players. The polar opposite can be seen with the absurd hiring of Tony La Russa by the White Sox. For some inexplicable reason, that organization thought it was a good idea to resurrect a corpse to manage one of the youngest and most talented teams in baseball. It did not go well. Somehow, a no-doubt Hall of Fame manager and an elite level of youth and talent came together to create losing baseball. It wasn't a coincidence that when La Russa had to take a medical leave last year, the team immediately started winning. Yes, the Sox had some critical injuries, but in today's game, an old-school manager who makes great 'gut feeling' decisions is not what young players vibe with (Dusty Baker is GOAT and an exception). Young players want a manager like Rocco. Someone just old enough to listen to and respect but young enough to have perspective and understand what it's like on the player side of a clubhouse. He is akin to a tuxedo t-shirt. It says, "I can be serious, but I'm here to party." Next time you feel like losing your mind at Rocco for yanking your favorite Twins starter, remember this. That is not his decision alone and is a product of the current regime. It does not matter whose butt Falvey/Levine have their hand up; someone will be their puppet. Let it be Rocco. By traditional standards, he could be better, but by the new standard, he is perfectly fine. That is what makes him great.

Correa is a superstar, Buxton is a part time player and has been for 7 of his 8 years with the Twins. What I am looking for is for this FO to get creative and add pieces to build around Correa. If signing Correa is all they do it will be a huge mistake IMO. As does your misspelling of Shohei Ohtani.

Also a franchise SS (yes even with his ego to address an earlier comment) with tremendous leadership qualities can drastically change a ballclub.

I think this is a very accurate look at Twins fans (Vikings as well, I don't follow wolves or wild) and the future of Twins baseball. I think the FO gets a bad rap at times for signing pitchers that they arguably know are already injured (Paddock and Mahle), but they have also done a lot of good things. If you look at the core players we have, we compete and barring injury should win the AL Central (because it is booty cheeks). They need their younger players to continue elevate their play and stay healthy and I believe that level of competition will begin to become championship level. A lot needs to go right to be sure and a piece or two would be nice to add. Also, I think need folks need to read the entire article before hitting the keyboard with such gusto lol

To be honest I haven’t given the international thing much thought, but you be on to something there. My biggest thing is to not change the game but to better reach your audience and I agree with you entirely about how the regional tv deals are short sighted. You need people to be able to watch your product if you have any hope of maintaining or increasing popularity

100%. I hear that too. Park in ABC, you’ll be fine

Who cares. A common phrase I hear more and more often. Did you hear about the Carlos Correa fiasco? Who cares. Do you think Dansby Swanson is worth the money and years he received? Who cares. Did you see the new rules for this year? Who cares. This feeling of apathy loomed over most of the conversations I tried to have about baseball while home for the holidays, and when I was done sipping eggnog out of frustration, I came back to Iowa for some more of the same. To them, the upcoming ‘who gives a damn’ bowl that the Hawkeyes were playing in was far more interesting than the insane contracts being thrown about like money was going out of style (I’m talking to you Steve Cohen). The more time I spend trying to talk baseball with those that aren’t as into it as myself, a truth harder than the plate in Carlos Correa’s leg becomes obvious to me. Baseball is failing to market itself properly to gain interest from both the average fan and potential young fans alike. There is no singular solution and I certainly don’t have all the answers. However, the lack of visibility for its star players, fun-killing unwritten rules, and media blackouts are all core issues that are eating away at the popularity of the sport. Similar to the ‘who cares’ response I receive from folks a lot is the even simpler, ‘who?’ My mother-in-law, who is about as far from a sports fan as you can be and is from Texas, mentioned the huge contract that Dak Prescott signed with the Cowboys. I tried pulling the conversation towards baseball and followed up with the Aaron Judge contract and the insane amount of money and years dropped into the lap of a player already in his 30s. I expected her response to be related to the amount of money we pay to professional athletes, instead she said, “who?” That’s a problem MLB. Your star players need to be recognizable to the average person and need to be highlighted and promoted as such. Everyone knows who Lebron James or Tom Brady is, but not too many people outside of us baseball fans know who Aaron Judge, Fernando Tatis (I know…), or Bryce Harper are. I think part of the issue is that there are unwritten rules in baseball that don’t allow its star players to show off their personality and become icons and known to the general public. The best example I can think of happened to Fernando Tatis (again, I know…) in 2021 I believe. The Padres were up big and the bases were loaded. It was 3-0 and Tatis got an absolute meatball and hit an epic blast. Four more runs. Afterwards, the cameras showed Tatis in the dugout getting chewed out for swinging 3-0 when his team was up big. He later apologized. APOLOGIZED. This infuriated me. One, why shouldn’t he swing? Two, he gets paid based on performance. Three, it gets his team a larger cushion. Lastly, home runs are awesome and incredibly difficult to hit. Honestly, the odds are he would have gotten himself out (pace of play, you’re welcome). Not only that, but now you have taken one of the young and amazing talents in your sport, whom you wish to be one of the faces of the league (really, again, I know…) and reprimanded him for doing something exciting and scoring four runs for his team. Absolutely absurd. In contrast, the NFL lets Justin Jefferson do the griddy every time he scores and really show off his personality. Baseball needs to start promoting their players better and do the same. Bat flips to the sky and pitchers screaming their heads off after a 3rd out strikeout? Yes, please. Even if those unwritten rules erode, players become known, and fans are ready to put their butts in seats and couches to see it, there is the final issue… REGIONAL BLACKOUTS. This might be the most egregious offense of all. To watch an MLB game, you must do one of three things. One, purchase cable in your region and spend well over 100 dollars on channels you don’t need or care about. Two, purchase MLB TV and hope you aren’t located in a market for whomever you are trying to watch (Iowa blocks Twins, Brewers, Cubs, White Sox, Royals and Cardinals by the way). Three, pay a king’s ransom in purchasing a ticket, food, parking, etc. to attend a game in person. This option is becoming insanely expensive when it does not need to be. MLB makes the bulk of its money off media rights (hence the regional black outs forcing the purchasing of cable) and attendance becomes less important each year. In fact, attendance has dropped every year since 2012, but revenue has been steady. With inflation, attending a game as a family of four is becoming almost impossible, which means fans need to be able to watch on TV. This however, is incredibly difficult and expensive as well. I think the solution could be moving on from the regional markets and leaning into a streaming service with no blackouts. This would involve having different priced packages for how many teams you want to follow or if you want ads or not. There could be single, 10, 20, and 30 team packages. By moving away from some of the unwritten rules that dampen a player’s personality, more stars worth watching will begin to emerge. If MLB can combine that with making the game easier to access and view, the youth will be drawn in by these exciting and vibrant players. This will result in kids becoming engaged with baseball at a young age and hopefully herald in a new age of baseball popularity. MLB needs to make the first move however, and I don’t see them moving on from the regional sports networks that have been an absolute cash cow for them.

Can you smell it? Piss and peanuts…? Wait, I forgot the Metrodome was demolished a decade ago. I meant the glorious aroma of hotdogs, peanuts, and fresh cut grass, which will soon will fill the air and bring the 2023 MLB season with it. However, this season is unique in that it comes with a set of impactful new rules. As a quick overview for the unaware, bases are getting 3 inches larger, a pitch clock will be enforced, and defensive shifting will be limited. As I looked at the details of these game changing, era defining, fix-all rule changes, it would have been easy to sit back and say to myself, well at least they are trying to speed up the game and make it more ‘exiting.’ Instead, I will say that MLB has completely missed the mark on why people aren’t attending or watching the games, and these rule changes make it all the more obvious. This is the clearest to me in their attempt to shorten the length of games with the addition of the pitch clock and limiting of pickoff attempts. Rhythm, timing, and mental warfare are a few of the major components that make baseball the amazing sport that it is. Limiting a pitcher to 20 seconds between pitches and only allowing two pick off attempts should be a criminal offense. Whoever thought that was a good idea should be in prison. Not only is the 20 second limit going to basically force a pitcher to give one look at the runner and then either come home or throw over, the two-pick policy will allow the runner to get an INSANE jump on the next pitch. A pitcher needs to be able to vary his timing and throw over. The bigger bases are already allowing the runner to be four and a half inches closer, which is significant if you think about how close a lot of stolen base attempts are. Combining bigger bases with the addition of the pitch clock and pick off limit is going to make it almost impossible for a pitcher to control the running game. We will see a dramatic drop off in catcher’s throw out percentages, which will have even the likes of Yadier Molina in his prime shaking his head. Next up is the limiting of defensive shifts. Learn to hit the ball where they ain’t, that’s all I have to say about that. However, I would be more than happy to hop on one foot with the other firmly placed in my mouth if Joey Gallo and Max Kepler become .300 hitters because of this. The fact that MLB is trying to promote offense and shorten the game through a series of absurd rule changes tells me they have grossly miscalculated why people don’t watch baseball. That, or I am completely wrong on this issue. For the sake of going down a rabbit’s hole on the latter, I will stick to the assumption that it’s the former. The reason people aren’t watching baseball is NOT because the games are too long. MLB games averaged three hours and five minutes in 2022. The NFL, America’s most popular sport, averaged three hours and twelve minutes. In addition, according to a study from the Wall Street Journal, albeit from 2013, the amount of actual game action in an NFL and MLB game was 11 and 18 minutes respectively. That data was collected a while ago, but the idea that stems from it holds true. Both sports have significant down time between action, and I would argue that the downtime is far more interesting in baseball. In football they just huddle up and call a play. In baseball that time between pitches IS action. The mind games happening between the runners, pitchers and hitters are crucial to the outcome of the next pitch. That ‘down-time’ is part of what makes the game so rich and unique when compared to other sports. Where the NFL succeeds and MLB fails, is their ability to market and highlight the sport so fans actually want to sit down for three hours for a few precious minutes of action. MLB needs to find a way to get people to understand the game, not dumb it down. The real issues plaguing baseball’s popularity are not being addressed (see part II), and these ridiculous rule changes not only do nothing to solve the problem, but end up diluting what makes the game of baseball truly great to begin with. The more MLB doubles down on trying to speed up the game as a solution, the quicker the game will lose people’s interest, and attendance will continue to drop as it has each year since 2012. Do we want to play baseball or do we want to play dumb and fast? I believe the two to be mutually exclusive.