Since finally ending their 20+ year postseason series victory drought in October 2023, the Minnesota Twins (specifically team ownership and executives) committed one public relations blunder after another over the subsequent 12 months. What was perhaps the most electric atmosphere in Target Field history during the '23 playoffs was completely short circuited by ownership when they declared a month after that magical season ended that they would slash payroll by approximately 20% for the 2024 season.
Even though the '24 campaign was marred by the team not being on TV (including in the midst of a 12-game win streak within the first month of the season) and injury issues, the team was almost a shoo-in for the postseason with a surprisingly good 70-53 record on August 17. But an epic collapse which saw the club drop 27 of its final 39 games caused them to miss the playoffs, leaving fan morale at an all-time low in the Target Field era (15 years at that point).
With the fan base on the verge of being apathetic, there was literally only one move the organization could make (short of signing multiple top tier free agents) which would placate the people. In October 2024, the Pohlad family announced they would explore a sale of the team.
The Pohlad family’s statement on today’s news: pic.twitter.com/bHyTEAkLsL
— Minnesota Twins (@Twins) October 10, 2024
I said at the time that the fan reaction was equivalent to the team signing all-star slugger Aaron Judge to a free agent contract.
With a once promising 2025 season going off the rails due to injury issues and general ineffectiveness, the Twins engaged in a high profile fire sale at the July 31 trade deadline, jettisoning 10 players from their active roster, including their best relief pitchers. While a good number of fans were angry, many of us consoled ourselves that these moves were done to clear the decks of excess payroll in order to make a sale of the team more palatable. In fact, I even said last month that if all the players whom the Twins received in those deadline deals were busts, I would still be OK with the trades if it expedited the sale process.
Fast forward to Wednesday of this week, which was ten months after the initial announcement of the Pohlads exploring a sale.
A letter from the Pohlad family: pic.twitter.com/s6ff66W5DU
— Minnesota Twins (@Twins) August 13, 2025
So if we're still using the Judge analogy, this would be on par with the Twins signing him to a free agent contract only to see him tear ligaments in both knees before he even has a chance to step on the field as a Twin.
Joe Pohlad, who is the third generation of the family to be at the helm, said in Wednesday's letter that he does indeed "see and hear the passion" from Twins fans. If that's true, then he has to know that the fans' only ray of hope was for his family to sell the team. So why exactly is Joe doing the exact opposite of what the majority of fans desire? Right now, that "passion" is utter fury. The only explanations for Joe's expressed sentiments are a) he's completely tone deaf or b) he has created an alternate reality in his mind.
As we get into the offseason and the Twins make no significant moves to enhance their team's chance of being a contender, that fury will likely turn to apathy. Lemme tell ya, trying to entice an apathetic fan base to return is a heckuva lot more difficult than appealing to a collection who's merely downright pissed.
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