It's hard to describe just how stunning the Minnesota Twins' collapse over the last month has been. After being within striking distance of a first-round bye, the Twins cratered so hard that they were eliminated from playoff contention with two games left in the season.
Over a 40 day span, the Twins went 25-37 and fumbled a near-90 percent chance to make the playoffs. The meltdown was truly epic in proportion, and it's created a blast zone that will take some time for the team to full assess. Carlos Correa has tried falling on the sword, ownership is squarely in the middle of the Venn diagram of rage, and serious questions are being asked about the future.
Perhaps the biggest question, outside of whether ownership will once again slash payroll, is if Rocco Baldelli will be back next season. Ken Rosenthal came out in his defense, but everything about the Twins' meltdown has the hallmarks of what happens before a manager is fired.
Twins fans have been calling for his job more and more as the collapse got worse, and their cries that Rocco has heard loud and clear.
Rocco Baldelli isn't mad at fans who are chanting for him to be fired
Rather than push back on fans chanting for him to be fired, Rocco took the opposite approach and sympathized with them. In one of the most poignant quotes we've heard from him all season, Rocco was asked if he's bothered by hearing fans call for his job and said that he respects how upset everyone is over just how brutal the collapse was.
"No. Because fans, I think, have a right to feel almost any way they choose," Baldelli said. "I respect fans. Minnesota Twins fans showed me last year, when we were in the playoffs, amazing things. Things that can change the outcome of a game in favor of their team. You can't have greater passion than what I saw. If I'm going to accept that and take that and enjoy that, then I'll also take the criticism when things don't go well."
This isnt' the first time fans have blown a gasket over not being happy with what they're seeing. Last year Carlos Correa was booed at Target Field amid a gnarly offensive slump, but similarly embraced the rage.
Correa, like Rocco, sympathized with fans and said he was using it as motivation to live up to their expectations. What this ultimately illustrates is the strong connection between fans and the team they love so dearly.
Twins fans will simply not settle for less, and they're not afraid to hold the team accountable. It's one of the reasons Twins Twitter is such a fantastic place to foster a healthy fandom for the team -- to a certain extent -- and it's clear Rocco respects them as much as they respect him.
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