When Tom Pohlad took over as the Chairman and CEO of the Minnesota Twins last winter, one of his priorities was to win back the fan base. Pohlad’s efforts since then have included calling fans to get their thoughts and offering $2 beers before Friday and Saturday games at Target Field. But Pohlad took it a step further this week, introducing a “Home-Field Advantage” loyalty structure for season ticket holders.
This seems like a nice olive branch for a team that has alienated its fan base since making its last playoff appearance in 2023, but it also misses the point as fans just want to see a worthy investment into the product on the field.
Twins fans still waiting for Tom Pohlad to invest into the team
Getting some of their money back could be an incentive for fans to go to the ballpark but so could winning a few more games. The Twins entered Thursday 1.5 games out of the final Wild Card spot in the American League and could be on the verge of some interesting baseball in the second half. But they are also doing that with a 35-40 record that many believe isn’t sustainable.
Seeing the Twins add a few players to a leaky bullpen, an inconsistent offense and a starting rotation held together by duct tape would be one way to fix this. But most experts expect the Twins to lean the opposite direction by selling off Joe Ryan, Ryan Jeffers and several other players ahead of the Aug. 3 trade deadline.
Should that happen, it could be an ongoing theme of the Pohlads valuing their cash flow more than the product on the field.
The Twins slashed payroll after the 2023 and 2024 seasons and executed a full-blown fire sale with 10 players ahead of last year’s trade deadline. The frugalness continued as the Pohlads gave up on their attempt to sell the team and pulled them off the market last August and Minnesota signed just two free agents – catcher Victor Caratini and first baseman Josh Bell – for more than $7 million last offseason.
Caratini was also the only free agent to secure a multi-year deal and even president of baseball and business operations Derek Falvey had enough, mutually parting ways with the Twins shortly before Spring Training.
While the team’s ad campaign says that there was “No place like here,” Twins fans haven’t bought into it with Minnesota holding MLB’s sixth-lowest average in attendance at 19,487 fans per game. They also have no reason to if the Twins get rid of their top players and cut more costs as the owners prepare to lock out the players next winter.
Again, the Pohlads could attempt to buy some goodwill with the new program. But they could get a lot more if they improved the product on the field. That makes giving fans the equivalent of a $7 hot dog or a $15 beer not enough and the Twins could continue to play in front of a sea of empty seats until ownership receives the message.
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