Aaron Gleeman Puts Minnesota Twins Owner on Trial in Epic Back-and-Forth

Well, it’s finally over. All the pain and suffering our Minnesota Twins have put us through over the last couple months is in the past. This team can’t hurt us anymore. Well, I guess that’s not exactly true. Let’s see how the start of this offseason goes, before we rule out any heartbreak for fans.

Remember what happened this time last year? That was when president of baseball operations Derek Falvey announced to the entire world that significant payroll cuts were going to be made. This, just days after the deepest Twins playoff run in two decades.

So we can lay blame on Rocco Baldelli, who got a vote of confidence from Falvey yesterday… who then got his own vote of confidence from the face of ownership, Joe Pohlad… who will get a vote of confidence from nobody, certainly not Minnesota Twins fans.

Not Aaron Gleeman (The Athletic) either. No other credentialed Twins media member has been more outspoken about the 2023 payroll cuts, than Gleeman. Outside of Ted and myself, here at Minnesota Sports Fan, there may not be a more Pohlad critical writer on the internet than Aaron.

Aaron Gleeman puts Joe Pohlad’s feet to the journalistic fire

On Sunday, Gleeman proved his journalistic integrity yet again, during an absolutely epic back-and-forth with the Twins’ executive chair, himself. And boy, by the end of their exchange, Joe Pohlad was not a happy camper. Gleeman tweeted out the entire thing, word for word. It’s difficult to read, so I have transcribed it below the tweet.

But first, let’s set the scene. Pohlad has just told reporters that he cut payroll last year, because (paraphrasing) he’s the boss and bosses have to make difficult business decisions sometimes. Of course, that shouldn’t sit well with Minnesota Twins fans, and it didn’t sit well for Aaron Gleeman, either.

GLEEMAN : “You said you have to make business decisions. But does a sports franchise necessarily need to be treated as a typical business? Or can it be treated as part of a bigger community and you’re the stewards of something that involves thousands of people? As you look forward, is this going to continue to be treated as just ‘revenue went down, payroll goes down’? Or is there a different view of a sports franchise? You own a lot of businesses. Is this just one of them or is this potentially viewed differently.”

POHLAD : “No. I view my job as running our business on behalf of this team and our fans. And I’m trying to manage our business so that we can put out a winning team, both in the short term and in the long term. And sometimes things come up. Whether they are a number of different things. I’m not going to get into them. And then decisions need to be made. I’m not going to get into those types of decisions, but it is both long term and short term in terms of how you were describing it, Aaron. So, yeah, the goal is always to have a winning product on the field, where fans can come and get excited about their team.”

Aaron Gleeman + Joe Pohlad ( Sunday, September 29, 2024 )

At this point of the conversation, I would not have blamed Aaron Gleeman for giving up. That answer made it pretty obvious Joe wasn’t going to get into details or show remorse for cutting the legs out from underneath his baseball team, this time last year.

Related: Minnesota Twins Claim They’re Done Cutting Payroll

But the determined journalist/Twins fan was not going calling it a season until he asked the new face of Minnesota Twins ownership all of the “business decision” questions that have been eating at him over the past 9 months.

Frustrated Minnesota Twins owner forced to end conversation

So, Aaron went back for more.. and more again. Finally, Joe Pohlad ended the conversation. For those in the Minnesota Twins fanbase who have pent up anger for the Pohlad family, and how they operate their “business”, reading this will make you feel better.

GLEEMAN : “Because of the performance on the field, but also the fan morale coming into the season, I’m sure whatever your internal projections were for revenue fell at least somewhat short. Does that almost become a cycle, in that if you lower payroll, fan morale and the performance on field goes down. And then at the end of a season, you say, ‘Well, revenue went down, so we need to lower payroll again.’ And it just repeats itself?”

POHLAD : “If we have a winning product, regardless of what our payroll is, I think fans will come out.”

GLEEMAN : “Sure, but there is some relationship between revenue and record. And when you miss the playoffs by a few games, it’s fairly straightforward to say, ‘Would x number of million have helped that?’ So, as you look forward to next season, is it going to be similar, in terms of resources given to the front office?”

POHLAD : “I’m not going to get into payroll right now, but we will have a better product on the field next year.”

Gleeman is a smart guy. He knows that any forward-thinking sports owner prioritizes winning and how it leads to FUTURE growth and builds organizational value, long-term. When you own a sports franchise, the profit side of the business comes when you sell the investment.

Sound “business decisions” aren’t the same across all industries

In the meantime, NBA, MLB and NFL owners use their franchises show off how rich they are to friends, and bulk up their NET worth. If covering for short-term revenue losses and turning a profit year-over-year is more important to you, then find another investment.

Nobody cares how much TV revenue a billionaire family lost because they continue to make poor choices in their broadcasting partnerships. Worried about future TV revenue? FIX YOUR TV BROADCASTING ISSUES FOR REAL, ONE TIME! Don’t point your finger at Diamond Sports Group, then sign on with them AGAIN.

Related: Minnesota Twins Fan Kicked Out and Banned from Target Field for Anti-Pohlad Sign

Fans are not stupid (at least most of them). I bet eating that revenue loss would fix these TV issues very quickly. Instead, they continue to fester, even years after they realized that partnering with Bally Sports North was not operable into the future.

Luckily, Minnesota Twins fans can sleep soundly tonight, knowing someone who has a voice to the ear of Joe Pohlad and direct access to decision makers is willing and motivated to hold ownership accountable. Hell, a few more back and forth like this, even Joe might think twice before making his next dumb “business decision”.

More must-reads:

• Did Royce Lewis Call Out Carlos Correa After Minnesota Twins Season Finale?
• The Twins are Keeping Derek Falvey Too
• Minnesota Twins Claim They’re Done Cutting Payroll