Minnesota Twins fans are no strangers to patience. They’ve endured rebuilds, payroll freezes, postseason collapses, and front-office overhauls. But as the franchise stumbles through another disappointing stretch, ownership has stepped forward with a series of public comments meant to reassure. For many, those words feel like echoes of the past.
“The Sun’s Going to Come Up Tomorrow”
Joe Pohlad compared the current state of the franchise to parenting: “When your kid’s having a hard time, you try not to have them focus on the moment itself but realize the sun’s going to come up tomorrow.”
It’s an optimistic, human response, but for fans, the problem is that tomorrow keeps looking like yesterday. The Twins have missed the playoffs in consecutive years and lost 92 games this season. A fan base that hasn’t seen a World Series title since 1991 is tired of hearing that “things will get better.” The sun always rises, but so far, the horizon doesn’t look much different.
Confidence in the “Right Pieces”
Pohlad doubled down on his optimism: “I am overwhelmingly confident about Twins baseball. I’m confident because we have got all the right [pieces] … And we have the resources that we’re ready to invest when needed.”
Fans have heard versions of this before. Every ownership group in sports claims they’ll spend when the time is right, yet Minnesota continues to hover around the middle of the pack in payroll. “The right pieces” are hard to identify on a roster riddled with injuries, regression, and depth concerns. Until ownership matches words with aggressive action, confidence will remain a tough sell.
“The Goal is Not to Compete. The Goal is to Win a World Series.”
This is the line fans want to hear most. But for a franchise that hasn’t advanced past the ALDS since 2002, there’s a gulf between intention and execution. Competing has been the organizational mantra for years: stay relevant, fight for a division title, and hope to catch fire in October. That model has yielded plenty of division banners but little else.
The Pohlads say they’re aiming higher, but fans wonder if their definition of “winning a World Series” is the same as theirs. Building “a true winner” requires risks, and Minnesota has often played it safe.
Owning the Frustration
“At some point you gotta look at yourself and be like, ‘You know what? We’ve gotta try something different,’” Pohlad admitted. That acknowledgment might be the most important quote of all. Fans are already living in frustration. Ownership openly admitting that the same old approach won’t cut it anymore could signal change.
The trade deadline sell-off this summer was one such pivot, moving veterans to restock the farm system. Firing Rocco Baldelli signals another major change, but the current roster might be the bigger problem. While ownership pointed to long-term stability, many fans saw it as waving the white flag. Patience, once again, was the ask.
Terry Ryan’s Perspective
Even Terry Ryan, the former GM, weighed in: “A year and a half or two years ago, they were darn near a model franchise … But it wasn’t working. They turned around and did something good [at the trade deadline]. They might have gone further than fans hoped they would. But that attitude might change here in the next 12 months.”
Ryan’s comments frame the Twins as a team at a crossroads. The club is still respected around baseball, but struggling to maintain credibility with their own fan base. His suggestion that attitudes may shift next year is hopeful, though it relies heavily on trust, something in short supply right now.
“Totally Justified” Fan Frustration
Tom Pohlad was more direct than Joe: “It’s been 34 years since the World Series … That’s unacceptable. The fans are totally justified to think it’s unacceptable.”
That admission resonates. Ownership rarely calls out its own failures so bluntly. But it also begs the obvious question: If everyone agrees the results are unacceptable, what will actually change? Fans don’t want apologies—they want a plan.
Where Words Meet Action
At their core, the Pohlads’ comments sound like the right things: accountability, optimism, and a commitment to winning. But Twins fans have learned that rhetoric rarely translates to trophies. The next 12 months will determine if this is another chapter of “wait and see” or if the franchise truly embraces risk and ambition. Until then, frustration will linger, even if ownership insists the sun will rise tomorrow.
The Twins are entering a critical stretch. With the roster in transition, a new manager coming in, and resources allegedly ready to be deployed, ownership’s actions this offseason will speak louder than any press conference. If Joe and Tom Pohlad want to convince a skeptical fan base, they’ll need to pair their words with bold moves: investing in the roster, extending young talent, and showing urgency instead of waiting for things to click.
Because while fans may understand that building a champion takes time, 34 years of waiting has drained nearly all the patience left in Twins Territory. 2026 won’t just be another season because it will be the litmus test of whether the Pohlads’ vision is more than just talk.
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