Upon the conclusion of the Minnesota Twins’ 2023 campaign (wherein the club cathartically ended its 19-year postseason losing streak), President of Baseball Operations Derek Falvey indicated that the club would undergo significant spending cuts. At ownership’s direction, the front office ended up slashing the team’s payroll by more than $30 million. It was a gut punch, neutering any semblance of optimism Twins Territory felt on the club’s ability to progress further into the postseason in 2024 and contend for a World Series. Yet, what if I told you some things were Bigger Than Baseball? What if the Pohlad family made a sacrifice for the greater good? And if so, would that change your outlook on them as a billionaire, ruling-class family? Let’s take a look.
Now, we here at Twins Daily don’t enjoy speculating. We don’t dabble with the unknown. In fact, we condemn the act of doing so wholeheartedly. Yet, when presented with groundbreaking but unconfirmed information, we—as licensed journalists with degrees—must report on what we are told, in the name of transparency. That being the case, sources close to the Pohlad family informed Twins Daily that the wealthy family was presented the once-in-a-lifetime offer to end racism at the expense of cutting payroll, hours after losing the ALDS-deciding Game 4 to the Houston Astros on Oct. 11, 2023. After hours of deliberation, the family privately accepted the deal, with the stipulation that they wouldn’t be allowed to inform the public for two years. Finally, that gag order has ended.
Those who perambulate the friendly confines of Target Field frequently may have noticed the attention-grabbing “End Racism” sign that occupied a significant portion of the right field padding, shown below:
This message resided at this location for multiple seasons, including during the club’s celebrated 2023 run. However, the message ceased to exist the following season, with no explanation behind its removal. Reasonably, many speculated that the club elected to shy away from its corporate activism ambitions in favor of netting more profit by filling the space with advertisements. However, sources confirm the Pohlad family elected to remove the signage upon the deal’s agreement, stating that having a sign advocating for something that no longer exists to go away would be “out of touch” and “disrespectful” to fans of the club.
“The Pohlads and I are over the moon to finally make this announcement,” an anonymous spokesperson close to the family said. “I mean, before October 2023, racism was running rampant. Every time I opened Twitter, I saw five different slurs before I even started scrolling.
“But now, you go online or you walk outside, and it feels like everyone is getting along. I mean, I saw a group of Black and white teenagers happily riding Lime scooters outside Target Field last night. These inclusionary acts wouldn’t be happening if the Pohlad family hadn’t made the near-impossible decision to end racism for $30 million two years ago.”
When asked who or what, exactly, made this offer to the Pohlad family, the spokesperson demurred.
“We can’t provide specifics, but just know it was a very powerful force,” the attorney said. “This may come as a shock, but the family had just greenlit increasing the club’s payroll to $200 million for 2024. When the offer to permanently end racism reached the family’s desk, there was no way they were going to turn it down, and Derek obviously agreed with the decision. In effect, it was a $70-million cost, but so be it. Everyone involved should be celebrated for their sacrifice, really.”
That doesn’t mean the team’s payroll will surge again anytime soon. The spokesperson warned that nefarious forces in various courses have attempted to restart racism several times, so the Pohlads might have to keep payroll down for the foreseeable future to maintain the current utopia. Twins fans, meanwhile, have some amends-making to do. After all, they wrongly accused a family of heroes of being greedy robber barons.
“If fans want to begin the apology process, they should strongly consider investing in a MyTwins membership and purchasing 2026 season tickets,” the spokesperson said.
Twins Daily would like to formally apologize to the Pohlad family for constantly attacking their character and desire to fund a winning baseball organization. Twins Daily and its writers are more than happy to watch Kody Clemens be the full-time first baseman, as long as it means the people of Twins Territory are judged by the content of their character, not the color of their skin. Some things really are Bigger Than Baseball.
This article was paid for by the Pohlad Family Foundation, in conjunction with Legacy Partner in Racism Elimination Paul Dolan.