Somebody had to be blamed.
The Twins lost 27 of 39 games to end the 2024 season and finished well out of the wild card race at just a nudge above .500 at 82-80.
The blame didn’t land on president of baseball operations Derek Falvey or manager Rocco Baldelli, both of whom are returning next season, but the ax didn’t fall too far from them as the Twins said goodbye to hitting coach David Popkins, assistant hitting coaches Rudy Hernandez and Derek Shomon, as well as assistant bench coach Tony Diaz, the team announced.
As reported by MLB Trade Rumors, the Twins were a good-hitting team, ranking ninth in the majors with a slash line of .246/.315/.411 and a “weighted runs created plus” mark of 107, meaning the team was seven percent better in that category than the league average of 100.
However, nothing went right for the team in September and the team’s hitting numbers fell off a cliff as a result. Last month, the team slashed .218/.285/.338 and the weighted runs created plus mark fell to 78.
MLB Trade Rumors notes: “It’s always tough to separate the influence of a coach from the performances of the players.”
I would agree except the thought of getting hitting advice from three different people all season sounds confusing to me. As far as I know, this used to be the job of one coach — the hitting coach! When did teams need all these other coaches?
What do we know about the modern game of baseball? There’s plenty of data to use and apply and we know that teams, like fans, sift through these numbers all the time. Hitting a baseball is hard enough.
Now, imagine this:
You step into the box and you recall what the three hitting coaches have been telling you. You look over at the third base coach for any new information and then you glance out at the pitcher, wondering how you’re going to work the pitching count to your favor. You also have a time out at your disposal, plus you remember that you have to swing with significant bat speed and then you wonder: Is my launch angle correct? And then suddenly it’s boom, boom, boom, three called strikes and you’re walking back to the dugout, asking yourself, “What just happened?”
Does anyone say “see the ball, hit the ball” anymore?
Extra innings…
-In the wake of the Twins’ collapse, there’s been a lot of social media chatter and finger-pointing at the Pohlad family, the longtime owners of the team, accusing them of not spending enough to make the team better.
Well, fair or not, they had some TV revenue challenges last season and now those challenges appear to have worsened, according to ESPN.
“Diamond Sports Group — otherwise known as the operator of Bally Sports channels — has submitted a (bankruptcy) reorganization plan that calls for it to shed broadcasting rights for all but one Major League Baseball team — the Atlanta Braves — putting 11 clubs at risk of losing their regional sports network contracts,” ESPN reports.
Among those 11 clubs: the Minnesota Twins.
“MLB lawyer James Bromley said in court that the league was ‘blindsided’ by the development, a point Diamond’s attorney refuted,” the ESPN report reads.
“With local media making up about 20% of team revenues in the aggregate, Diamond’s plans will create increasingly more financial uncertainty for teams — the type that might once again impact offseason spending,” the report reads.
Ugh.