Twins fans shocked by sudden announcement of team's sale
MINNEAPOLIS — The Minnesota Twins are officially for sale. After 40 years of ownership, the Pohlad family says they are moving on.
If we're talking baseball terms, this move is straight out of left field, with almost no one seeing it coming. But the hope is a fresh start could be just what this team needs.
Thursday morning's news has had fans talking all day long. Imagine going to the store to pick up a Twins souvenir for your son's birthday to find out you could buy the team itself. Ashley Holien had that experience.
"It makes me nervous, to be honest, because I don't want them to go anywhere else, and I also don't want to lose the spirit of the Twins," Holien said. "I know they do a lot for kids sports and a lot of sports clinics, I just think all of that stuff is so important.
Dante Sullivan was also taken aback by the news.
"I'm not going to lie, I was really shocked. I did not expect to hear that," Sullivan said.
And for the first time in decades, there's a change at the top.
"After 40 years of being in the same family, then swapping up out of nowhere, it's like, wow," said fan Everett West.
Insider John Bonnes says what's next might not be what's right now.
"I think six months is probably a minimum amount of time," Bonnes said. "One-point-five-billion dollars is a lot of money, and you know, what we saw from the Timberwolves is that those buyers came from outside the Twin Cities."
With a 15-year commitment to Target Field, it's unlikely the team will go anywhere anytime soon. Although the hope is after the sale, the Twins might go somewhere they haven't been in a long time.
"Let's get someone in here who actually wants to do this and build something and, you know, focus on winning a World Series (laughs)!" said fan Peter Greenwood.
It might cost more than a souvenir purchase, but it could be priceless.
"My son would be so happy (laughs!)" Holien said. "Maybe for his birthday, somebody would buy them for him."