Opinion | With community ownership banned by MLB, the Twins are stuck with the billionaire model

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Remember the Freddy Krueger horror movies with nightmares that never end? That’s the feeling fans got when the Pohlads announced they were selling the Twins, only to pop back up still in control.

In their frustration, fans again came up with the great idea to save baseball: community ownership (“Maybe Twins fans don’t have to pin their hopes on billionaires,” Strib Voices, Aug. 18).

One deserves clarification. The other needs a reckoning.

Community ownership wasn’t a fantasy. Fans and policymakers fought for it. The Save the Met and Ballpark Tours crews worked the halls at the State Capitol. Rep. Phyllis Kahn and Sen. Ellen Anderson worked to include a framework for it in Target Field legislation, subject to Major League Baseball’s rules. For a moment, the prospect of community ownership was a reality.

And that’s exactly why Major League Baseball banned it in 2017. Because if Minnesotans could own part of the Twins the way Green Bay owns the Packers, the game would have changed forever. Fans would have had a say in how owners spent the taxpayer’s investment. Baseball would have truly belonged to the community.

The Pohlads aren’t going anywhere. They pulled yet another bait-and-switch saying they’re selling the team, then backing off. Instead of a clean break, they pocketed hundreds of millions from minority investors. They expect fans to swallow drivel about billionaires losing money and minor league teams stacked with stars (almost) ready for their major league debut. We’ve heard it all before. And just so we don’t forget, sportswriters like LaVelle E. Neal III, Phil Miller and Bobby Nightengale echo the Pohlad’s PR machine over and over. (“Twins’ next big move is to make room for prospects. That means some veterans will have to go,” Aug. 20; “Pohlads remain Twins owners after finding investors, but MLB’s economic realities still favor the big-market teams,” Aug. 31; “Five players stick out for top honors in Twins farm system,” Sept. 4.)

The Philly fan in me is itching to go off on the Pohlads’ latest entry in a long list of sins. But I guess I’ve been a Minnesotan too long. Instead, I propose a Minnesota Nice solution to this ownership disaster.

Let’s offer the new generation of Pohlads a shot at redemption. Unlike his grandfather, father and uncles, Joe Pohlad says he’s a baseball fan. Let’s give him a chance to show he understands what that means.

But I’m not naive. I don’t expect billionaires to take advice from a former beer vendor and ballpark tour operator. That would mean letting fans sit at the table.

So, Joe, make a call to John Middleton, principal owner of the Phillies. His bank account matches your family’s. But his mindset couldn’t be more different. Meet him in Philly for October baseball. Grab a beer. Listen, observe, learn.

“Baseball is stewardship. We are accountable to the fans and to the city,” he said.

He talks about championships — with an “s.” And he means it. “If you’re in this business to make money, you’re in the wrong business. There’s only one reason to be in this business, and that’s to win.”

Middleton has backed that up with cash and bold moves. He pours money, energy and expectations into winning. Fans respond — packing the ballpark.

That’s what stewardship looks like. That’s what loyalty deserves. That’s the standard a family graced with public trust and taxpayer dollars must meet.

But again, I understand business and your family’s need to pay down debt, wherever it came from. So go ahead and pocket two-thirds of money from selling a sliver of the team. But spend one-third — the share that rightfully belongs to the fans and taxpayers who built Target Field — on winning.