Twins say postponing Red Sox game is right decision given the moment

About 15 minutes after the original 1:10 p.m. start time, an announcement echoed through a sparsely occupied Target Field.

The Twins had postponed Monday's series opener with the Boston Red Sox. But it wasn't because of the rainy weather or chilly temperatures. It was because the Twin Cities community had again experienced a fatal police shooting.

Daunte Wright died Sunday in a Brooklyn Center traffic stop after getting shot by a police officer. Protests and riots ensued as tensions were already running high amid former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin's murder trial stemming from George Floyd's death last year.

"Our community has been through a lot," Twins President Dave St. Peter said. "We have a trial taking place just blocks away from Target Field. Emotions across our community, emotions across our organization are raw. Based on the events of the last 24 hours and as information has started to come to light, playing a baseball game [Monday] felt a little less important.

"We thought the decision we made today was the right call. History will maybe tell us otherwise. But today, this moment, we're pretty confident we're doing the right thing."

Minneapolis and surrounding cities were under a 7 p.m. curfew Monday night with more unrest anticipated. St. Peter said weather did not play a factor in this decision, but it likely contributed. With snow a possibility Tuesday, any delay in that 1:10 p.m. start could mean the game ending close to another potential curfew.

The Timberwolves and Wild also postponed home games Monday.

The Twins and Red Sox have games scheduled for Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday afternoons. St. Peter said there wasn't any talk as of Monday afternoon of moving the series to Boston; the team heads to California for a weekend series against the Angels starting Friday and doesn't return to Target Field until April 23.

As the Twins and Red Sox gathered at Target Field on Monday morning, both planned to play. Twins manager Rocco Baldelli, however, told reporters that President of Baseball Operations Derek Falvey had been on calls all morning trying to figure out how the organization would react.

"Our hearts go out to the family of the victim of the shooting. … I think all of us, especially us in Minnesota right now, are tired in a lot of ways of having these types of conversations," Baldelli said. "' … I shouldn't say there's a disbelief, because I think we've seen these things happening around the country way too much, but it is very disappointing and very sad every time."

Outfielder Jake Cave, who also spoke pregame, said he wasn't too familiar with what happened but was aware it could disrupt the game.

"We really have no control over what happens in the game. … So we just have to get ready to play," Cave said. "And when we play, we're going to be ready for it, but if there's an audible, we just do whatever we've got to do."

Falvey said the Red Sox supported the decision, and Boston manager Alex Cora expressed understanding for what the Twin Cities has gone through in the past year. He said he thought this could be a possibility Sunday evening, but Monday morning felt pretty normal, with the team even taking batting practice.

"It's something that we talked about in spring training. There's a reason we're playing day games, right?" Cora said. "Coming here, it's not that it's uncomfortable. But obviously it's out there, and we knew we were going to come here about this time. The guys knew about it. There's a reason we're staying outside the city."

Falvey said visiting teams make their own decisions on where to stay, so he couldn't be sure if Boston was the only team that had made that adjustment. As far as Twins players, Falvey said the team's security would be a resource for personnel and their families. Team security director Charles Adams, a former Minneapolis police officer, spoke with the team Monday.

Other players around the league also decided not to play Monday, including the Yankees' Aaron Hicks, a former Twins outfielder. "Aaron's hurting in a huge way," Yankees manager Aaron Boone told reporters.

Baldelli said he wasn't aware of any of his players planning to make the same statement if the organization hadn't called off the game, though there was plenty of conversation about what happened in Brooklyn Center among players and coaches.

St. Peter said the team would only resume play when "appropriate" to do so, since this decision was made predominantly out of concern for safety and in respect to Wright's family, so talking about it might be all the Twins can do for now.