While Minnesota fans are calling for the firing of manager Rocco Baldelli after the Twins' season-ending injury, players are standing by their embattled coach.
Baldelli, the 2019 AL Manager of the Year, acknowledged Saturday that he has heard boos and chants of “Fire Rocco” and that they “have a right to feel pretty much whatever they want.” he added.
The Twins entered Sunday's final game of the season with 26 wins out of 38 and were eliminated from wild-card contention Friday after winning the 2023 AL Central Division championship.
“That's part of running a Major League Baseball team,” Baldelli said before Saturday's loss to the Orioles. “I respect the fans. Last year, when we were in the playoffs, the Minnesota Twins fans showed me something great, something that can change the outcome of a game in your team's favor. Ta.
“You can't have more passion than what I've seen. If you're going to embrace it and enjoy it, you're also going to accept criticism when things don't go well.”
The Twins were 70-53 and five games out of the wild-card cutoff on Aug. 17, but were passed by division rivals Detroit and Kansas City for the final two playoff spots.
“I don't think it's very fair to cover everything up.” [Baldelli]'' pitcher Bailey Ober told reporters. “Everyone is entitled to their own opinion. If the players listen, [the chants]I don't think anyone would agree with that.
“He is not responsible for this accident that happened…We were out there performing and we couldn't get the job done.”
The Twins dealt with injuries to position players Carlos Correa, Byron Buxton and Royce Lewis and starting pitcher Joe Ryan.
“If you want to blame someone, blame me for being out for two months and not being part of the team,” Correa said. “I think that's one of the main reasons.”
Baldelli, 38, won his first 101-win season with the Twins in 2019 and became the youngest player in history to win Manager of the Year honors.
Overall, Baldelli has a 457-412 record over six seasons at Minnesota, including three sectional titles.
“In the end, we couldn't find it. We couldn't find it,” Baldelli said. “Probably the most frustrating thing is that we didn't get through this, we just kept trying the same way all the way to the end. We tried several ways and that's the part that frustrates me.
“That's going to continue to frustrate and bother me because you always believe there's an answer. You always believe there's a path that works out, and in six weeks, some of the things we went through. All the roads ended in the same place. That's frustrating.”
