KFAN Host Goes Nuclear on Minnesota Twins Owners

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Rocco Baldelli, Minnesota Twins
Credit: Matt Blewett-Imagn Images

Since their last World Series win in 1991, the Minnesota Twins’ rapid decline as a Major League Baseball franchise has been full of unlucky twists and boneheaded turns.

While they may not be responsible for every negative thing that’s happened over the past 45 years, there’s no doubt that the Pohlad Family, from Carl to Jim to Joe and on down, deserve far and away the most blame of anyone involved.

Thus, there are a lot of reasons why MN Twins fans and various media members are sick and tired of the Pohlad ownership group. Most are well-documented, and I’ll briefly get into a few examples below. But when it comes to Pohlad critics, some are louder than others.

KFAN’s Dan Barreiro loses his mind on Minnesota Twins owners

But on Thursday, former Star Tribune columnist – turned KFAN afternoon drivetime radio host – Dan Barreiro hit his Pohlad breaking point. During the first hour of his daily show on Minnesota’s lead sports talk station, longtime local media veteran neatly laid out the timeline of Twins ownership incompetency over the past two years.

From there, he proceeded to verbally undress Joe Pohlad for in what ended up being 10 minutes of absolute radio gold that, really, no angry Twins should have to miss. So, here it is. I have transcribed some of the best moments below, but the entire clip is worth listening to. If you can’t, KFAN transcribed the entire thing in the clip.

“This two-year stretch, in and of itself, will end up being in the sports economic textbooks as literally the most shining example of how to screw up your own franchise.”

“Not only do you change your mind. You wanna talk about, God, tone deafness? Did you see what Joe Pohlad said to the Star Tribune?”

[reads Joe Pohlad’s quote on how great this outcome was for the family and excitement over new minority partners]

“Why you wouldn’t want to name [your new partners] at the time you make this announcement, who knows. But again, these are the Pohlads! If they can find a way to screw up their own chances, THEY’LL DO IT!!”

“What is [Joe Pohlad] smoking?! What is he thinking? How in God’s name can you go about, over an almost two-year period, screwing things up as often as this ownership group has and say with a straight face, ‘all is forgotten, we’re back [and] we’re going to make this work together’? What are you smoking?! It’s uncanny!”

Dan Barreiro – KFAN Radio

Related: Potential MN Twins Buyers SHOCKED by Pohlad Announcement

Joe Pohlad took control of the Twins in 2022. Following the change in leadership, Minnesota signed Carlos Correa, traded for Pablo Lopez and extended Byron Buxton. In 2023, they parlayed that offseason aggression into the organization’s deepest playoff run in two decades.

Unfortunately, after their TV partnership with Diamond Sports Group began to go sour, due to DSG’s bankruptcy, the Twins stood to lose $50 million in guaranteed yearly revenue, which was a major driving force in president Derek Falvey’s fateful announcement in November, 2023, that the Twins were dialing back payroll by $30 million.

In other words, the Pohlads were more interested in saving a pretty short term penny, over winning baseball games and making further playoff runs. From there, Minnesota’s play on the field has continually deteriorated, which ultimately led to the biggest trade deadline sell-off in team history, just a couple weeks ago.

Barreiro pleads with Twins fans to stop showing up at Target Field

And sitting in the backdrop of all these budget cuts, deadline teardowns and disappointing baseball… has been the attempted sale of the organization, which was first announced last September.

But of course, even selling the team in a 2025 market where sports franchises are being sold over asking price just about every other day, is too much to ask of the Pohalds, who pulled the rug from underneath their sale on Wednesday.

Revealed: Why Pohlads Cancelled MN Twins Sale + Details on New Investors

And that brings us back to Dan Barreiro’s KFAN rant, which he ended by urging fans to stay as far away from Target Field as possible. His argument: Do not give this family any sense of fiscal satisfaction for what they have done to you.

“I’ve gotta be honest, I don’t understand why anyone would want to send any kind of message that [says] ‘this is the team I want to embrace, with an ownership group that continues, every several months, to find a way to get things to an even worse place than their previous decision [did].”

“Few things at this point leave me gobsmacked, when it comes to the way the Pohlads run this thing. And I can honestly say, I could not with a good conscience — again, it’s your money — but I could not spend another dime on any aspect [of this team].

I don’t care how good the weather is, I don’t care how coole the ballpark is. The degree to which they have squandered — blown — this responsibility. Then multiply out, exponentially, the screw ups, to this being the latest and obviously the biggest, I wouldn’t give them a buck.”

Dan Barreiro – KFAN Radio

Owner incompetence runs in Pohlad Family

It was Carl Pohlad who repeatedly threatened (and attempted) to move, then contract, the Twins out of Minnesota, all the while serially lowballing just about every talented player who ever stepped foot on the Metrodome turf.

After Jim Pohlad took control, he helped ownership finally get the new stadium it desired for so long. But still,, operations changed very little

And now, after the next generation of Pohalds tried and failed to make the MN Twins into a bigger market competitor, our lot in the baseball world doesn’t appear as if it will change anytime soon.

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