MINNEAPOLIS -- Former Twins first baseman Kent Hrbek was returning home from a trip with friends this past weekend when some of his buddies brought up Twins owner Carl Pohlad.

"They were asking me if I had seen Carl lately and how he was doing," Hrbek said. "I knew his health hadn't been very good, but I told them I hadn't talked to him recently. And then when I got home, I got the phone call."

The phone call that Hrbek received on Monday was to tell him that Pohlad had passed away at the age of 93.

"It was a tough thing to hear, especially since we had just been talking about him," Hrbek said. "I loved that guy a lot. He was a great man and a great friend. It's really sad when you lose people like that."

The reaction throughout baseball to Pohlad's passing on Monday was the same as Hrbek's -- sadness at losing a man who had been a prominent figure in the game for the past 25 years when he had owned the Twins.

"Carl Pohlad was a wonderful self-made man who was one of the most outstanding owners I have ever met," Mariners president Chuck Armstrong said. "He was extremely smart and incisive and always endeavored to do things that were in the best interests of baseball as an industry, even if they might not be in the immediate best interests of the Minnesota Twins."

But while Pohlad cared a lot about improving the game of baseball as a whole, it was his love for his team that stuck out strongly in the minds of others.

"The legacy that he leaves, having brought two World Series championships, and all the other benefits to his community, is just a credit to him, and his family," Marlins president David Samson said. "His passion for the game, and for Minnesota, is something we try to emulate down here in Florida ... his love for Minnesota was unparalleled. I'm greatly saddened that he will not be there on Opening Day of their new ballpark (in 2010) to see his dream become a reality."

Pohlad was an example to those in executive positions around baseball, but he also meant a lot to the players he employed. Torii Hunter was just 17 years old when he was drafted by the Twins in 1993. And in his rise to the Major Leagues, Hunter acknowledges there were a lot of people who helped him to grow as both a player and a person -- including Pohlad.

"When you play for a man like that, it's nothing but the utmost respect," said Hunter, who is now an outfielder for the Angels. "He taught me a lot of different things, like about traveling ... I know he will be missed. It's a big loss."

"I'm sure his legacy will live on and he'll be remembered not only by the Twins front-office staff, but the great fans of Minnesota and the Twins players proud to wear the uniform under his leadership," Justin Morneau said. "His contributions and commitment to sports and the Minnesota community will never be forgotten. It's a sad day when we lose a teammate and member of the Twins family."

Bert Blyleven knew Pohlad well from both his time as a pitcher for the Twins and now as a television analyst for the club. He said that Pohlad reminded him a lot of Angels owner Gene Autry in that they were both admired for the way they handled their teams and those who worked for them.

"Mr. Pohlad and Mr. Autry were owners that when they walked through the clubhouse, players pretty much stopped what they were doing to go over and shake his hand or say hello to them," Blyleven said. "Carl was not someone that put himself on a high pedestal. He was a very shrewd businessman who definitely did it his way. And I think he was highly respected by the players and everyone that was around him because of his success in business and also the true baseball fan that he was."

For many of those around the game, the Twins have become an example of how smaller-market teams can compete with big-market clubs. It's something that other clubs have attributed, in large part, to Pohlad himself.

"The distinctive approach and the great success of the Minnesota Twins over the years stemmed in largest part from Carl Pohlad's philosophy and commitment," Red Sox president/CEO Larry Lucchino said. "He was a banker, but he was also a real baseball guy."

But while the Twins had seen their share of success on the field since Pohlad took over as owner in 1984 -- two World Series titles, two American League pennants and six division titles -- Blyleven and others don't believe that Pohlad was given enough credit for those accomplishments, and also his charitable efforts, as he donated more than $10 million annually in the Twin Cities.

"Too often in recent years, it seems that Minnesota fans did not show Carl the proper respect and admiration that he deserved," Armstrong said. "He shall be sorely missed throughout baseball."

For Hrbek, Pohlad's lasting legacy will be the fact that he was able to keep baseball in Minnesota. Although there were some tenuous times during Pohlad's ownership when it appeared that the Twins might be moved or contracted, Hrbek said that without the owner buying the team in 1984, there likely wouldn't have baseball in his home state right now.

"I thanked him a lot for keeping baseball in Minnesota," said Hrbek, a native of Bloomington, Minn. "You saw what happened with the North Stars when they left Minnesota -- they had to do a lot to get a hockey team back here -- and who knows if we would have gotten Major League Baseball back in Minnesota if it had left?

"The Minnesota Twins were something I grew up with, and I was a fan. It would have created a big hole in my heart and I think in a lot of other people's hearts to turn on the radio while sitting at their cabin or on the boat and not have been able to hear a ballgame with their Minnesota Twins. Thankfully, we don't have to worry about that now."