NewsTwins earn respect across league
Continuity helps produce model baseball organization
10/15/09 1:15 AM ET
If you ask the people in Major League Baseball, there's nothing tougher than reaching the postseason only to get swept away in three games.You go from a tremendous high to absolute devastation. It's like, "Where did our season go?"
It happened three times this postseason, with the Boston Red Sox, St. Louis Cardinals and Minnesota Twins being eliminated in three games.
In Boston and St. Louis there has been a lot of discussion about where these high-profile teams go from here, with reports of possible changes and major decisions to be made.
In Minnesota, it's more a case of business as usual. The Twins know where they go from here. It's where they have always gone, back to the fundamentals of a sound business and baseball plan that stamps the Twins as the most cost-effective organization in the game.
Mind you, that's not enough to please all of the fans of the Twins. Just read the blogs. The fans are upset the Twins were swept by the Yankees in three games.
The Twins, for their part, make no excuses. In fact, manager Ron Gardenhire went out of his way to praise the Yankees after his team was defeated, 4-1, on Sunday night to end the Twins' season and mark their final game in the Metrodome.
"It's a great baseball team," Gardenhire told the New York Times of the Yankees. "They deserve all of the accolades. They have a great bullpen. Those guys come out there firing. [They have a great] bench -- the whole package. They've got the whole package, they've got the whole deal and they have got some of the classiest players in the league out there, guys I really enjoy watching."
Gardenhire doesn't mention the fact that the Yankees fielded that team with a payroll of $208,087,414, compared to the Twins' figure of $67,634,766.
The Twins don't deal in excuses. They also don't deal in pointing out how well they do with a tight budget. Minnesota ranked 23rd in payroll, the lowest for any team reaching postseason play.
The bottom line is that if you were to take a poll of those involved in Major League Baseball, my guess is that the Twins would come out as the most respected organization in the game.
You hear this from the scouts and player development people throughout the game, and you hear it from the general managers of other teams.
"Minnesota is a quality organization with quality personnel," said Detroit president and GM David Dombrowski. "The Twins have an emphasis on player development and scouting, with consistency of personnel. They also understand and accept their financial limitations and work within them."
Dombrowski's view is based on years of experience, but he saw it all firsthand this season as the Twins defeated the Tigers in a tiebreaker game to win the American League Central title.
The Twins overcame a seven-game deficit in the final month to win their fifth division title in eight years. They overcame a three-game lead in the final four games to force the tiebreaker.
Minnesota's rivals in the American League Central watch the Twins work their magic with a view of respect and appreciation.
"The Twins' signing and development of pitching has been among the best in the game, and they play a consistent fundamental brand of baseball that keeps them in games," said Cleveland general manager Mark Shaipro. "There is a lot about the Twins organization that is worthy of great respect."
There is no executive in the game with more experience than Roland Hemond of the Arizona Diamondbacks, and he has the highest of praise for the Twins.
"They are the model organization," said Hemond. "Tom Kelly set the tempo when he was the manager, and Terry Ryan is one of the great general managers of all-time."
If you know Kelly and Ryan, you know they will run from the spotlight while directing that the attention go to others in the Twins' organization.
Kelly handed off the managerial duties to Gardenhire, and Ryan passed the GM baton to Bill Smith, but both Kelly and Ryan remain in advisory capacities.
The primary reason for this is that Gardenhire and Smith want it that way. No other organization has this type of continuity. Managers and general managers are let go and told, for the most part, to get lost.
The Twins have a continuity in their scouting and player development departments that is legendary. People are promoted from within the organization. There is a Twins way to play baseball that goes from how you place your hat in the locker to how you handle every detail on the playing field.
You ask the people with the Twins the secrets for their success, and you get a few words and no one looking for a headline or self-promotion.
During a period when "Moneyball" captured the fancy of the media and even Wall Street, the Twins stuck to an approach that comes more under the heading of famed investor Warren Buffett -- know and understand the business you are in and stick to the fundamentals.
Because the Twins are tightlipped when asked about their achievements and the respect they have gained, I turned to former Minnesota executive Wayne Krivsky for his views.
Krivsky, who left the Twins to become the general manager of the Cincinnati Reds and now is with the Orioles, summed up the Twins' keys by saying: "It has to do with continuity, stability and common sense. Above all of that, it's about the people.
"Terry Ryan used to preach that we should never forget who we are and what we can and can't do.
"Terry would rely heavily on his scouts, and he would call upon them for their opinions and make decisions based on that input," Krivsky added. "When you look at some of the players we acquired in trades who had been at the A-ball level, these moves were made on the recommendations of scouts.
"And a lot of these scouts were guys who had done amateur scouting and then turned to the pro side only after the June Draft. We didn't have the pro scouting staffs that many organizations have, but we relied on the people to do multiple assignments."
Even with their dramatic comeback during the regular season, the Twins are in no mood for celebration or for taking time off. The Minnesota front office is back at work, preparing for 2010 and for a new outdoor ballpark.
The Twins can't escape the major decisions they will have to make regarding key players and arbitration cases that are heavily influenced by teams that have made poor financial decisions.
Fortunately for the Twins, they have been down this road of making tough decisions before. They know what they have to do, and they will do it in a way that shows both experience and teamwork.
Fred Claire was a member of the Los Angeles Dodgers from 1969-98, serving the team as Executive Vice-President and general manager. He is the author of "Fred Claire: My 30 Years in Dodger Blue." This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
