Twins fans shocked by sudden announcement of team sale

MINNEAPOLIS — The Minnesota Twins are officially for sale. After 40 years of ownership, the Pohlad family says they are moving on.

If we’re talking in baseball terms, this move comes straight out of left field, with almost no one seeing it coming. But hope for a fresh start is exactly what this team needs.

Thursday morning’s news had fans talking all day. Imagine going to the store to buy a Twins souvenir for your child’s birthday and finding out that you could buy the team itself. Ashley Holien had this experience.

“To be honest, it makes me nervous because I don’t want them to go somewhere else and I also don’t want to lose the spirit of the Twins,” Holien said. “I know they do a lot for kids’ sports and a lot of sports clinics, I just think all of that is really important.

Dante Sullivan was also surprised by the news.

“I’m not going to lie, I was really shocked. I didn’t expect to hear that,” Sullivan said.

And for the first time in decades, there is a change at the top.

“After 40 years in the same family and then switching out of nowhere, it’s like, wow,” said fan Everett West.

Insider John Bonnes says what comes next may not be what’s happening now.

“I think six months is probably the minimum amount of time,” Bonnes said. “One point five billion dollars is a lot of money, and you know, what we saw from the Timberwolves is that these buyers came from outside the Twin Cities.”

With a 15-year commitment to Target Field, it’s unlikely the team will be going anywhere anytime soon. Although the hope is after the sale, the Twins can go somewhere they haven’t been in a long time.

“Let’s get someone here who really wants to do this and build something and, you know, focus on winning a World Series (laughs)!” said fan Peter Greenwood.

It may cost more than buying a souvenir, but it may be priceless.

“My son would be very happy (laughs!),” said Holien. “Maybe for his birthday someone would buy them for him.”