After winning the 1991 World Series, the Minnesota Twins finished second in ?92, and then went into an eight-year funk in which they finished under .500 in the second division every year. They climbed back over .500 in 2001 and since then have won four of five American League Central Division titles. No World Series during that time, but quite a run nonetheless.
Earlier this week, I was chatting with a press box colleague who insisted the Orioles couldn?t, or wouldn?t, use the Twins as an organizational model, since they likely “wouldn?t be willing to pay the players to stay” once they reached free-agent eligibility.
Pardon me, but what does that have to do with anything? With few exceptions, the Twins haven?t shelled out truly obscene money to keep their players either, yet the winning continues, thanks to a player development machine that shows no sign of slowing down.
We?ve talked about this before in this space ? the Orioles? mistakes on draft day, the seemingly unbelievable streak of arm miseries among pitching prospects, etc. ? but here?s another take. Ask anyone who knows Carl Pohlad, the Twins? owner. Pohlad, a billionaire who?s in the top 100 of Forbes Magazine?s wealthiest Americans, is a guy who, at times, seems oblivious to how much money he has. He doesn?t view himself as a wealthy man, per se, and at 92, wants to make sure there?s enough left over to take care of his heirs.
What he spends on his baseball team is peanuts compared to what he could spend. He could compete with any owner in the sport for players, yet he chooses to set a budget for GM Terry Ryan and sticks to it. It?s a modest budget that doesn?t give Ryan much flexibility in terms of bidding for free agents, whether his own or someone else?s. Ryan obviously makes the most of every penny every year.
Orioles owner Peter Angelos is also a very wealthy man. He?s been willing during his stewardship of the team to spend big dollars on players, sometimes overpaying. At times, he?s delayed the negotiating process to the detriment of his ballclub, but no one can call him cheap.
The difference ?twixt he and Pohlad? Actually there are two. The first is the most obvious: The AL Central isn?t the AL East. The Twins, Tigers, White Sox and Indians all seem fairly close in overall talent, and all have won division titles in the last decade. No Yankees or Red Sox here.
The other difference is autonomy. Ryan has it in Minnesota. He can do pretty much whatever he pleases as long as he stays within Pohlad?s budget. How he divvies up the dollars between the big league roster and player development isn?t calculus, but his formula obviously works, and his owner doesn?t pretend he knows baseball. O?s executives clearly don?t enjoy the same kind of free reign.
If you?re convinced that Mike Flanagan and Jim Duquette have the smarts to make this thing work, wouldn?t you like to see what they could do ? within a budget, of course ? if left to their own devices? I know I would.
Phil Wood has covered sports in the Washington-Baltimore market for more than 30 years. You can reach him at [email protected].
