The Minnesota Twins will play the final game of their 2024 season on Sunday afternoon. And if they can help it, there will be no negativity allowed at Target Field. Not only have we watched the Twins trip and fall through one of the most epic collapses in franchise history.
Many fans have been calling for Rocco Baldelli’s proverbial head. There is a belief throughout the fanbase that there needs to be a fall guy for this 2024 disaster collapse. Those fans point to Rocco’s in-game management of the pitching staff, along with the team’s overall lack of discipline down the stretch, as tangible proof that the Twins need to move on from their manager.
Rocco Baldelli will remain as Minnesota Twins manager
And that’s before we even get into this team’s approach when it comes to injuries. But on Sunday, rumors turned into reports, when Dan Hayes (The Athletic) tweeted bluntly that Rocco Baldelli will return as Minnesota Twins manager next season. So just like that, the Rocco question was officially answered.
Rocco Baldelli will return as #MNTwins manager in 2025.
— DanHayesMLB (@DanHayesMLB) September 29, 2024
We’ve written about it before, and I will reiterate it again now. Rocco Baldelli is not the Minnesota Twins’ biggest problem. I’m not sure where he falls on the list of blame, but I wouldn’t put him in my top three. I’m not here to write more about how the Pohlad family is our No. 1 nemesis. You can read that here. Yes, Rocco has his flaws and absolutely deserves his fair share of blame for this season’s 2nd half slide.
Related: Minnesota Twins Fan Kicked Out and Banned from Target Field for Anti-Pohlad Sign
But most of the things we listed above that annoy fans, those are Twins organizational beliefs, not just Rocco beliefs. Yes, Rocco makes all the moves and absolutely has the final say in how the team operates day-in and day-out. He is much of what everyone accuses him of being.
This is the “Twins Way”, not the “Rocco Way”
Here’s what people seem to forget, though. That’s why he was hired. The Minnesota Twins fired Paul Molitor and brought on Rocco Baldelli because they wanted a manager more like him. Someone who is super-safe with injuries, and won’t pitch starters beyond the 6th inning.
If they wanted someone who would fight them on that, they would have kept Molitor around. It’s Falvey and Levine who hired Rocco, along with one of the largest analytic departments in Major League Baseball.
Related: Twins Unlikely to Fire Top Decision-Makers
So if you want that to change, don’t be frustrated that the manager is still in place. If that’s how you feel, and I’m not necessarily to this point yet, then you need to be asking for an entire organizational overhaul. Manager, front office, business side… everything about the current Minnesota Twins would need to go.
I wouldn’t blame anyone for feeling that way. This season was rough. But just know, swapping out Rocco Baldelli and keeping the remaining decision-makers in place would not have changed any of the things that you despise about this team.