The Minnesota Twins, at one point not so long ago, were tied with the Cleveland Guardians for the top spot in the AL Central division.
As of September 4, they held the first place.
But everything went downhill at that point.
Minnesota has a poor 9-17 record in the season’s last month, and that killed their chances of making the playoffs.
Some poor play on all fronts and the absence of their best player, Byron Buxton, because of a hip injury derailed their season.
The Twins weren’t competitive last year and, despite being at the top for a time in 2022, ended up collapsing and are now 76-80, eliminated from playoff contention and 11.5 (!) games behind the Guards.
Those situations, unfortunately, are often reflected in attendance numbers.
Attendance Has Been An Issue For The Twins This Year
Very few people are going to the stadium on a late-September game when the team is already out of it.
“The #MNTwins have announced an attendance today of 23,397, and a total of 1,801,128 for the season. It’s their lowest full-season attendance since 2001 (not counting the pandemic-impacted ’20 and ’21 seasons),” MLB.com’s Do-Hyoung Park, who covers the team for the league’s official site, tweeted on Thursday.
The #MNTwins have announced an attendance today of 23,397, and a total of 1,801,128 for the season.
It’s their lowest full-season attendance since 2001 (not counting the pandemic-impacted ’20 and ’21 seasons).
— Do-Hyoung Park (@dohyoungpark) September 29, 2022
The attendance issues come down to one thing: fans don’t trust the team.
The situation could certainly change in 2023, but the team will need to make the right moves to return to contention.
They have money to spend, but retaining shortstop Carlos Correa or finding another worthy replacement should be first on the agenda.
They do have some talented young players, but they need proper coaching to take off: Jose Miranda, Alex Kirilloff, Trevor Larnach, Josh Winder, Joe Ryan, Royce Lewis, and more.
If the team makes sound decisions, Minnesota will return to contention behind center fielder Byron Buxton.
