One of the most memorable episodes in the history of The Simpsons happened in 1993. The episode, titled “Cape Feare,” featured Sideshow Bob escaping from prison and attempting to kill Bart Simpson.
While following the Simpson family, who are in witness relocation, Sideshow Bob climbs out from underneath their car to execute his plan to kill Bart. Unfortunately, he stepped on a rake, and the handle came up and smacked him in the face. When Sideshow Bob turns around, he steps on another rake and gets smacked in the face again. He steps on a rake nine times before the scene ends.
The slapstick-style scene is one of the most notable in The Simpsons’ history. Lately, though, it has been the Minnesota Twins’ ethos. Every time they’ve given their fans something to celebrate, there’s been a metaphorical rake to humble them. As a result, they risk fans becoming apathetic.
It began in the fall of 2022 when the Twins were in the midst of their 18-game postseason losing streak. With the team battling injuries and fading from contention, Twins president Dave St. Peter admonished fans for not showing up to the final homestand of the season.
“I’m surprised and kind of bordering on disappointed that we haven’t drawn better the second half of the season,” St. Peter said. “The way we played coming out of the gate, we got off to a good start and I fully expected our attendance to jump more than it did.”
The declining attendance in 2022 was due to more than just the on-field product. The transition from FOX Sports North to Diamond Sports, which owns the Bally’s network, resulted in the network’s removal from popular distributors such as YouTube TV and Dish Network.
With fans unable to watch the Twins, they became “out of sight, out of mind,” which amplified a two-decade drought of postseason success. The hangover carried into the 2023 season. However, Royce Lewis‘ arrival and a playoff sweep over the Toronto Blue Jays created a new wave of fans.
Fans were excited to see how the team could build off its success, but reports of a payroll reduction tempered their enthusiasm. The Twins didn’t make many major moves in free agency, and the trade that sent fan-favorite Jorge Polanco to the Seattle Mariners netted them a pair of prospects and two pitchers (Anthony DeSclafani and Justin Topa) who have yet to pitch this season.
Whack.
However, while Minnesota cut payroll, fans subject to Bally’s blackouts hoped they could see their team. The Twins introduced Cory Provus as their new play-by-play announcer. During his introduction, he hinted at the Twins leaving the Bally’s network in favor of another means of distribution.
“Blackouts are gone,” Provus said. “Come 2024, Twins baseball is going to be more accessible. It’s not going to solve every problem. I’m not naive to say it’s going to solve every issue, but one big issue has been in this modern era for fans to see baseball is to watch Twins baseball, and that, to me, is awesome. … That to me was very, very exciting and helped kind of drive me in this direction.”
Months passed without an official announcement, and optimism started to decline. Last February, the Twins announced that they were signing a one-year deal with Diamond Sports to have Bally’s Sports North distribute their games. The announcement happened at the same time the Arizona Diamondbacks rolled out their digital package that allowed fans to subscribe for a full season at $99.99, with their games also available locally on linear TV.
Whack.
So the Twins were cutting payroll and limiting their options for fans to catch them on TV, but there were still reasons to be optimistic. Royce Lewis, Carlos Correa, and Byron Buxton all were healthy. Twins fans felt like they had a trio of superstars to support — especially when Lewis homered in his first at-bat of the season.
However, Lewis’s breakout lasted two at-bats after injuring his quad rounding second base. Correa looked like a version of his old self to start the season. But he suffered a right intercostal strain that he suggested was brought on by sneezing and aggravated during a check swing in Detroit.
Buxton hit .242/.293/.385 with a homer and 11 RBI in his first 27 games, and the Twins struggled to find a reliable fifth starter in the rotation. The Twins slumped to a 7-13 start, and fans started to dread the potential of a long summer.
Whack.
That’s when the sausage came into play. Ryan Jeffers turned a Cloverdale tangy sausage that Kyle Farmer brought into the clubhouse into a good luck charm. Vendors were printing merchandise, and endorsement deals were being finalized. Max Kepler returned after fouling a ball off his knee, and the pitching started to come around.
Kepler drove in back-to-back game-winning runs in Chicago, and the Twins had a nine-game winning streak. It didn’t matter that it came against the Chicago White Sox, who own MLB’s worst record at 6-24, and the Los Angeles Angels, who feature Mike Trout as MLB’s version of mid-2000s Kevin Garnett. These were the vibes this franchise desperately needed.
WHACK.
Just before Kepler’s latest heroics, Comcast announced that it wasn’t coming to an agreement to continue carrying Bally’s on its cable services. The largest distributor in the Twin Cities, the decision removed the Twins from even more homes and limited viewing options to DirecTV, Fubo TV, and the Bally’s app, which requires a subscription to the other two services.
“The Twins are disappointed by this massive disruption for our fans who simply want to watch our games,” The team said in a statement. “This situation is a business negotiation between Comcast and Bally’s. The Twins have no role or voice in this matter. We are hopeful the two parties are able to come to an agreement as soon as possible.”
WHACK. WHACK. WHACK.
While the Twins quickly offered a statement stating they have “no role or voice in this matter,” it’s no consolation to fans who saw them take a guaranteed paycheck over a more fan-friendly solution last winter.
Add in that they cut payroll, suffered several injuries (including Buxton’s on Wednesday), and had a poor start to the season, and it’s fair to wonder how many rakes everyone can step on before fans grow weary. The Twins are in the same field of rakes that Sideshow Bob struggled to find its way out of in 1993. Some of it is in their control, and some of it isn’t. But right now, they look like a franchise that can’t seem to get out of their own way.
