Rocco Baldelli is sending a clear message to Twins fans and calling for him to be fired

It’s hard to describe how impressive the Minnesota Twins’ collapse was last month. After finding themselves within striking distance of a first-round bye, the Twins fell so badly that they were eliminated from playoff contention with two games left in the season.

Over a 40-day period, the Twins posted a 25-37 record and squandered a nearly 90 percent chance of making the playoffs. The meltdown was truly epic in proportion, creating a blast zone that will take some time for the team to fully assess. Carlos Correa has tried to fall on his sword, ownership is in the middle of the Venn diagram of anger, and serious questions are being asked about the future.

Perhaps the biggest question is whether Rocco Baldelli will be back next season, aside from whether the owner will cut payroll again. Ken Rosenthal defended him, but everything about the Twins’ collapse has the hallmarks of what happens before a manager is fired.

Twins fans increasingly demanded his job as the collapse grew worse and Rocco heard their screams loud and clear.

Rocco Baldelli is not angry with the fans who are chanting his dismissal

Instead of pushing back on the fans who were calling for his firing, Rocco took the opposite approach and sympathized with them. In one of the most poignant quotes we’ve heard from him all season, Rocco was asked if fans’ calls for his job bother him, and he said he respected how upset everyone was about the brutality of the collapse.

“No. Because I think fans have the right to feel almost how they want,” Baldelli said. “I respect [Twins] fans. Minnesota Twins fans showed me amazing things last year when we were in the playoffs. Things that can change the outcome of a game in their team’s favor. You can’t have a greater passion than what I saw. If I accept that and accept it and enjoy it, then I will also accept the criticism when things don’t go well.”

This isn’t the first time fans have been upset about not being happy with what they see. Last year, Carlos Correa was booed at Target Field when he suffered an offensive slump, but he felt the anger too.

Correa, like Rocco, sympathized with the fans and said he used this as motivation to live up to their expectations. What this ultimately illustrates is the strong connection between fans and the team they love so much.

Twins fans simply won’t settle for less and aren’t afraid to hold the team accountable. That’s one of the reasons why Twins Twitter is such a fantastic place to foster a healthy fan base for the team – to a certain extent – and it’s clear that Rocco respects them as much as they respect him.

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