Twins – Page 164 – David Shama's Minnesota Sports Headliners

Twins Trend: Home Box Office Decline

Posted on August 1, 2014August 1, 2014 by David Shama

As the Twins move toward the close of another disappointing season on the field, club officials are concerned about more than losing 90 games again. They wonder about next year’s Target Field attendance.

General manager Terry Ryan was on WCCO Radio’s “Sports Huddle” last Sunday saying the Twins need to put a better “product” on the field. He expressed concern about losing the attention of fans like in the 1990s when home attendance slipped to averages of under 18,000 per game from 1995 thru 2000 with a low of 13,093.

After winning Central Division titles in 2009 and 2010, the Twins lost 99 games in 2011, then 96 each of the last two seasons. The 2014 club has a 48-59 record compared with 45-59 a year ago.

The Twins ended an embarrassing 3-7 homestand last Sunday when their problematic play included falling behind early in games. That was a characteristic of last year’s Twins and something club officials like team president Dave St. Peter wanted to see left in the past.

St. Peter was also a guest on WCCO’s “Sports Huddle” on Sunday and was asked if attendance could be a problem next season. “Any time you go through four straight challenging seasons it’s going to impact your business…it’s going to impact your ticket sales,” St. Peter answered. “We understand that. We’re going to need to re-establish, and frankly regain, that trust with our fan base and credibility.

“Ultimately at the end of the day that comes down to putting a team on the field that’s exciting and that fans want to come watch. We’ve had that going at times this year but never consistently enough, and then this homestand has been a struggle.

“It’s going to get better. There’s no doubt in my mind that the minor league system that we have today is going to produce a number of high quality players that are going to be a big part of turning this thing around. The question is when is that going to happen? I know our fans want and deserve it to happen sooner versus later.”

The Twins are averaging 28,267 fans per home game, according to Espn.com. That is fewer fans per game than the club averaged during its last season in the much disparaged Metrdome. In that final 2009 season at the dome the Twins averaged 29,466 fans per game. Then came the move to outdoor baseball and beautiful Target Field where attendance jumped to 39,798 in 2010 but has declined every year since with averages of 39,112, 34,512 and 30,588.

Going into this year the Twins had the luxury of renewing season ticket holders by offering the perk of priority for MLB All-Star Game seats. That won’t be on the table in 2015 and a season ticket base believed to total 18,000 at the most will likely decline. “From a season ticket perspective, I think it’s only reasonable to expect that they’ll probably suffer some level of decline,” a former sports executive with knowledge of the Twins operation told Sports Headliners.

The source, who has marketing expertise and didn’t want to be identified, predicts there is a bottom to how far attendance will fall. “I would be surprised if they went below 2 million fans (any time). What is great about Target Field (the environment and many amenities) will keep people coming out simply because of the experience of it all. Do they (fans) want to see a winner? Absolutely. Does winning make it easier to draw people to the ballpark? Of course it does.”

The Twins drew a Target Field low of 2,477,644 last year. The club’s last five seasons in the dome attendance was always 2 million or more, although from 1994 thru 2004 the Twins never hit the 2 million mark in home attendance.

This year’s attendance could total 200,000 or so less than last year, although the team does have attractive games remaining at Target Field against the Tigers and Angels with superstars Miguel Cabrera and Mike Trout, and the Athletics who have the best record in baseball.

It doesn’t seem likely the Twins, lacking talent almost everywhere, will suddenly become such a gate attraction that fans can’t ignore them between now and when the season ends in late September. And the Twins know that declining attendance can impact other parts of the club’s business including corporate sponsorships, merchandise sales and concession revenues.

The source referred to earlier describes attendance as the “lifeblood of pro sports.” He added, “Everything else is built on the foundation of attendance.”

Whether the Twins can significantly improve their on-field product between now and next season will have everything to do with how many season ticket holder accounts are renewed, the total number of fans that are in the stands and whether fans tune in games on radio and TV. The source is a supporter of Jim Pohlad and said the Twins owner is frustrated with losing, and willing to spend money on players.

“The truth of the matter is Jim desperately wants to win,” the source said. “He does care very much about the team and its success. He’s a fan. He’s at virtually every game. I think the Pohlads truly do get a bum wrap sometimes that they’re cheap. The reality is that Jim trusts people inside the organization—always has—to do their jobs. If they (Twins executives) come to him and say, ‘We should sign this guy, he can help us,’ I have every belief that Jim would say, ‘Go for it.’ “

Worth Noting

It’s been a rough few months for Dick Jonckowski, the Shakopee-based sports emcee and Gophers public address announcer. In April he was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes and in June the basement in his home was heavily damaged by water. In early July he was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma and is receiving chemotherapy.

Jonckowski’s niece, Michelle Beisner, is married to Joe Buck, the Fox baseball play-by-play announcer, who invited Jonckowski to join him in the broadcast booth for the MLB All-Star Game in Minneapolis last month. Jonckowski couldn’t accept the invitation because he was in the hospital but Buck extended best wishes during the telecast.

Jonckowski told Sports Headliners his cancer is curable, and he appreciates the support he’s received from friends. “I’ve heard from people from all over the country,” Jonckowski said. “I should be fine.”

The basement at his house is being remodeled after the water damage and Jonckowski is planning to sell about 60 percent of his extensive sports memorabilia collection that for years has been kept at his home. He has about 80 boxes of memorabilia and likely will have a sale in late August.

No one has ever won the 3M Championship in consecutive years but 2013 champ Tom Pernice Jr. is optimistic he can change that. “My game is in a good place,” he told Sports Headliners yesterday. “My putting is in good shape and you need to putt well this week because you need to shoot low.”

Pernice said he is playing as well or better now than last year at this time. He finished tied for third in the recent Senior British Open, a tournament won by Bernhard Langer who will also be here for the 3M Championship that starts today and concludes on Sunday at TPC Twin Cities in Blaine. Langer has twice won the 3M.

Why hasn’t anyone won consecutively in the senior tour event here? “You know I have no idea,” Pernice said with a laugh. “Golf is really a funny game. Several players have won more than one time (but) it’s just the way it goes.”

Vikings coach Mike Zimmer after being asked yesterday to evaluate the coverage work of rookie linebacker Anthony Barr: “Coverage is great. He moves well. He’s got a good idea. Somebody was telling me that he takes copious notes in the meetings. He’s got pages and pages of them…so he’s very, very into trying to learn what we’re trying to do and teach.

“He’s got a lot of raw, athletic ability that helps in the coverage aspect of things. There’s times when he may pull off of somebody a little bit too soon…he’s got to do better at (that).”

The Jefferson Football Golf Classic is today at Dwan Golf Club in Bloomington. In 13 years the event has raised about $45,000 to assist 39 former Bloomington Jefferson High School football players with college expenses. Event organizers are Rich Bird, Dennis Kane, Stan Skjei and Larry Swartout.

Nate Hanson, the 27-year-old Chanhassen native and former Gopher, is a first baseman with the Twins AAA Red Wings farm club. He is hitting .247 with two home runs and 11 RBI in 77 at bats.

Josmil Pinto, who could well be the successor to Kurt Suzuki as the Twins starting catcher, needs work behind the plate and is only hitting .250 with five home runs and 18 RBI in 96 at bats with the Red Wings. Unlike Hanson, the 25-year old Pinto is on the Twins’ 40-man roster.

Writing for the July 30 Gopherillustrated.com, Ryan James reported that highly recruited DeLaSalle guard Jarvis Johnson lists Minnesota, Baylor, Michigan State, Maryland, UNLV, Wichita State, and Wisconsin as schools he has heard from the most this summer.

The Minnesota Senior Games begin today at the University of St. Thomas with about 1,500 athletes ages 50 and over participating. The games go through August 9 and events include 5k and 10k races, archery, badminton, basketball, billiards, bowling, cycling, disc golf, golf, horseshoes, pickleball, racquetball, shuffleboard, softball, swimming, table tennis, tennis, track and field and volleyball. Events will be held at sites in Bloomington, Eagan, Minneapolis and St. Paul. Athletes can qualify for the 2015 National Senior Games that will be held in Minnesota July 3-16.

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Run Made Bob McNamara U Legend

Posted on July 23, 2014July 23, 2014 by David Shama

The Gophers lost a legendary former player and extraordinary benefactor when Bob McNamara passed away on Sunday at age 82.

McNamara grew up in a poor family with a difficult father in Hastings, Minnesota. By the time McNamara started playing football for the Gophers in the early 1950s he was a tough guy. Never were his toughness, determination and love for the Gophers more on display than on November 13, 1954 against hated rival Iowa.

With more than 65,464 fans packed into Minnesota’s Memorial Stadium, McNamara led the Gophers to a 22-20 win and a 7-1 record in coach Murray Warmath’s first season in Minneapolis. The game’s highlight came in the first half with the score tied at 7-7. McNamara received an Iowa kickoff at Minnesota’s 11-yard line and made an 89-yard touchdown run that deserves a place among the most determined efforts in program history.

McNamara shook off Iowa tacklers, refusing to go down to the ground. Warmath said in his biography, The Autumn Warrior, that McNamara’s run was indeed the stuff of legends. “It was the finest example of brilliance and desire I have ever seen,” the coach praised.

Years later McNamara was in the bar business and patrons could watch film of the classic run at his Minneapolis establishment located near campus. McNamara was proud of that day and his All-American senior season in 1954 but his efforts for the Gophers hardly ended there.

His fundraising and promotion helped the Gophers with various facilities projects and he was a leader in the Save Gophers Sports drive that helped keep men’s and women’s golf, and men’s gymnastics as varsity sports at Minnesota. He was recognized for his efforts in helping to make TCF Bank Stadium a reality and was an Honorary Captain for the facility’s opening game in 2009 against Air Force.

Richard “Pinky” McNamara, Bob’s younger brother, threw a key block on that legendary touchdown run that happened 60 years ago this fall. “Pinky,” who passed away in 2011, was even more successful in business than Bob and the McNamara Alumni Center is named after him.

The McNamara Academic Center in the Bierman Building is used daily by more than 750 student-athletes. It is named after both brothers who spent their lives living in the Minneapolis area and devoted themselves to helping their alma mater.

Worth Noting

Sports Illustrated’s Peter King likes to write about “Things I Think I Think.” If it’s good enough for Peter, it works for me. Here we go…

Two major storylines are already written in any word document about the Gophers’ football season outlook. Coach Jerry Kill will give himself and the program’s image a “facelift” by staying healthy all season. With a difficult schedule and unproven quarterback, if the Gophers win eight games again this season then be prepared to start dancing down University Avenue in 2015.

Richard Pitino keeps the lowest public profile of any Gophers basketball coach I remember.

At 29 and with a history of injuries, this will be a telling year for running back Adrian Peterson who looks like the focal point of the new offense under first-year coordinator Norv Turner. If Peterson is healthy, expect him to have one of his best years as a pro. If he isn’t, the Vikings may want to make other offensive plans for 2015 and beyond.

Anyone else surprised the Vikings still have season tickets for sale despite moving this season into TCF Bank Stadium with over 10,000 fewer seats than the Metrodome?

Hate to tell you, but you’re goofy if you think the Twins can catch the Tigers and win the AL Central.

If the Twins head into September on pace for another 90-plus loss season, speculation will begin about manager Ron Gardenhire’s job security. In his favor is the admiration of general manager Terry Ryan but how many managers have ever lost 90-plus games over four seasons and kept their jobs?

Twins catcher Kurt Suzuki has a one year contract with the club but don’t expect Joe Mauer to catch again after his concussion experience last season and the 2014 move to first base. It won’t be a surprise if Suzuki is traded before month’s end.

Local Josh Willingham fans should enjoy this summer because with an expiring $7 million contract and dismal offensive production the 35-year-old Twins left fielder looks like a goner after this season—perhaps sooner.

Hope Flip Saunders is thinking about making Gorgui Dieng the starting center because of his defense and rebounding while using Nikola Pekovic in an instant offense role off the bench.

Fans might think Saunders’ selection of assistant coaches looks like a collection of “Yes, boss” types. But this could be a good staff that helps the Wolves overachieve, something they didn’t do last season under coach Rick Adelman.

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Beer Locations to Increase at U Stadium

Posted on July 10, 2014July 10, 2014 by David Shama

When the Gophers play their opening game of the season at TCF Bank Stadium on August 28 against Eastern Illinois fans will have more locations to buy beer and wine.

A source told Sports Headliners that approximately 150 points of sale in the stadium will serve customers—about double the number from last season. That means about 150 workers available to sell alcohol in different parts of the stadium. Also new is beer and wine will be sold 90 minutes prior to kickoff and through the third quarter—compared with 60 minutes and through halftime in 2013.

The athletic department is making the changes to create a better fan experience. In the past, the stadium beer and wine locations were overcrowded (plaza area only) but being able to purchase those alcohol products at regular concession stands, creating additional points of sale, will provide more efficient service.

Beer and wine sales at TCF Bank Stadium began in 2012 and the athletic department has netted about $200,000 in profit the last two seasons. That profit is expected to increase this year but the department doesn’t see the alcohol sales so much as a revenue producer as it does filling a customer need. Most college stadiums don’t sell alcohol but in a pro sports town like Minneapolis the Gophers want to be competitive with amenities.

A few thousand or more University students typically attend Gophers home games and many are under the legal drinking age of 21 in Minnesota. Customers must show identification to purchase alcohol at the games. Despite the presence of beer and wine sales at TCF Bank Stadium, University officials didn’t see any significant increase in behavior problems with fans in 2012 and 2013.

Worth Noting

The Gophers’ opening football game on August 28 at TCF Bank Stadium will start at 6 p.m. and will be televised by the Big Ten Network. The Vikings play the same night starting at 7 p.m. in Nashville against the Titans in a preseason game televised by KARE 11.

BaseballAmerica.com released its midseason top 50 prospects list on Monday and five players from the Twins organization are in the group including outfielder Byron Buxton who is No. 1 in the rankings. Third baseman Miguel Sano is No. 9 while right-handed pitchers Jose Berrios, Kohl Stewart and Alex Meyer are No. 27, 30 and 32.

Fox Sports North will televise a replay of Minnesota’s 1965 MLB All-Star Game tonight at 5:30 p.m. and show the 1985 game on Friday at 11 p.m.

Metropolitan Stadium was the site of the 1965 game when the National League defeated the American League, 6-5. Harmon Killebrew homered and drove in two runs. Other Twins playing for the American League were Earl Battey, Jim “Mudcat” Grant, Jimmie Hall, Tony Oliva and Zoilo Versalles.

The Metrodome hosted the 1985 game and the National League won 6-1. The lone Twin in the game was reserve outfielder Tom Brunansky who went hitless in one at bat.

As part of All-Star weekend activities, the State Fairgrounds will be the site on Sunday of a first ever event—The Color Run MLB All-Star 5k Presented by Nike. Baseball alums at the event are expected to include former Twins Scott Erickson, Doug Mientkiewicz and Dave Winfield. The Color Run website describes a “unique paint race that celebrates health, happiness and individuality.” Participants are doused in a different colored powder at each kilometer. More on Sunday’s event at Allstargame.com/run.

Minnesota native and former Timberwolves executive Kevin McHale hasn’t been part of an NBA championship team since the Celtics won the title in 1986 but perhaps that will change in Houston where he is the Rockets head coach. If speculation turns into reality with the Rockets signing a superb free agent this summer, that could make Houston—already with star players in Dwight Howard and James Harden—a title contender for McHale, the ex-Celtics Hall of Fame power forward.

Joel Engel e-mailed that his son Derrick Engel, the former Gophers wide receiver, is “on track with his rehab” and hopes to be ready for private workouts in coming weeks. Engel had ACL surgery last December but is hopeful about a career in pro football.

Derrick’s younger brother Sean, who played for Chaska High School as a sophomore wide receiver, is now 6-foot-5 and a player to watch in the class of 2016.

The Twin Cities Dunkers continue to help fund the athletic needs of Minneapolis and St. Paul public schools. From equipment to transportation to uniforms, gifts from the Dunkers Fund have grown from $32,500 to $71,000 in the last two years and are expected to increase in 2014. “You have boosted confidence and pride in these kids on and off the playing field,” a coach told the organization.

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