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R.I.P. Carl Pohlad
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Carl Pohlad (1915-2009)
On Monday, Carl Pohlad, owner of the Minnesota Twins, died at the ripe old age of 93--in baseball terms "that's a nice run."
Growing up in Minnesota and loving the Twins, it was always understood under owner Calvin Griffith that we would have wonderful players for a short time, then they would leave for more money once they reached their peak. Griffith, after all, was a baseball man, and had no other source for income, so he learned to pinch pennies. Watching Rod Carew, Lyman Bostock, Butch Wyneger and Larry Hisle leave in their primes was enough to test any young fan's heart, and mine broke and healed several times.
After Griffith sold the Twins to Pohlad in 1984, Minnesotans got to know what it was like to actually sign free agents, and keep and reward our own players.
The 1987 World Champion Twins were a group of overachieving fine players that Griffith's administration scouted, signed and developed--guys named Kirby Puckett, Gary Gaetti, Kent Hrbek, Frank Viola and Tom Brunansky. A sincere thanks to Griffith is appropriate.
The 1991 Twins had some leftovers from '87, but that championship was all Pohlad's. It was Pohlad who paid Hrbek and Puckett what they were worth when he could have let them leave like Carew once did. Pohlad also opened his wallet to get Jack Morris, Rick Aguilera and Chili Davis which turned the team into a winner. For that, I'll always be thankful to Pohlad, because the '87 and '91 championships were two highlights of my life. Like a first kiss, the '87 title was something I'll never forget, but the '91 World Series was the best I've ever seen.
Forget that Pohlad almost let his buddy, Bud Selig, contract the Twins a few years back. Forget that Pohlad, a billionaire, sometimes cried "hardship" because, as a businessman, he knew salaries were becoming absurd.
Pohlad stayed in the background, where owners belong, and was a class act. George Steinbrenner, Mark Cuban and Al Davis take heed.
Here's to a good man who fought for his country in World War II, raised a family, built a successful business, and, oh yeah, won a pair of World Series titles. Cheers!
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