Twins Fans Stay Home In Droves

Mike Veeck’s St. Paul Saints went head-to-head with the Minnesota Twins and won. So why was Veeck so disappointed Thursday?

The Saints drew 4,637 fans to their Northern League playoff opener Wednesday night, just hours after a paltry crowd of 2,742 watched the Twins beat Detroit.

While the Twins had about 50,000 empty seats, Veeck was unhappy that he had about 1,700, a rarity at Midway Stadium. But Veeck, the son of former Chicago White Sox owner Bill Veeck, was bothered more by what the Twins’ attendance said about the state of baseball.

“I’m sad about it,” he said. “I was with the ‘76 and ‘79 White Sox, so I know what (the Twins) are going through, and it isn’t helping my attendance at all. It hurts it.”

The Twins actually sold 7,845 tickets to Wednesday’s game, the fewest tickets sold for a game in nine years. They uncharacteristically released the actual attendance because the crowd was so small, considered one of the smallest in team history.

“I can’t say I like playing in front of a crowd like that,” Kirby Puckett said.

The Twins have the worst record in the majors this season and are averaging 15,046 fans, a 34 percent drop from 1994.

The Saints, meanwhile, are the hottest sports ticket in town over the summer. They sold out 38 of their 41 home games, averaging 6,301 in their 6,311-seat stadium across the Mississippi River from the Metrodome.

“It was a sweet season,” said Veeck, who also owns the Twins’ Class A affiliate in Fort Myers, Fla.

Like his father, Veeck is known for his ballpark theatrics. Haircuts are offered in the stands, a nun gives massages and a pig brings balls to the umpire.

He toned down for the playoffs - “a stray elephant or two,” he joked - but blamed himself for his own attendance dip at Wednesday’s game.