Minnesota Twins make right decision with Calvin Griffith statue

Former Minnesota Twins owner Calvin Griffith has a complex history. Based on that history, the decision to remove his statue from Target Field was the right move.

Calvin Griffith holds a place of honor in Minnesota sports history. It was his decision to move the tenth professional team in the nation’s capital to the Twin Cities, as the Minnesota Twins began play in 1961. However, his reasoning was not exactly the best, and shrouded in racism.

Given that history, and the current social climate, the Twins were faced with a tough decision regarding his likeness outside Target Field. In the end, they decided that it was time to take down that statue, replacing it with the statue depicting Eloise and Carl Pohlad.

That decision, and the allegations of racism, stem from comments he made at a gathering in Waseca in 1978. He stated that he moved the team to Minnesota, in part, because of the good, hard-working white folk in the state. Griffith also called Rod Carew a damned fool regarding his contract negotiations, prompting the legendary hitter to vow to never play another game for the franchise.

But that was not the entire story with Griffith. Carew also recalled the time that, after the 1977 season where he won the AL MVP, Griffith handed his star a check for $100,000 – Carew had a salary of just $170,000 that season. Griffith also told Carew that he wanted to make him the highest paid player in the game, something that came to fruition after he was dealt to the Angels. For his part, Griffith was the first person that Carew called when he learned he was inducted into the MLB Hall of Fame in 1991.

Based on his personal history, Carew does not feel that Griffith was a racist; just that he made a horrible mistake during that speech. And perhaps that is the case, that Griffith was just pandering to the crowd and saying what he thought they wanted to hear. But the words of the past have consequences that can be felt in the current day.

It certainly is possible that Carew is correct and Griffith just made a mistake. Likewise, his statue, and memory, are tarnished by those words spoken over four decades ago. While it is important to learn from history, as Carew said, it is not necessary to have a monument to someone whose words call their legacy into question.

The Minnesota Twins had a difficult decision to make regarding Calvin Griffith’s statue. In the end, they made the right move in taking it down.