Twins Remove Statue of Former Owner Calvin Griffith from Outside of Target Field

The Minnesota Twins announced the removal of a statue honoring former owner Calvin Griffith over racist comments he made in 1978, saying he moved the team to Minneapolis because there were not a lot of black people in the city. 

A team statement read:

"While we acknowledge the prominent role Calvin Griffith played in our history, we cannot remain silent and continue ignoring the racist comments he made in Waseca in 1978. His disparaging words displayed a blatant intolerance and disregard for the Black community that are the antithesis of what the Minnesota Twins stand for and value.

"Our decision to memorialize Calvin Griffith with a statue reflects an ignorance on our part of systemic racism present in 1978, 2010 and today. We apologize for our failure to adequately recognize how the statue was viewed and the pain it caused for many people – both inside the Twins organization and across Twins Territory. We cannot remove Calvin Griffith from the history of the Minnesota Twins, but we believe removal of this statue is an important and necessary step in our ongoing commitment to provide a Target Field experience where every fan and employee feels safe and welcome."

The Twins moved from Washington D.C. to Minneapolis in 1961. In a 1978 speech at the Lions Club in Waseca, Minnesota, Griffith made disparaging remarks about black people and then-star player Rod Carew. 

"I'll tell you why we came to Minnesota. It was when I found out you only had 15,000 blacks here," Griffith said. "Black people don't go to ballgames, but they'll fill up a rassling ring and put up such a chant it'll scare you to death. It's unbelievable. We came here because you've got good, hard-working, white people here."

Griffith called Carew, who is black, a "damn fool" for signing a contract that paid him just $170,000 per year. Carew won the AL MVP in 1977. 

Carew vowed to never sign another contract with the Twins after Griffith's comments. He was traded to the California Angels in 1979.

In a statement provided to the Star-Tribune by the Twins, Carew praised the decision to remove the statue and said he had "long forgiven" Griffith for the comments.