Trevor Plouffe 'not a fan' of Rocco Baldelli calling Twins 'unprofessional'

"If you're going to sit there and call out people, you have to be ready to be called out."

Aug 28, 2024; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Minnesota Twins manager Rocco Baldelli (5) looks on during the seventh inning against the Atlanta Braves at Target Field. Mandatory Credit: Matt Krohn-Imagn Images / Matt Krohn-Imagn Images

After the Minnesota Twins were swept out of Kansas City by the Royals last weekend, manager Rocco Baldelli called his club "unprofessional" and ex-Twins third baseman Trevor Plouffe didn't like it.

"You bring up being called unprofessional and what does that mean in the clubhouse. It's not good. It's not a way to really get the trust of your players," Plouffe said on the SKOR North Twins Show. "They're not going to say, 'Man, thanks for calling me unprofessional, Rocco. I really needed that.' That's not what you're thinking. You understand things aren't going well. You need a kick in the ass every once in a while? Sure, sure, but being called unprofessional is not something that you like. You don't have to like everything that your manager does, but I think the choice of words there is poor."

Baldelli's exact quote, according to Bally Sports North's Audra Martin, on Sunday was: "That was an unprofessional series of baseball that was just played and that's all I'm going to say about it."

"Yeah, I don't like that. I mean, look, I'm never going to be a manager. Ever. You can probably write that down, put it in stone," Plouffe said. "Dude, the one thing that I'd want from my players, is for them to be able to come and talk to me about anything. I would be the ultimate players manager publicly. I would always have my players' backs, and if they need a kick in the butt, you go and do it in private."

It's unclear if the Twins have turned a corner after blasting the Angels on Tuesday night, but they have lost 15 of the last 22 games and with 18 games left in the regular season they are just three games ahead of Detroit for the last wild-card spot in the American League playoff race.

"I feel like we've been bashing the coaching staff a lot, or maybe people interpret it as that, but I don't think we are. I think they do a good job. I think they mean really well, but they've had some missteps along the way. That's OK because if you're going to sit there and call out people, you have to be ready to be called out."