With 81 home games per summer, working at Target Field provides a steady, reliable income for hundreds of part-time employees. Unless those games aren't played.
To help those workers keep getting paid while baseball waits out the coronavirus pandemic, the Twins on Tuesday formally committed at least $1 million to compensate their seasonal ballpark employees for cancelled games. There were 22 games scheduled at Target Field between April 2 and mid-May, all of which have now been wiped away by a national quarantine.
"The Twins family extends beyond our players and staff, and includes all those who help make Target Field the best experience in baseball," the team said in a statement. "To help those in our family most affected in these challenging and uncertain times, we are pledging at least $1 million to support our gamely staff."
Details of how the compensation pool will be distributed are still being worked out.
All 30 MLB teams will make the same commitment, commissioner Rob Manfred. "Motivated by a desire to help some of the most valuable members of the baseball community, each club has committed $1 million," his statement read. "I am proud that our clubs came together so quickly and uniformly to support these individuals who provide so much to the game we love."
NHL and NBA teams have also pledged to help support arena employees left without work during the pandemic
