Twins’ Black players reflect on a ‘special’ clubhouse

First in a series

In their final game notes for the 2026 season, the Minnesota Twins communications department listed nine “Notes That Will Make Your Brain Fall Out of Your Skull,” but they ignored the one fact that the Twins had a league-high five Black players plus a Black coach. A fact that seemingly only MSR and MLBbro.com cared to regularly talk about.

Before and after Sunday’s 6-4 season finale win over Texas, we conducted our own “exit interviews” with the six aforementioned men of color:

DH Josh Bell said he realized “how special this clubhouse is” a couple of months into the season. On the Twins having five Black players, “Yeah, it’s cool. It all starts with (Byron) Buxton leading the way. He’s such a special player, a special person that makes it really easy. He’s a guy who you want to play with.”

The 11-year veteran in his first season in Minnesota led the club with 96 RBI, the most by a Twin since 2021. He hit his 21st homer on Sunday and finished among the AL’s top 10 switch hitters. When asked if he’d like to return next season, Bell said, “My family loves it here and my wife loves it here. The vibes in this clubhouse are special. We’ll see what happens in a month or two.”

OF Byron Buxton had season-ending hip surgery in September. He has been with the club for good since June 2015 and is largely considered the Twins’ heart and soul. “To be able to be teammates with this many Black guys is something special,” Buxton told me during a pregame media scrum on Sunday. “Obviously you want to see more Blacks playing,” he stressed, adding that he hopes other major league clubs follow the Twins’ example. 

INF Royce Lewis: After returning from St. Paul, he started 74 games at first base in his last 90 games played since June 6. His 15 homers and 57 RBI are both career highs. Another overlooked fact: Lewis hit the team’s first homer of the season in a 4-1 win at Baltimore, and the team’s last, a solo shot in the eighth inning in his final at-bat of 2026 on Sunday. “It’s cool to be the Twin that gets the first home run of the season, and the last one for the Twins,” said Lewis afterward.

On the team’s diversity, “We definitely have diversity within the team whether it’s Latino, African American, or White. We have all the races covered, and it’s fun to see the Twins are diverse in that matter. We are here to play baseball no matter what color your skin,” reiterated Lewis, who has played nearly five years in the majors.

P Taj Bradley: The starting right-hander led the Twins in 2026 in strikeouts (206), wins (12) and starts (31), and became the first Twins pitcher to reach 200 strikeouts since 2023. He also threw the first immaculate inning in Minnesota history when three A’s batters all fanned on nine pitches in a game in August. “The more reps you get, the time, experience, age, you be able to harness all that stuff and become a better pitcher,” said the 25-year-old hurler.

“Once he’s locked in, he has a chance to compete for a Cy Young,” said first-year Twins Bullpen Coach LaTroy Hawkins on Bradley. “I think this year he grew a lot maturity-wise … I think he learned a lot this year.” Hawkins was the only Black member of the team’s coaching staff this season.

SS Kaelen Culpepper hit safely in 23 of 33 games and started every game he played after his promotion from Triple-A St. Paul in early August. He is considered a fixture at shortstop in 2027. “It won’t be easy but I am more than capable of doing it. I can’t wait, I am excited for next year and what the future holds,” he told us. “This clubhouse is fantastic. From the first day that I got here, they welcomed me with open arms and made me feel at home. They helped me with everything and gave me advice. I love the family environment here. Everybody treats [me] with respect.”

First-year Manager Derek Shelton, speaking before Sunday’s game, pointed specifically to Josh Bell’s leadership. “At the major league level, I think it’s great and I think it’s really important the leadership that we have in that room,” he told me. “I’m proud of the diversity and how well they all communicate, interact and grow together.”

“I want to thank each one of the fans who are reading everything that you are writing, and thank you for your hard work this year. It’s been a pleasure,” concluded Lewis.

What about Black fans at Twins home games? We talked to several folks, including a team official, on the topic. Their comments will appear in next week’s View.

Charles Hallman welcomes reader responses at challman@spokesman-recorder.com.

 Copyright © Charles Hallman