Kenta Maeda apologizes to Minnesota Twins for his presence

One could understand why Kenta Maeda would have wanted to be in the Minnesota Twins dugout. He is still recovering from Tommy John surgery, hoping to return to the roster in September. With the Twins in Tampa Bay while he is rehabbing in Florida, it made sense for Maeda to stop by to say hello.

Well, so much for that. Maeda was in the dugout for all of three innings on Friday. During that time, the Rays outscored the Twins 6-0, prompting him to not only leave the dugout, but to leave an apology note behind.

Minnesota Twins clearly better without Kenta Maeda

As soon as his presence was gone, the Twins erupted. Not only did they come from behind to win on Friday, but they have overrun the Rays since. From the fourth inning on Friday through the end of the game on Sunday, the Twins outscored the Rays 19-4. While their seven game winning streak came to an end on Friday, the Twins certainly did not let that affect them at all.

The Twins, however, did take note that their offense came to life once more when Maeda left. He stated that his teammates all thanked him for departing, the first time he ever heard anyone thank him for not showing up to the game.

Clearly, something about Maeda was not working for the lineup. He threw off whatever cosmic balance was happening within the clubhouse. The only way that balance would be restored was for Maeda to not only depart, but to apologize for being there in the first place.

Kenta Maeda’s decision to visit his Minnesota Twins teammates and watch from the dugout did not please the Baseball Gods. His apology seems to have made amends.