Warm reception

Potential Twins owner greets fans at Mall of America

Twins fan Daniel Hong shakes hands with Alabama businessman Donald Watkins. AP

BLOOMINGTON, Minn. (AP) -- Alabama businessman Donald Watkins, who wants to buy the Twins, shook hands with nearly 200 avid fans Saturday at the Mall of America.

Chants of "Save the Twins" echoed through the rotunda.

"The weather may be cold up here, but the reception is warm," said Watkins, who hopes to meet with officials of the commissioner's office on Jan. 10 to discuss a possible purchase of the team.

Current owner Carl Pohlad wants out after failing to gain approval of government financing for a new ballpark.

Watkins, who would be major league baseball's first black controlling owner, promised that if he bought the team it would stay in the Twin Cities area and he would pursue a privately financed ballpark that would be used solely for baseball.

Baseball owners voted Nov. 6 to eliminate two teams before next season, and Minnesota and Montreal are the leading candidates. But a Minnesota district court judge issued an injunction 10 days later that forces the Twins to honor their 2002 lease at the Metrodome.

An appeal by baseball and the Twins is scheduled for Thursday.

Wearing an old Minnesota North Stars jacket, Larry Lick of South St. Paul watched as fans swarmed Watkins, who spent nearly two hours shaking hands and signing autographs.

Lick, 55, remembers the same sense of urgency among fans when the North Stars moved to Dallas eight years ago.

"It just brought me to tears," Lick said. "We can't let another franchise go, it would be a slap in the face to this community."

Watkins says he has received thousands of supportive e-mails, faxes, letters and phone calls.

Greg Dryden, a 40-year-old who missed only two games at the Metrodome last season, showed up early for Watkins' appearance, waving a large Twins flag above the crowd.

"He's the total opposite of Pohlad," said Dryden, of Bloomington. "He's not afraid to spend his own money, and he seems like a guy you might catch in the stands. He cares about his team."

Watkins, a banker and energy company executive, deflected questions about his financial status, saying only that he has the money to buy the team. "I have no problem paying my bills and paying for what I want," he said.

Watkins, who also is interested in the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, was accompanied by former major league player Harold Reynolds.

"He has a real strong passion to win and is very personable," Reynolds said. "How many prospective owners go to the mall and hang out with the fans?"

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