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Twins vs. Tigers postponed after teams vote not to play

Comerica Park Tigers Baseball
Posted at 4:15 PM, Aug 27, 2020
and last updated 2020-08-27 21:17:07-04

DETROIT (WXYZ) -- Thursday night's game between the Minnesota Twins and Detroit Tigers has been postponed.

Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reports the decision came after the Twins voted not to play Thursday night's game.

"The Minnesota Twins remain committed to using our platforms to push for racial justice and equality," the team said in a statement. "Therefore, we fully respect our players for their decision to not play tonight's game versus the Detroit Tigers."

Tigers manager Ron Gardenhire later said Detroit players, in a separate team meeting, also made the decision not to play Thursday.

"We had a very emotional meeting in the clubhouse, and our players spoke out about what was going on in this country," Gardenhire said after the postponement. "Some of our players stepped up. (Cameron) Maybin and guys like that really spoke out deeply. They were concerned and hurt. And we knew it was gonna be a really tough time to try and get out on a baseball field."

Gardenhire added it was important to reaffirm how much team leadership supports players.

"We try to understand what they go through on a day-to-day basis. And a lot of them reached out to us and basically told us what they're going through on a day-to-day basis with all of these things happening. So we stand unified as a group, baseball does, and our baseball team did too."

"Personally I don't know how good it would have been if we did play, because there was a lot of emotion in that clubhouse."

The Twins and Tigers were scheduled to open a four game series Thursday night at Comerica Park. Thursday's game will be made up as part of a traditional doubleheader Friday afternoon.

During a video conference with reporters Thursday prior to the postponement, Tigers general manager Al Avila expressed his support for player protests.

The Tigers released a statement Thursday night that echoed thoughts shared earlier in the day by Avila.

"The Detroit Tigers fully respect the decision of our players and coaches not to take the field for tonight's game," the statement read. "We stand behind them and appreciate the sincerity of the process and their conversations. This decision comes as we think of all those who are victims of injustice and inequality. Tonight, we join others from across sports to reflect, unify and channel our energy towards a cause that should be vital to all: equality."

A total of seven MLB games were postponed Thursday night.