Souhan: Dave St. Peter retiring as Twins president ... kind of

FORT MYERS, FLA. – Kip Elliott, the Twins chief financial officer, called Dave St. Peter a “unicorn.”

St. Peter, who grew up a Twins fan in North Dakota, offered a more Midwestern metaphor.

“I have always believed that there is an expiration date on leadership,” he said. “I don’t want to become that bottle of Thousand Island dressing in the back of the fridge that expired last October.”

On Monday, March 3, 2025, the Minnesota Twins will undergo a seismic organizational shift. St. Peter, who joined the organization as an intern and got his break selling T-shirts out of a team pro shop in a strip mall, will end a tenure of 35 years as a team employee and 22 years as team president, with Derek Falvey moving from chief baseball officer to president of baseball and business operations.

St. Peter grew up idolizing the Twins from his home in North Dakota. He is renowned for an obsessive work ethic and encyclopedic knowledge of the inner workings of the franchise. In 2019, he volunteered that his long hours and singlemindedness had cost him his marriage, and that he wanted to steer the organization toward being more humane and family-friendly.

Soon, he will take his own advice. “I still have a lot of work to do this year,” he said. “But at some point I’d like to maybe play a few more rounds of golf, and travel more, and spend much more time with the people I love.”

No one expects him to vanish. He is going to help the Pohlads with the sale of the team and ease Falvey’s transition. St. Peter said he’s also “perfectly positioned” to lead the Twins’ discussions with Hennepin County about extending the tax that helps maintain Target Field.

“I’m dealing with a wide range of emotions,” he said. “First and foremost, I’m feeling a lot of gratitude. It was never a given that I was going to have an opportunity to work in sports, never a given that I was going to have a chance to work for the Twins, and certainly never a given that I was going to be able to lead this organization.

“I never took a second of it for granted. I’m sentimental. I’m not sad. This was my choice. I wanted to find an exit ramp.”

He called Falvey “the right successor” and a “dear friend.” He also reminisced about joining a franchise that had recently won its first championship and was about to win its second.

“There are times when we take things too seriously, but I had more fun working for the Twins than anything I can imagine,” he said. “I love this organization. I love every aspect of it. It’s not perfect, but I love what it stands for, and I love the impact it has on people. Most important, I love the people that I worked with for over 35 years. Hopefully I’ve some impact on them, because I know they’ve had a helluva lot of impact on me.”

Elliott said that St. Peter should get credit for the creation and upkeep of Target Field, and said St. Peter’s wide-ranging expertise made him a standout at league meetings, and a “top-five team president in the industry.”

Dustin Morse, the Twins vice president of communications and content, remembered the many days he would arrive at the ballpark well before business hours, to work out, and find St. Peter’s car in the lot.

“I could not beat him to the ballpark,” Morse said. “And he was pretty much always here when I left. I remember last year him saying, `I’m not going to be around forever.'

“I thought he would be. You can’t imagine the organization without him.”

Morse said St. Peter was a demanding boss because he knew how everyone’s job should be done.

I can attest to that. I followed St. Peter for a few weeks in 2019. Before day games, he would tour the ballpark and greet every usher by name. He stopped to talk to fans, even those with complaints, and gave a speech to season-ticket holders.

“Something he told me is that a fan might only attend a game one time, and we’ve got an obligation to make it an enjoyable experience for that fan,” Morse said. “We can’t have an off day. We can’t guarantee a win, but we can guarantee a good time. It’s gotta be a great day at the ballpark. That was his guiding principle.”

Said manager Rocco Baldelli: “He’s dedicated his life not just to the Twins organization, but to the fans and the community. It took me a while to realize what `Twins Territory’ entails, and it’s vast, and it’s passionate. Dave has a deep love for the game, but moreso he thinks that the game can bring everyone in this area together.

“We have a great plan moving forward, but there might not be a single person that has made the imprint that Dave has on this organization. Most executives at the highest levels just don’t give of themselves the way Dave did, frankly. I’m happy for him as a human that he’s reached a point where he can reclaim some family time.”"

When Falvey was hired in October 2016, St. Peter was the first person in the organization he met. They went to a local coffee shop then walked to Target Field.

“He hired me when I was very young, and very green,” Falvey said. “His attitude was, `How can I help you be successful?' That was the Dave we saw every day inside the building.”

Morse said he would be shocked to see St. Peter sitting in the stands. “But that’s what I’m hoping for,” Morse said. “I want to see Dave St. Peter eating a hot dog, drinking a beer and enjoying a ballgame.”