The Twins and MLB "fired back" at MN Attorney General
Hubert Humphrey III on Friday, "seeking to block" his
preliminary investigation into the sport's longstanding
federal antitrust exemption, according to Jay Weiner of the
Minneapolis STAR TRIBUNE. In MN District Court, the Twins
asked that the AG's probe of the sport's economics "be
quashed," while in U.S. District Court, the AL, NL and
Acting Commissioner Bud Selig asked that Humphrey be stopped
from his "intrusive ... overbroad and burdensome" attempt to
uncover the "inner workings" of MLB. Weiner reported that
in his questions to Selig and prospective NC-Twins buyer Don
Beaver, Humphrey asked Selig to "reveal any marketing plans
he has for the Brewers if the Twins flee," while Beaver was
asked whether anyone affiliated with MLB had "indicated that
it would be easier" for him to obtain an expansion club if
he made an offer to buy the Twins. Lawyers for the Twins
argued that Humphrey "doesn't have the authority to seek any
information" because the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in '22 and
again in '72 that baseball is "exempt from state and federal
antitrust laws" (Minneapolis STAR TRIBUNE, 1/17).
