The Minnesota Twins logo during an MLB game at Target Field. Credit: Brad Rempel-USA TODAY Sports; IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect Credit: Brad Rempel-USA TODAY Sports; IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
By Michael Grant on

Aaron Gleeman is as Minnesota as they come.

He grew up in St. Paul, attended the University of Minnesota, and now lives in Minneapolis. He began writing about the Minnesota Twins while in college. When the longtime Twins writer for The Athletic was told by his bosses to stop covering the Twins, he chose what seemed right for him.

Gleeman has left The Athletic and relaunched AaronGleeman.com as an independent subscription site. The 43-year-old is striking out on his own to provide Twins coverage for his readers. We recently caught up with Gleeman to discuss his decision and goals.

Note: This interview has been edited and condensed for length and clarity.

Awful Announcing: You had been with The Athletic since 2019. Was leaving a difficult decision?

Aaron Gleeman: “It was definitely difficult because I loved working at The Athletic. It was a dream job. I would have stayed. But once the job and the role changed, they approached me in early April and told me they were going to take me off the Twins and wanted me to do more of a news desk role or more national stuff on baseball.

“Over the next couple of weeks, I talked it through with them, but once I realized that if you’re not covering the team you want to cover in the state you live in and writing about what you’re passionate about, it ceases to be the dream job, I ultimately felt pretty good about the decision.”

What are your emotions right now?

“It’s definitely a big risk, personally, professionally, and financially. It’s a little scary, but I feel that, no matter what happens on the financial front, I can feel good that I’m doing what I’m passionate about for an audience that wants it and cutting out the middleman. Just writing directly for them is, in many ways, exciting.”

What reasons did The Athletic give you for making the change?

“They didn’t give me a lot of great reasons. Obviously, the Twins have struggled over the past two or three years. I don’t think our readership numbers were down. All of our annual reviews were very good. I never got a negative review. I always beat my goals for metrics. I have a feeling, from some of the things they said, that The New York Times looked at it and said, ‘Why do we have two writers covering the Minnesota Twins?’ And so I’m hopeful that they keep my former beat partner, Dan Hayes. He does a great job, and he’s a great guy, and I enjoyed working with him. But I do worry about the shrinking local coverage.”

What would you say to someone who claims that writing about baseball at the national level is a great gig?

“That’s fair. And that’s something I wrestled with over the last few weeks. It’s not a bad job, the role they were offering me. It is a job I might have jumped at 15 years ago. It’s a job that whoever fills it now will be lucky to have. But from my perspective, I’ve been doing this a long time. I am an established voice on the Twins locally. I feel my situation is different because I’m not just a baseball writer who happened to be covering the Twins at this stage. I’m a Twins writer. I cover the Twins. I have a podcast about the Twins. I go on the radio and talk about the Twins. I write about the Twins.”

Why does writing about the Twins mean so much to you?

“I was born and raised in Minnesota. I don’t plan to ever leave. I’m a lifelong Minnesotan. I grew up a Twins fan. I wrote about them for many years, when no one paid me or read my work. So the opportunity to cover them as a more traditional beat writer for The Athletic was really fun for me. It’s just what I love to do. I think it’s what I’m best at. It’s what I’m most passionate about.”

How would you persuade someone to subscribe to AaronGleeman.com?

“If you are passionate about the Twins and interested in day-to-day, in-depth analysis and coverage of the Twins, whether in the majors or in minor-league coverage, interviews, reporting, opinion, all that stuff, I’ve been doing this for a really long time. And I think I’m good at it.

“I know people have a lot of subscriptions these days, and this is adding another one. But I think I’ve priced it at $8 per month or $2 per week, and you can also get a discount on a year-long subscription. I feel very confident that people will get their money’s worth and then some.”

How many subscribers do you have?

“My whole idea behind this was that if I could get a thousand paying subscribers, that would be enough to make a living from this, make it a job, and really focus on it. I’m happy to say we’re at 1,000 subscribers now, so the support has been overwhelming and has just blown me away. And all the kind words, messages, and everything I’ve gotten on social media have been great.”

Are you married? Do you have children?

“I am not married, but I am basically married. 12-year relationship, no children, a cat. So, in that sense, maybe a little less risky. I’m not trying to put kids through college or anything like that. My girlfriend has been a saint throughout this, very supportive and very helpful. She definitely encouraged me, once I told her about the situation with The Athletic and how it was unfolding, to bet on myself, believe in myself, and be willing to take a leap of faith.”

Have you reached out to others who have taken the independent path?

“Yes, definitely. I’m subscribed to some newsletters on Ghost or Substack. Away from sports, one of my favorite writers is Alan Sepinwall. He covers television and was at Rolling Stone for a long time. He started his own website on Ghost, which I’m using as the content system. I talked to him a little bit about the behind-the-scenes stuff. And then there’s also a very big Twins fan named Aaron Rupar, who writes about politics on Substack. I talked to him a little bit a few weeks ago. That was definitely very helpful.”

What will success look like in a year?

“If I’m doing what I love, which is covering the Minnesota Twins, and I’m able to do it in a way I love, which I think the independence will bring, and I’m able to do it for an audience that is both sizable and passionate about reading my stuff, which I think we’ve basically already gotten to that point and I would expect it to continue growing, that’s plenty for me. That’s all I need.”

About Michael Grant

Born in Jamaica. Grew up in New York City. Lives in Louisville, Ky. Sports writer. Not related to Ulysses S. Grant.

View all posts by Michael Grant