Minneapolis ? Having failed to fold the Minnesota Twins, Bud Selig came to the Metrodome on Tuesday night to behold baseball’s biggest surprise team in the opener of the AL championship series.

“He should have been here,” Twins first baseman Doug Mientkiewicz said after Minnesota beat the Anaheim Angels 2-1. “It’s a playoff game. It’s the only one tonight.”

Baseball’s plan to eliminate the Twins and Montreal Expos last offseason was blocked by the Minnesota courts. Twins players, especially Doug Mientkiewicz, have said their inspiration is to have Selig hand them the World Series trophy later this month.

“If I was their Knute Rockne, then they owe me something for that,” the baseball commissioner said, citing the Notre Dame football coach of the 1920s who was famous for motivating players.

Baseball owners voted 28-2 last Nov. 6 to eliminate two teams for 2002, and their lawyers later told the players’ union that Minnesota and Montreal were the targets. Baseball agreed in its new labor deal not to eliminate teams until 2007 at the earliest.

Selig was perceived in Minnesota as trying to help Twins owner Carl Pohlad, a close friend, get a better price in contraction than he would in a sale.

“I know I’m the lightning rod when I have to deliver unpopular messages in behalf of a lot of people,” Selig said.

He’s been criticized in Minnesota for calling the Twins’ success this year an “aberration.” Speaking in the press box as Minnesota took a second-inning lead, he said his remark was misinterpreted, he was merely citing the statistic that teams in the top half of payroll won 219 of 224 postseason games from 1995-2001.

“There were things said this winter that really hurt a lot of people around here this year,” Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said. “It’s going to be a tough atmosphere, but he’s a pretty strong man. … Hopefully, our fans will treat him with respect.”