Twins manager Paul Molitor bans hoverboards from the clubhouse

‘Tis the season for MLB teams to ban fun things, apparently. A couple days after the Baltimore Orioles banned pie-in-the-face celebrations, the Minnesota Twins have banned hoverboards. 

[2016 Yahoo Fantasy Baseball is open for business. Sign up now]

This shouldn’t be a controversial decision for two reasons: Those things are prone to catch fire and we’re talking about athletes that make a ton of money. Nonetheless, these so-called “hoverboards” (they wheel, they don’t hover, that’s our standard objection to the name) have caught popularity with professional athletes over the past year and change. The Twins clubhouse at the end of 2015 season was no different.

Paul Miller of the Minneapolis Star Tribune explains: 

The Twins were especially entertained by Mike Pelfrey’s awkward attempts to stay upright, but Twins manager Paul Molitor decided not to wait for the first broken wrist or sprained ankle to institute a new rule. These guys earn millions of dollars, after all, so their health is paramount.

“They just seemed a little too dangerous,” said Molitor, who banned the contraptions from Minnesota’s clubhouse this spring. “The guys had fun with them, but you’ve got to be aware that someone could get hurt.”

Last season, Molitor put restrictions on when Twins players could use their mobile devices. Who’s to say whether it had anything to do with that rule, but the Twins were a surprising contender during his first season as manager. They won 83 games, finished second in the AL Central and nearly made the playoffs. 

[Previously: Hoverboard Ump is here and we’re one step closer to robot umpires]

If nothing else, Molitor has showed Twins players that his ways work. That might make it easier to put the hoverboards away.

More MLB coverage from Yahoo Sports:

– – – – – – –

Mike Oz is the editor of Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @MikeOz