On a couple of occasions this column has mentioned that David Samson, president of the Miami Marlins, is viewed in front-office hierarchies as the most disliked executive in Major League Baseball. Last week he revealed himself to be the dumbest, too.

In a speech to a Miami economic development agency, the Beacon Council, Samson made some remarks that in his warped view he might have thought were humorous but that insulted the politicians who were instrumental in enabling the Marlins to get a new park and the fans the team hopes will fill it.

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You don’t find many baseball organizations like the Minnesota Twins. In an era in which most teams and players don’t know the meaning of the word loyalty, don’t understand the concept of loyalty, the Twins are an aberration. The Twins demonstrate their loyalty to their employees, and the employees show loyalty to the team.

Most recent example: After finishing last season with one of the worst records in their history (63-99), they fired Bill Smith as general manager. But in bringing back Smith’s predecessor, Terry Ryan, they asked Smith to remain in a different front-office position.

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He could have been one of the core four, but that would have made them the core five – Derek Jeter, Mariano Rivera, Jorge Posada, Andy Pettitte and Brien Taylor.

The first four players are well known as the nucleus of the New York Yankees’ four World Series championships in five years. The fifth, Taylor, is known only to Yankees’ fans and a few others with good memories.

Taylor’s situation reminds me of the memorable Marlon Brando line from the movie “On the Waterfront,” in which, as Terry Malloy, a washed up fighter, he says, “I coulda been a contender; I coulda been somebody.”

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