3:15pm: Gardenhire has been offered a different position within the organization, Ryan said at today’s press conference. Gardenhire says that he hasn’t decided whether or not he would have interest.
1:05pm: La Velle E. Neal III of the Star Tribune reports that the “entire coaching staff is not being brought back,” though he does note that because the new manager will get to choose his staff, some of the current coaches could find their way onto next year’s staff (Twitter links). Presumably, that would happen if the Twins were to hire an internal candidate such as Paul Molitor or Terry Steinbach, both of whom were coaches on this year’s staff.
12:08pm: The Twins have fired longtime manager Ron Gardenhire, the team announced. The 2010 AL Manager of the Year will be replaced following four straight seasons of 90+ losses, and the Twins will immediately begin looking for Gardenhire’s replacement. The status of the other members of the Minnesota coaching staff will be determined by both the new manager and by Twins GM Terry Ryan.
Gardenhire, 56, has been with the Twins organization since 1988, first a
s a minor league manager and then for 11 years as the team’s third base coach. He took over from Tom Kelly prior to the 2002 season and enjoyed immediate success, leading the Twins to three straight AL Central titles. “Gardy” managed three more AL Central winners from 2006-10, though in all six of his postseason appearances, Minnesota only won one playoff series.
After that extended run of quality results, the last four seasons have been a different story for Gardenhire and the Twins, as the team struggled to a 265-383 record and finished in last place in three of those four years. Poor roster construction and a lack of minor league depth was generally blamed for Minnesota’s problems rather than Gardenhire, though even in the winning years, he took some criticism for his lineup construction.
Gardenhire has an 1068-1039 record over his career, and given his strong pedigree and reputation around baseball, one would think he’d be an instant candidate for other managerial openings around the game. The Rangers, Diamondbacks and Astros are currently looking for new managers.
This will be the first managerial search in over a generation for the Twins — since September 1986, Kelly and Gardenhire have been the club’s only two skippers. USA Today’s Bob Nightengale predicts that either Terry Steinbach or Paul Molitor (both current members of the Twins coaching staff) will be the next manager. Red Sox bench coach Torey Lovullo could also be an external candidate, FOX Sports’ Jon Morosi tweets.
Gardenhire’s firing was reported by Patrick Reusse of the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports (Twitter link). Earlier in the day, ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick tweeted that “the word is not good” on Gardenhire’s status with the club, though the report was unconfirmed at the time.
Photo courtesy of Rick Osentoski/USA Today Sports Images
Rockies need to hire this man right now.
They seem to know how to lose well enough without his services.
Braves
Rangers?
I can’t believe the Twins let him go. I think anyone looking for a skipper should consider him. Rangers, Astros, Diamondbacks, all could use him.
Didn’t they extend him this year too?
Prior to the season, he got a two-year extension.
I agree with you Jay but as sad as i am it was time.
You must not be a Twins fan. Look at his record. 6-21 in playoff games with 12 losses in a row. Four 90+ losses…..you can have him.
He also won coach of the year and finished 2nd 5 times. Not to mention that he was working with a very low budget team for most of his tenure. Any other manager in his shoes would have probably not even made past year 3 under those circumstances.
They may have wanted to leave within the first couple years
Some of that blame has to come to the front office and even the ownership. Look at the Angels this year… Scioscia didn’t all of sudden become a manager this year from last. Pujols was healthy, pitching staff improved, bullpen improved and low and behold, 98 games won, best overall record in baseball. Go Figure. It’s too bad the Houston job has been filled, that team might be very good, very soon. I hope he gets the Diamondbacks Job, just so the Angels don’t have to see him all year.
It was time for a change Gardy did a good job for a long time.
It had to be done. Gardy does not have a good track record with young players anyway.
Thank God this happened before he got the chance to turn Sano and Buxton into slap hitters and teach Berrios to pitch to contact.
I think you give managers too much credit.
Look at all the players who reached their potential AFTER leaving the Twins. That’s not a good sign of your coaching staff.
Yea, there has also been players who have reached their potential with the Twins, and plenty who have continued to stink after they left.
Very well said.
Gardy is alright, don’t get me wrong. It just seems like he really wanted to make his players play his game, rather than forming the game around the player’s strengths. Carlos Gomez was supposed to be our blue chip prospect in the Santana trade, Gardy essentially gave up on the guy when Carlos made it clear he didn’t think he was a “small ball” type player. David Ortiz told the Red Sox that Gardy wanted him to focus on moving runners over and not playing off his strengths. He kept Anderson on his staff when our pitching has been absolutely horrendous for almost 7/8 years now. He and Anderson have developed only one pitcher that could miss bats (Santana), with their focus on his pitchers not walking anybody. He didn’t adapt to the way the AL was moving, it became arena ball during his tenure. His small ball and in game tactics are cute, but they sure didn’t scare anybody. He’d be great as the D-backs next manager I’d think, where his philosophies are better suited for the NL.
Who exactly?
Just this year, Phil Hughes, Kurt Suzuki, and Danny Santana off the top of my head.
Yeah I don’t know if that’s fair. If so, we should also give him credit for Danny Santana, Brian Dozier, and Phil Hughes this year.
When they started look reach their potential they were traded by Smith or Ryan. They were a commodity and treated as such. I’m sure Gardy would have loved to keep the majority like Morneau, Cuddy, etc. Some players were not good for the clubhouse like Lohse and Gomez.
Time to come home, Gardy.
I’d like to see him as bench coach since Collins is back.
I think that would be a good move, I don’t think he should manage another team right away.
Why would he do that? He is going to be paid for next year, as he has the second year of a two year contract to live on. He isn’t going to be anyone’s bench coach. If he wants to manage next year, he will have the opportunity to do so, and he will make more money than he did managing the Twins.
While he will be a top candidate for just about every opening, I don’t think you realize how unguaranteed a job is. Managers have to be the right fit. It looks better if he accepts a job than if he just sits out the year
Not a fan. Must have been internal issues because the Twins have not given him much chance to succeed with limited talent and seemingly no increase in salary for better players after getting a brand new ballpark.
Did you forget the signings of Nolasco, Hughes, Suzuki, Morales, and Pelfrey?
Yeah but the payroll this year compared to last went up marginally (a shade over $3 million) and it’s down $26 million since 2007.
Payroll is down 20 million from the year they moved into Target Field.
I do not know all of the specifics with the payroll… I just simply pointed out that 5 guys were signed, and at the very least 4 of the 5 were said to be roster upgrades over the players from the previous year. Yet, the overall record on the field, failed to show improvements (even thou Hughes and Suzuki played well above expectations).
Lol come on does that really sound like Playoff calibre signings? Nolasco was a bad signing from day one. Hughes was a change of scenery. Suzuki decided he could hit again this season. Morales was a sign and trade from the onset and was barely hitting to boot. So no he really didn’t have a whole lot to work with.
It really doesn’t matter if the 5 signings listed above were change of scenery or playoff caliber types of players. All 5 were regarded as upgrades from the previous year. Yet the on the field performance remained the same from a team record standpoint (bad)
Look, I am not putting this all on RG. Terry Ryan has some fault here too (which i am not going to get into)… But change was needed.
And when you say Morales, Nolasco and Pelfrey were upgrades, what does that tell you? Either Gardenhire underperformed this year or worked miracles not to lose more games the previous year. Think of how much less talent he had in 2013.
Sadly, I am not sure. He hasn’t been give the best chance to succeed as of late.
How was it Gardenhire’s fault that Nolasco, Morales and Pelfrey were foolish signings? They tried to rebuild on the cheap and got away with it with Hughes and Suzuki.
Its not…. Like i said earlier “I am not putting this all on RG. Terry Ryan has fault here too”. But you cant tell me, that given Nolasco’s 2013 year with MIA and LAD, Ricky was not a upgrade at the time. Let me remind you that the 2013 rotation consisted of Cole De Vries, PJ Walters, Kevin Correia, Scott Diamond, Pedro Hernandez, Vance Worley and Liam Hendricks eating up about 80% of the games started. The signing of Nolasco was needed, was considered a solid upgrade at the time, was not foolish, it just simply didn’t pan out as expected…. Some work (Hughes/Suzuki) and some don’t (Nolasco/Morales). Sounds like MLB free agency in a nut shell.
Had the GM done his homework he would have known that Nolasco wouldn’t work he had ONE good year his free agent year. To call Nolasco an upgrade is pushing it.
Call it what you want… But as I have stated on here twice already – Nolasco was better than running out any of the following starters from 2013 again – Cole De Vries, PJ Walters, Kevin Correia, Scott Diamond, Pedro Hernandez, Vance Worley and Liam Hendrick. Did it work out?? No, not at all. But that is free agency for you. At least the Twins made an effort to improve the ball club, even results were not as desired.
But signing a bad player to replace a bad player isn’t improving the club the GM failed to evaluate Nolasco correctly. You can’t lose a bad player and replace him with another bad player and say “well we tried, so sorry we’re firing the manager.” It makes no sense. If the team failed it was the GM and the Owners fault not the Manager.
Anytime you replace a guy from a group (all listed above) who has a career ERA of 6+ with a guy who had a career ERA of 4.5 at the time he signed, it is an upgrade. Truthfully, Nolasco was horrible, yet he was still better than the options from the previous year. Which in a strange way, means he is still an upgrade, as scary as that sounds.
Nolasco didnt get RG fired… RG was toast before ownership decided to bring Nolasco on. The writing has been on the wall for 2-3 years. True, all the blame should not be put on RG… But if the minor league system was not as good as it is (hopefully its true) Terry Ryan would be gone too… At this point, that has to be the only thing saving his job. Because the last 4 years major league roster has been horrible.
Morales? Didn’t they sign him literally after the draft and trade him a month later… and he was batting like 220 for the Twins… not much of a signing if you ask me.
Yes, that is true. But it does not change the fact that at the time of the signing Morales was an upgrade for the team. Let me remind you that DH/1B was a disaster. Mauer missed 6 weeks on the DL, and even when he was healthy he did not produce numbers to warrant starting anywhere other than C (.276 BA & 4 HR). Pinto hit .218. Parmelee did not produce value. And Vargas was still in the minor leagues.
Yes, Morales did not live up to expectations, was little help to the big league club, and was traded to SEA. But at the time of his signing, Morales was surely an upgrade for MINN given that they were already having sub par play out of Mauer, Pinto, and Parmelee (all for various reasons).
While i agree, it’s not like Mets and Terry Collins. They didn’t give him a chance to succeed but they knew he would eventually get a chance. I don’t think any manager is going to get that “chance” in Minnesota. So the only option is to let the guy go and hope the next guy you hire is Houdini
Good. Clean house and get these old farts who only know how to lose out of there.
Nothing against Gardenhire, but something had to change in Minnesota. It wasn’t working.
it’s a good start. a whole bunch of other people still need to go.
You are correct in that everyone has an expiration date in their field of work. Gardenhire said at the press conference that the players need to hear a new voice. Of course, change can work either one of two ways.
It’s official: Twins announced on their Twitter feed that Gardenhire is not returning.
I’m surprised it didn’t happen sooner. He seemed too non-chalant during those playoff series with the Yankees.
He was lethargic after eating one of those steak sandwiches from Yankee stadium.
He would be a perfect fit for the White Sox, who may have the majors worst manager in Ventura and would be able to bring in a guy who knows the division and their players well.
It doesn’t take an inside man to beat the Twins.
They aren’t the only team in the division.
Gardenhire isn’t the only one who knows who plays for AL Central teams. That would be weird move.
I’d much rather have Robin than some of the other managers in the league. He has the respect of his players and staff and although his bullpen management needs to improve, he’s improved on his other areas in each of his 3 seasons.
That being said, ANY team would be lucky to get Gardy. I’ve been a fan of his for a while now.
Gardenhire goes to KC after Dayton Moore takes the atl gm position.
This guy seriously had Danny Santana, Eduardo Escobar, Eduardo Nunez, and Pedro Florimon all in the lineup (all no-pop natural SS) NUMEROUS times this season. You can’t even give the defensive logic, as the Twins actually were one of the worst defensive teams this season.
Seeing Brendan Ryan makes me wish Nunez was still a Yankee
Don’t forget, he also put his best SS in CF.
Santana looks extremely promising, and hopefully is the SS of the future. But my god, I’ll never understand why some of these guys got SO MANY at-bats. Let’s also not forget his previous buddies: Mastrionni, Thomas, Casilla, Hughes, Tolbert, Punto, Bartlett, etc. Still can’t believe these guys got more opportunities than some of the others we’ve let go.
I see Lovullo taking a managerial job somewhere. Pete Abraham tweeted out earlier today: “Farrell did not endorse the idea of all of the Red Sox coaches coming back. Sounds like changes will be made.” So he could be a managerial candidate somewhere.
He’d be an interesting hire in KC should Dayton Moore move on to ATL. Similar scenario in KC to the early Twins teams he had. I believe he’s a Wichita guy. Of course, anyone can hire him… even though a few of the open slots are likely semi filled already
If the Twins look outside, why not Rays AAA Manager, Charlie Montoyo? Very well respected manager, and his background would work well with many Hispanic players we have coming up in the organization.
Rays bench coach has been mentioned as an outside candidate. Not sure If I’ve seen Montoyo’s name.
How is he 56 years old! I would have guessed early 70s.
Managing, and losing, has aged him a lot….but I don’t think he looks in his 70s.
The move was first and foremost a need for a change. Even if someone isn’t a bad manager, if the message is the same every day for years eventually it gets tuned out.
The other big thing is that while Gardenhire was a good manager, he surrounded himself with a lot of bad coaches. He was very loyal to those coaches, who weren’t doing a good job and deserved to be let go, and prevented them from being replaced. Ultimately that contributed to the Twins decline and ultimately to his firing.
The same unwillingness to hold his coach/friends accountable carried through to some of the players he was close to. That created a “country club” culture in the locker room where no one felt the need to play hurt or really give the extra effort to develop. That’s harmed the development of the young players, a problem that could have been even more tragic if it had continued and stunted the Buxtons and Sanos getting ready to come up.
I generally think managerial changes are over analyzed. They are typically the easiest change organization can make. If there’s a solid organizational philosophy, then the manager is reduced to in game and player management. I think Gardenhire was less fired than “reorganized”
Dollars to Doughnuts he signs with the Rangers. He has friends in that organization.
I don’t know what to say about this move. Gardenhire was given very little to work with and has brought the Twins lots of success in the past. Then again, maybe they just felt like a new era needed a new manager.
Gardenhire is still a great skipper and should be the top target for every club in need. I think the Rangers are the best fit
It’s a really sad day for me to see Ron go. But it was time
I’ll bet all the lakes in Minnesota that Steinbach becomes manager.
That’s been the rumor
I wonder if the D’Backs will be looking to Steinbach too, with Dave Stewart being the GM and La Russa president.
Why stop there? Imagine the Twins hire Steinbach and the D-Backs hire Carney Lansford out of nowhere since Walt Weiss is taken.
I almost wish they could of let him resign
Look on the plus side Ron, there are a lot of job openings in the MLB right now.
Ozzie! Ozzie! Ozzie! Proven winner. Good track record with talent, especially young talent, and especially useful for mentoring young talent not born in the U.S. Well versed in two languages. Loves the game. Passionate about the game. Speaks his mind. Loves the Twins. Intelligent man. Would represent a clean break. Handles pitchers well. Would bring some life to this stale franchise.
I hated him in Chicago (rivals) but I just might agree. There was just an article not to long ago that mentioned the Twins lack of coaching different languages.
I love Gardy, but this move was overdue. The Twins fans base’s attitudes have seemed to move from acceptance that the team was noncompetitive, to frustration and then negativity, and finally to apathy over the last two or three seasons. Even diehard Twins fans barely seem to mention them anymore, and too many of them blame it all on the coaching staff.
Even though I went from a Gardy apologist to wanting to see him (and especially Anderson) fired over the last two seasons, I’m still kinda sad to see it happen. The Twins had some really exciting and successful regular seasons under Gardy’s watch. It’s a shame how people seemed to forget that after a few years in the cellar. I really hope he finds a comfy spot to manage somewhere else. I don’t think he’ll be unemployed for very long. Good Luck, Gardy!
Only about 4 years too late.
Gardenhire to the Astros
Oops a lil to late didnt see the Astros hired aj hinch
I really don’t think Gardenhire has been the problem in Minnesota the last bunch of years. The problem has been a bunch of lousy moves in the front office along with trouble developing quality pitching.
I wouldn’t be surprised if the mets offer him a spot
How about giving the guy a little talent to work with, eh?
Think about all the talent that’s left the Twins organization in trades and signings over the last few and hasn’t been replaced: Matt Garza, J.J. Hardy, Carlos Gomez, Michael Cuddyer, Delmon Young, Joe Nathan… Yes, they picked up players to fill their spots, but the Twins aren’t a deep enough organization to just let people go and wait for a minor leaguer to work himself into position.
I have no comments on Gardenhire as a manager, but considering they were mediocre at the peak of his tenure it seemed puzzling that he lasted this long. They didn’t win a single playoff series other than his first year and had 2 total playoffs wins since then, getting swept 3 times.
Gardenhire was crippled by the disaster that was Bill Smith as a GM. The cupboard was slowly picked clean and replacements were far off on the horizon. They’ve been talking up Buxton and the poor kid is only 2+ years out of HS and he’s got ridiculous expectations he’s carrying. The same goes for Sano and Polanco. Heaven forbid these guys don’t rake at the Show — it could be crushing to the organization.
It’s GM Terry Ryan who should have been axed, based on Kevin Correia, Ricky Nolasco & Mike Pelfrey.
Yes, but the farm system is now one of the best in baseball under his watch.
The new manager will have plenty of new toys to play with when Sano, Buxton, Meyer, Berrios and others make the leap. This will be one of the most important offseasons in the history of this franchise!