The Detroit Tigers announced earlier today that Ron Gardenhire will be the next manager of the team. The deal is for three years. This move comes after the Tigers announced that former manager Brad Ausmus would not be extended for the 2017-18 season. Gardenhire comes to the Tigers after a stint as the bench coach for the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Ron Gardenhire Names as Tigers Manager
Before the Diamondbacks, Gardenhire was the manager of the Minnesota Twins for 13 seasons, from January 4th, 2002 to his firing in 2014. Gardenhire, chosen to succeed long time successful manager Tom Kelly, was fired on September 29, 2014 after four straight losing seasons for the team. Gardenhire’s record during that time, however, doesn’t reflect horrible on Gardenhire’s overall record which stands at 1068-1039. In Gardenhire’s tenure, the Twins made the post season six out of thirteen years. The closest to a title the Twins came was Gardenhire’s first year, where they lost to the eventual champions, the Los Angeles Angels in the ALCS in four games.
The Twins other playoff appearances ended in disappointment with ALDS defeats in 2003, 2004, 2006, 2009, and 2010. All of these seasons the Twins finished first in the Central Division. Gardenhire was a favorite in Twins Territory for his unapologetic style of managing. Gardy, as he was affectionately called, would never make excuses and would come out to challenge quite a few calls he thought were bogus. Gardenhire, as proof of this fact, has been ejected 65 times in his career.
In that successful 2010 season, when the Twins went 94-68, Gardenhire was voted Manager of the Year. He was voted for the award a total of 7 times with the 2010 win in 2002, 2003, 2004, 2006, 2008, and 2009. Gardenhire finished second in all of these years except for 2002. Gardenhire also has a decent playing career in the MLB. Drafted by the New York Mets in the sixth round in 1979, Gardenhire played five years in the majors averaging .232 with only four home runs and 49 RBIs.
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