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Ronald Clyde Gardenhire (born October 24, 1957) is an American former professional baseball player, coach, and
manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities o ...
. He played as a
shortstop Shortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball or softball fielding position between second and third base, which is considered to be among the most demanding defensive positions. Historically the position was assigned to defensive specialists who ...
for the New York Mets from 1981 through 1985. After another year playing in the minor leagues, he served as a manager in the Minnesota Twins farm system for three years, then as a coach for the Twins from 1991 through 2001, and then as the Twins' manager from 2002 through 2014, winning the American League Manager of the Year Award in 2010. He then coached for the
Arizona Diamondbacks The Arizona Diamondbacks (colloquially known as the D-backs) are an American professional baseball team based in Phoenix. The Diamondbacks compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. The ...
in 2017 and managed the
Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the American League (AL) Central division. One of the AL's eight charter franchises, the club was f ...
from 2018 through most of 2020, when he retired from baseball.


Early life

Ron Gardenhire was born to a military family at the U.S. Army base in Butzbach, West Germany. While growing up, he expected to join the military, but his passion for baseball was also encouraged by his father. The family later settled in Oklahoma where he attended Okmulgee High School and college at the University of Texas at Austin.


Playing career

The New York Mets drafted Gardenhire in the sixth round of the 1979 amateur draft. He played for the Mets for five seasons, from 1981 to 1985. During his playing career, Gardenhire played
shortstop Shortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball or softball fielding position between second and third base, which is considered to be among the most demanding defensive positions. Historically the position was assigned to defensive specialists who ...
, second base, and third base. He was plagued by injuries, especially to his hamstring. Only twice did he play in more than 70 games in a season, in 1982 and 1984. Following the 1986 season he was traded to the Minnesota Twins, where he played one season for their Triple-A affiliate before retiring as a player. Gardenhire stood six feet (183 cm) tall, and weighed 175 (79 kg) pounds during most of his baseball playing career.


Managerial career


Minor leagues

For three years after he retired as a player (1988–90), Gardenhire was a manager in the Minnesota farm system, leading teams in the Class A
Midwest League The Midwest League is a Minor League Baseball league established in 1947 and based in the Midwestern United States. A Class A league for most of its history, the league was promoted to High-A as part of Major League Baseball's 2021 reorganizat ...
and Class AA Southern League to one second- and two first-place finishes.


Minnesota Twins

On January 4, 2002, Gardenhire was named manager of the Twins, replacing Tom Kelly, who had won two
World Series The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, contested since 1903 between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winner of the Wor ...
titles with the Twins. In contrast to Kelly's relatively calm,
Bud Grant Harry Peter "Bud" Grant Jr. (born May 20, 1927) is a former head coach and player of American football, Canadian football, and a former player in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Grant served as the head coach of the Minnesota Vikings ...
-like coaching style, Gardenhire was a very active and aggressive manager, frequently exiting the dugout to argue with umpires, leading some to joke that "Gardy" got ejected more times in a season than Kelly did in his entire career. In his 13 seasons managing the Twins, Gardenhire was ejected 73 times. An early 2006 television commercial for the Twins pokes fun at this, showing Gardenhire arguing with an office worker planning to go home after work rather than go to the Twins game. Heading into Gardenhire's first season as team manager, the Twins had not been to the postseason since their World Series championship in
1991 File:1991 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Boris Yeltsin, elected as Russia's first president, waves the new flag of Russia after the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, orchestrated by Soviet hardliners; Mount Pinatubo erupts in the Ph ...
, and had barely escaped being dissolved entirely by a contraction plan that was aborted by a court ruling which binded the team to their lease with the
Metrodome The Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome (commonly called the Metrodome) was a domed sports stadium located in downtown Minneapolis, Minnesota. It opened in 1982 as a replacement for Metropolitan Stadium, the former home of the National Football League' ...
. Under Gardenhire, the Twins had a turnaround season in 2002 as they won the American League Central division and made it to the
2002 American League Championship Series The 2002 American League Championship Series (ALCS) was a matchup between the Wild Card Anaheim Angels and the Central Division Champion Minnesota Twins. The Angels advanced to the Series after dethroning the reigning four-time AL Champion New Yo ...
. In thirteen seasons as the Twins' manager, Gardenhire's team had a losing record five times (2007, 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2014), and won the division six times (the Twins lost a one-game playoff to the
Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and ...
to determine the division champion at the end of the 2008 season). Despite all of the team's regular season success under Gardenhire, the Twins advanced to the American League Championship Series only once – his first season, in 2002 – and did not reach the World Series. In Gardenhire's tenure as the manager of the Twins, the team posted a playoff record of 6 wins and 21 losses. He was the first manager in major league history to take a team to the playoffs six times in a tenure and never make it to the
World Series The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, contested since 1903 between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winner of the Wor ...
( Bob Melvin joined him in 2020), and he is one of just five managers with at least four playoff appearances to never appear in one. Gardenhire won the
American League The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league ...
Manager of the Year Award in 2010 and finished as runner-up for the award in 2003, 2004, 2006, 2008, and 2009 while leading the Twins. He finished third in the voting in 2002, his first season as manager. Gardenhire's five runner-up finishes are tied with Tony La Russa, who won the award outright an additional four times."Manager of Year eludes Gardenhire"
mlb.com, Retrieved on July 2, 2008.
In 2009, he received the Chuck Tanner Major League Baseball Manager of the Year Award. On November 13, 2008, Gardenhire signed a contract extension that kept him as the Twins' manager through the 2011 season. On November 18, 2010, the Twins announced a two-year contract extension through 2013. In October 2012, after two consecutive 90 plus loss seasons, Gardenhire was not given a contract extension past the 2013 season. On September 30, 2013, despite having another 90 plus loss season for the third year in a row, Gardenhire was given a two-year extension, through 2015. He had 998 career wins at the end of the 2013 season. Gardenhire earned his 1,000th managerial victory on April 5, 2014 with a 7-3 victory over the
Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. Since , they have played at Progressive F ...
at Progressive Field. He became the 60th manager in major league history to top one thousand wins. Gardenhire is only the tenth manager to accomplish this feat with only one team, joining the Twins' previous manager, Tom Kelly, on that list. On September 29, 2014, Gardenhire was fired after 13 seasons as Twins manager and 27 years in the Twins organization. The last four years of Gardenhire's tenure were the worst in Twins' history. This included 383 losses and a record of 78-148 from August 1 to the end of the season. His overall regular season record was 1,068–1,039 and his playoff record was 6–21. Gardenhire was inducted into the Twins Hall of Fame in 2022.


Detroit Tigers

On October 20, 2017, it was announced that Gardenhire had signed a three-year contract to take the helm of the
Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the American League (AL) Central division. One of the AL's eight charter franchises, the club was f ...
beginning in the 2018 season. He succeeded Brad Ausmus, who posted a 314–332 record in four seasons. In his first game as the Tigers' manager, Gardenhire was ejected after what initially appeared to be a walk-off win in the 10th inning over the
Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Founded as part of the American Associat ...
was overturned on video review. The Tigers lost the game to the Pirates, 13-10, in 13 innings. On September 19, 2020, Gardenhire announced his retirement as a manager due to health concerns.


Managerial record


Coaching career

In 1991, Gardenhire became the Twins' third base coach and held that post for 11 full seasons, including the team's
1991 World Series The 1991 World Series was the championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) held after the 1991 season. The 88th edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff played between the American League (AL) champion Minnesota Twins ...
championship. Gardenhire began the 2017 season as the bench coach of the Arizona Diamondbacks. However, after the first seven games of the season, he left the team on a leave of absence for prostate cancer surgery. He was replaced by Jerry Narron, who took over as interim bench coach. After a five-week absence, Gardenhire rejoined the Diamondbacks in May.


Personal life

Gardenhire is married to Carol (
née A birth name is the name of a person given upon birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name, or the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a birth certificate or birth re ...
Kissling). The Gardenhires have three children: son Toby, and daughters Tiffany and Tara. Toby Gardenhire was drafted by the Minnesota Twins in the 41st round of the
2005 MLB Draft The 2005 First-Year Player Draft, Major League Baseball's annual amateur draft, was held on June 7 and 8. It was conducted via conference call with representatives from each of the league's 30 teams. It is widely considered to be one of the best ...
, spent most of his time as a utility player, and rose as high as the AAA Rochester Red Wings, before retiring as a player. Like his father, Toby was known more for his glove than his bat. After hitting .247 in 103 games at Rochester in 2011, Toby posted a career line of .232/.291/.274 with six home runs in 533 minor league games while seeing playing time at all nine defensive positions including innings as a pitcher. After a stint as the head coach for the
University of Wisconsin-Stout A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, the ...
baseball team Toby Gardenhire joined the Twins system, first with the
Cedar Rapids Kernels The Cedar Rapids Kernels are Minor League Baseball team of the Midwest League and the High-A affiliate of the Minnesota Twins. They are located in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and play their home games at Veterans Memorial Stadium (Cedar Rapids), Veterans ...
in the Twins farm system. Since 2021, Toby has managed the Twins' AAA-affiliate St. Paul Saints.


See also

*
List of Major League Baseball managers by wins This article contains a list of all Major League Baseball managers with at least 1,000 career regular season wins and a list of managers who have regular season win percentages of at least .540 in at least 450 games (approximately three full seaso ...
* List of Major League Baseball players from Europe


References


External links


Ron Gardenhire at Ultimate Mets DatabaseVenezuelan Professional Baseball LeagueGardenhire bio at the Detroit Tigers' official website
: {{DEFAULTSORT:Gardenhire, Ron 1957 births Living people American expatriates in West Germany Arizona Diamondbacks coaches Baseball coaches from Oklahoma Baseball players from Oklahoma Detroit Tigers managers Jackson Mets players Leones del Caracas players American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela Lynchburg Mets players Major League Baseball bench coaches Major League Baseball players from Germany Major League Baseball shortstops Major League Baseball third base coaches Manager of the Year Award winners Minnesota Twins coaches Minnesota Twins managers Minor league baseball managers New York Mets players Paris Dragons baseball players People from Butzbach Sportspeople from Darmstadt (region) Portland Beavers players Texas Longhorns baseball players Tidewater Tides players