Minnesota Twins
Manager, Ron Gardenhire, was born October 24, 1957 in
Butzbach, West Germany. He is a 1975 graduate of Okmulgee
(OK) High School where he was an All-State shortstop.
He majored in physical education at University of Texas
and also set a school record of 10 RBI’s in a
single game. He was captain and All-Conference shortstop
in his senior year, leading the Longhorns to a Southwest
Conference championship and fourth place in the College
World Series. He was drafted by the New York Mets' in
1997 as a sixth round pick in the free agent draft.
In his baseball career, Gardy was
six feet tall and weighed 175 pounds. He played five
seasons of baseball with the Mets from 1981 to 1985.
He was the first German-born player ever to play in
the Major Leagues. In his career, he played shortstop,
second baseman, and third baseman. During his career,
he was often plagued by injuries, especially to his
hamstring muscle. Only twice in his career, in 1982
and 1984, did he play over 70 games in the season.
For three years after he retired, he was
a manager in the minors. In 1991, Gardy joined the Twins
as a third-base coach. On January 4, 2002, Ron Gardenhire
was named the manager of the Twins, replacing Tom Kelly,
who had won two World Series titles with the Twins.
Compared to Tom’s relatively calm, Bud Grant-like
coaching style, Ron is a very active and aggressive
manager, frequently exiting the dugout to argue with
the umpire. People often joke that "Gardy"
gets ejected more times in a season than Tom Kelly did
in his entire career.
In 2002, Ron Gardenhire was named manager
of the Twins and signed a two-year contract with a club
option for 2004. He scored his first win as Twins' manager,
on April 1 vs. Kansas City and boasts about his first
career ejection 10 days later, on April 11 vs. Cleveland.
In 2003, he recorded his 100th career win as manager
and became just the fourth manager in American League
history to begin his managerial career with consecutive
first place finishes. He was the first manager in Twins
history to lead a team to consecutive playoff appearances
and was just the second Twins manager to lead a team
to the postseason twice.
In 2004, Gardy continued his success as
Twins Manager. He recorded his 200th career win as manager
and his 15th career ejection (fourth of the season).
He became just the fourth manager in Major League history
to begin his managerial career with three straight first
place finishes. He became the first American League
manager to finish in first place in each of his first
three years as manager. He was also the first manager
in Twins history to lead a team to three playoff appearances.
He tied for Manager of the Year voted by The Sporting
News.
There is no doubt that Ron Gardenhire
is passionate about baseball and passionate about his
Twins. He is a good manager and liked by fans and players
alike. The Twins have wisely extended his contract through
2007 hoping for another chance in the playoffs under
his leadership.
|
