Twins fire Ron Gardenhire, who leaves with class, dignity and a future
At the end of a news conference that was a little sad without being maudlin, that was kind of funny without being disrespectful, Ron Gardenhire stood up, said, "Folks, take care. See you down the road," and walked away, past the Rod Carew and Kirby Puckett posters.
There are few sights in baseball more sobering than a manager in his civilian clothes 24 hours after his final game, particularly when he is sitting beside his general manager, and particularly when the game is over after 13 seasons.
No, the Minnesota Twins weren't very good again, and it turns out that neither the commitment to Joe Mauer nor the opening of the new ballpark was ever going to save them. At the end of four seasons of at least 92 losses, GM Terry Ryan fired Gardenhire, a man who'd once won six division titles, who'd five times won at least 90 games, and who'd spent a lot of time in recent seasons thinking up new recipes for chicken salad. Gardenhire is not, and was never, the problem in Minnesota, and Ryan almost certainly grasps that, and yet a relationship does run its course.
So, he did the right thing Monday, firing Gardenhire with still a year left on his contract and opening the job to a new man, someone who might bring fresh notions and curiosities and, with any luck, a competent pitching staff.
"I'm gone, I'm outta here, because I didn't win," Gardenhire said with honorable clarity. "That's what it comes down to in baseball and that's what it should come down to.
"I told Terry today I think this is the right thing. …I agree with this."
Ryan still called Gardenhire, "Gardy." Gardenhire still called Ryan, "Boss." (And that's still a possibility, as Ryan offered Gardenhire a job – undefined – with the Twins.) And still, in an organization that has employed just two managers – Tom Kelly and Gardenhire – since 1986, Monday wasn't just a day to clean house and get on with the process.
"I feel like he's my brother, not my manager," Ryan said.
The brother who could have used a starting rotation for Christmas, but still. The brother who could have won a few more playoff games given the chance, but still. The brother who might have been given another season or two, given the Twins' farm system is ranked with the top two or three in the game, but these semi-relationships have their limits.
That all goes to the next guy now, whether that's Paul Molitor or Terry Steinbach, both of whom served on Gardenhire's coaching staff, or an outsider who might help stanch the flow of second-division finishes. The Twins presumably will remain in the bottom quarter of baseball in payroll, and there remains the matter of Mauer's contract (large) vs. his production (not very large), and beyond that prospects are prospects until they actually do something.
In the best scenario, firing Gardenhire helps the Twins by a few inches. They are not in a position to waste a few inches, however, so Gardenhire goes. He said he'd still like to manage. At 56 and with 1,068 wins behind him, he'll have a shot, too. Would he fit in Texas? What about in Arizona, for Tony La Russa? For now, he said, he'll spend the coming month waiting on his first grandchild, and mulling a future that won't include him wearing a Twins uniform, and leaving the top step to somebody else.
"Honestly," he said, "I'm just happy to have been a part of it. I'll move forward and see where it takes me from here."
Then he gave a wave, thanked some family members for coming and headed on down that road. Maybe there's a pitching staff out there somewhere.
More MLB coverage:
