Ron Gardenhire

Verified Timeline

Lore & Background

Gardenhire was born to a military family at a U.S. Army base in Butzbach, West Germany. He attended Okmulgee High School in Oklahoma and played college baseball at the University of Texas at Austin. He was drafted by the New York Mets in the sixth round of the 1979 MLB draft. After his playing career, he managed in the Twins farm system for three years, then served as a Twins coach from 1991 to 2001. He became Twins manager in 2002 and led the team to the American League Central title and AL Championship Series that year. He won the American League Manager of the Year Award in 2010. He was fired after the 2014 season and later managed the Detroit Tigers from 2018 until his retirement in 2020.

In Their Own Story

On April 5, 2014, the narrative of Gardenhire's career hit a major milestone. At Progressive Field against the Cleveland Indians, he secured his 1,000th managerial victory with a 7–3 win, becoming only the tenth manager in history to reach that mark with just one team, joining Tom Kelly on that exclusive list. By the end of the 2013 season, he had already accumulated 998 wins. However, the final years were difficult; after three consecutive seasons with over 90 losses, he received a two-year extension in September 2013. The subsequent four years proved to be the worst in Twins history, featuring 383 losses and a run of 78–148 from August 1 through the end of that final season. On September 29, 2014, after 13 seasons as manager and 27 total years with the organization, he was fired. His overall record stood at 1,068 wins and 1,039 losses.

Reader's Guide

Gardenhire's managerial record with the Twins was 1,068–1,039 in the regular season and 6–21 in the playoffs. He became the 60th manager in MLB history to reach 1,000 wins. He was inducted into the Twins Hall of Fame in 2022.

Did You Know?

• Gardenhire was ejected 73 times in his 13 seasons as Twins manager.
• He is one of only five managers with at least four playoff appearances to never appear in a World Series.
• He set the University of Texas record for most RBIs in a single game (10) in 1978.