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After weeks of searching, dozens of interviews, and a lot of rampant speculation, the Detroit Tigers have announced their new manager for the 2018 season.
Alex Cora? Gabe Kapler? Fredi Gozalez?
No, the new manager will be Ron Gardenhire, according to Katie Strang of The Athletic.
Gardenhire, who spent 2017 as the bench coach for the Arizona Diamondbacks, is best known for his work with fellow AL Central team the Minnesota Twins. He managed the Twins for 13 seasons, collecting a 1068-1039 win record.
During his tenure with the Twins he won the Manager of the Year award in 2010 and was runner up a whopping five times, in 2003, 2004, 2006, 2008, and 2009. The team won the division six times in his 13 seasons (though they also had a losing record for five seasons). Of note, however, is the fact the Twins never made it to the World Series with Gardy at the helm.
His last four years with the Twins are considered among the worst in Twins history, even though he won over 1000 games in his time managing the team.
He missed part of the 2017 with the Diamondbacks to have surgery for prostate cancer, but has been given a clean bill of health since.
Gardenhire’s interview with the Tigers took place on Tuesday and he must have impressed general manager Al Avila. Sources suggested to Strang that Avila was looking for someone with a lot of managerial experience, quite the opposite of the last manager, Brad Ausmus.
Experience is certainly something Gardenhire has plenty of, and hopefully he can use it to help guide the Tigers through the ebbs and tides of their rebuild years.