Article: Who Will Be The Next Twins Manager?

[Seth Stohs]

Late Monday morning, the news came out that the Minnesota Twins had fired manager Ron Gardenhire. Gardenhire has been offered a job in the organization, but he says that he wants to manage again and believes that he will.

 

So the next question naturally becomes; who will be the next manager of the Minnesota Twins?Here is a quick look at some of the potential candidates, though it is always important to note that a surprise candidate could come out of nowhere. There are several qualified internal candidates, though Terry Ryan insists that they will do their due diligence and look outside the organization as well.

 

Internal Candidates

 

Terry Steinbach – In my mind, he became the possible front-runner within the last week. I believe he may also be a top candidate for the Arizona Diamondbacks. His former Oakland A’s manager Tony Larussa is in charge of baseball operations and his former rotation-mate Dave Stewart was just named as the General Manager. However, there are a lot in the Twins organization that really like him as a managerial candidate. The 52-year-old from New Ulm played for the University of Minnesota before being drafted by the Oakland A’s. He spent parts of 14 seasons in the big leagues, the final three with the Twins. He has been Gardenhire’s bench coach the last two seasons.

 

Paul Molitor – Of course, most have believed that Molitor would be the next Twins manager for a couple of years already. He was added to the Twins staff a year ago after being a roving minor league instructor for several seasons. He has been a hitting coach in the big leagues, though that didn’t go so well. The 58-year-old from St. Paul has worked with the minor leaguers that are likely to be part of the next Twins core. Molitor was elected to baseball’s Hall of Fame in 2004 following a 21-year big league career during which he had over 3,300 hits and played in seven All Star games.

 

Gene Glynn – Glynn was named Minnesota’s first Mr. Basketball in 1975 when he was the top hoops player in the state while playing at Waseca high school. He never played in the big leagues after seven seasons of playing minor league ball, including three years at AAA. He has had a variety of roles in baseball. He was a long-time manager and coach in the minor leagues. He was a base coach for the Rockies, the Expos, the Cubs and the Giants over the course of a dozen years. Before becoming the Twins AAA manager, he spent six years as a scout in the Tampa Bay Rays. He has done a great job in Rochester taking a revolving door of players and making them playoff contenders.

 

Doug Mientkiewicz – “Dougie Baseball” was drafted by the Twins in the fifth round of the 1995 draft and stayed in the organization until he was traded to the Red Sox and won a World Series championship in 2004. He spent time with the Mets, Royals, Yankees, Pirates and Dodgers from 2005 through 2009. His best years were clearly with the Twins. Known for his fire and his glove, Mientkiewicz won a Gold Glove at first base in 2001 and was a big part of the group that came up in the late ‘90s and the early playoff teams last decade. He returned to the organization a year ago as the manager of the Ft. Myers Miracle. In his first year, he went to the playoffs, but he also got into a fight with the opposing manager in a game. He has worked with most of the Twins top prospects and led this year’s squad to the Florida State League title. If you believe being able to relate to today’s players is important, Mientkiewicz is just 40 years old and only been retired for five years.

 

Jake Mauer – Some will laugh that this name is on the list, but Mauer should manage in the big leagues. If not now, someday. For those that choose to look only at that last name and not the qualifications, it’s just too bad. Mauer is a very good baseball person. He was a leader on that St. Thomas baseball teams that won Division III titles. He spent five seasons playing the minor leagues, peaking at Double-A, and playing a variety of positions. After spring training of 2006, he retired and immediately became a coach. He managed in the GCL for a couple of years before becoming the manager at Ft. Myers. In 2013, the organization made the decision to move him to Cedar Rapids to lead the group of young, very talented prospects. Known for having a very high baseball IQ and being three or four batters ahead of the game, Mauer protects his players while maintaining a calm about him. He is also known to be

 

External Candidates

 

Chip Hale – 49-year-old Hale was one of the better pinch hitters for the Twins in the ‘90s. The Twins drafted him in the 17^th round in 1987 out of the University of Arizona. He spent time with the Twins in 1989 and 1990, and then he returned to the Twins in 1993 and stayed through 1996. He never played more than 85 games in a season or had more than 186 plate appearances. He was a second baseman who became a utility player but mainly was a pinch hitter. He got 12 at bats with the Dodgers in 1997. Since 2006, he has spent time in the big leagues as a coach with the Diamondbacks and Mets. He has been the third base coach for the A’s the last four seasons. He has been a managerial candidate for many positions over the last four or five offseasons.

 

Dave Martinez – Martinez had a terrific 16 season big league career as an outfielder for the Cubs, Expos and seven other teams. He was a starter for several years and became a valued bench bat later in his career. The 50-year-old has been the bench coach for the Tampa Bay Rays since the 2008 season. Martinez was always known as a smart ball player, but much of the interest in Martinez would appear to be his association with Rays manager Joe Maddon who is generally considered one of baseball’s best. Martinez has put in his time and deserves to see what he can do on his own.

 

Torey Lovullo – Lovullo was a Tigers prospect in the late 80s. He hit .381 as a 22-year-old in a September call up in 1988, but he was never able to become the player many thought he would. He spent big league time with seven teams over eight seasons from 1988 through 1999. He became a minor league coach in 2001 and was a manager in the Clevelend system. He was John Farrell’s bench coach in Toronto in 2011 and 2012 and followed him to the Red Sox in 2013 in the same capacity. He is 49 years old and has no major league managerial experience, though he has interviewed for several managerial jobs, including the Cubs job a year ago.

 

Joe McEwing – The 41-year-old McEwing spent nine seasons in the big leagues. In that time, he played over 45 games at seven different positions, all but pitcher and catcher. In 2008, he entered the world of coaching. He became a manager in 2009 in A-Ball and then moved up to AAA in 2011 (he coached Eduardo Escobar in 2010 and 2011) Following that season, he was the manager of the Mesa Solar Sox in the Arizona Fall League where he coached Brian Dozier, Aaron Hicks and Chris Herrmann. Dozier gave McEwing a lot of credit for helping him learn second base. After the AFL, he was added to Robin Ventura’s White Sox coaching staff as the third base coach after Ozzie Guillen was fired.

 

Ozzie Guillen – His name keeps coming up, and we know that he wants to get back into managing. He has had managerial experience and won a World Series title with the White Sox in 2005. He was the Rookie of the Year in 1985 and a three-time All Star in his 13 seasons with the White Sox as a player. He has had a lot of controversy surrounding him since his departure from the White Sox. His run in Miami was just one, long year. All that said, he’s a smart baseball man who would have the energy and fire that maybe this team needs. He is from Venezuela and diversity is one piece of the equation.

 

Manny Acta – He is seen now on ESPN’s baseball coverage, but the 45-year-old has already had two big league managerial positions. The Dominican-born Acta spent six years in the minor leagues before going to scouting school. He spent time coaching in the minor leagues before getting MLB coaching jobs with the Expos and Mets. In 2007, he became the Nationals manager as a 38-year-old. He lost his job in July of 2009, and in 2010, he was named Cleveland’s manager. He kept his surprise team in the AL Central race until late in the 2011 season before finishing two games under .500. He was fired after the 2012 season. His career MLB managerial record is 372-518.

 

Mike Redmond – The 43 year old was the Twins backup catcher from 2005 through 2009. He was a popular player known for his leadership skills. So it was no surprise that he quickly became a manager following his retirement from playing. Just two years later, the Miami Marlins offered him their job and he has spent the last two years as their manager. Last weekend, he signed an extension through the 2017 season with the Marlins. Though not impossible, it is highly improbable that he would even be interviewed for the Twins job at this time.

 

 

As I said earlier, this is just a starting point for potential managerial options to replace Ron Gardenhire? The question you need to ask yourself is this; what qualities are most important to you in a manager? Being bilingual? High-level baseball IQ? Experience? Big League Experience? Statistical Lean? Fundamentals and teaching? How will they use the bullpen? How do they feel about bunting or base stealing?

 

As I sit here on Monday afternoon, six hours since the announcement first came out, here is how I would rank the likelihood of the managerial choice:

 

1.) Terry Steinbach, 2.) Doug Mientkiewicz, 3.) Paul Molitor, 4.) Chip Hale, 5.) Gene Glynn

Who would I like to see as the next Twins manager is likely a different ranking. Mine would be (with admittedly limited knowledge on the candidates other than reading and research):

 

1.) Doug Mientkiewicz, 2.) Jake Mauer, 3.) Chip Hale, 4.) Joe McEwing, 5.) Dave Martinez

As you can see, I tend to lean toward the younger manager, a guy who can relate to the younger players and hopefully be here for a decade or more.

 

What do you think? What direction would your managerial look go?

 

Click here to view the article

[Thrylos]

Who would I like to see as the next Twins manager is likely a different ranking. Mine would be (with admittedly limited knowledge on the candidates other than reading and research):

 

1.) Doug Mientkiewicz, 2.) Jake Mauer, 3.) Chip Hale, 4.) Joe McEwing, 5.) Dave Martinez

As you can see, I tend to lean toward the younger manager, a guy who can relate to the younger players and hopefully be here for a decade or more.

 

What do you think? What direction would your managerial look go?

 

Click here to view the article

 

 

Darn.  We actually somewhat agree on something

 

If they hire internally, I'd rather see them hire Mientkiewitz as the manager and have Mauer  as the third base coach.  Molitor will be fine as a bench coach/guru type of a guy.  (plus he is not Ryan's guy.)

 

But, I'd rather see them go outside the organization and Dave Martinez is as good as the get.   Pitching is an issue and I don't think that there are any pitching solutions within the organization.  This would be a problem if they hire internally.  I have the most respect for Bobby Cuellar and he could do it, but not sure that he has the stamina to do it.  He would make an excellent adviser.

 

I don't really care about Steinbach, even if he were not associated with the steroid using As who stole AL West championships from the Twins.   He, like Anderson, had a mission last season:  To work with Josmil Pinto and make him a better catcher.  Did not happen.  If he cannot do that...

[Brock Beauchamp]

Honestly, I'm pretty open on the next manager... There are several good options out there, I just hope they choose someone who doesn't make my stomach turn (eg. Ozzie Guillen).

[USAFChief]

1.  Gardenhire is completely gone from the organization.  No hanging around the team, casting a shadow over the new staff.

 

2.  The hire comes from outside the organization.  Young-ish, open to new ideas, major or minor league managerial experience.

 

3.  The new hire is allowed to fill out his own staff.  If he wants to retain any of the current coaches, great.  If not, also great.  But it's his choice.

[Brandon]

Someone who can platoon players who need to be platooned. 

[twinsfan34]

How often does an A/A+ ball coach get moved to the MLB manager slot? (Mientkiewicz)

 

IF they offered Gardy a position within the organization.....and as Ryan said he was looking for someone who has the 'attributes' like Gardy and the history of how Twins have hired their managers, leads me to Steinbach or Molitor as the most likely candidates to end up as manager.

 

Catchers account for more managers than any other position.

[Brandon]

Tom Kelley.  He'll be the next manager....

[Riverbrian]

I have no knowledge of any potential candidates personal philosophy... tact... teaching ability... Etc...

Etc.

 

Because I don't... I won't get too excited about the process. But... If I had a vote... Based on one thing and one thing only.

 

I want Martinez... Because that one thing is his long association with Maddon.

 

If he brings any Maddon style with him... That will be a good place to start in my opinion.

[Puckett34]

In no particular order, I'd would be ok with the following:  Dougie Baseball, Ozzie Guillen, Dave Martinez or Ron Washington.  First three seem more likely than the last one.  This off season shall be interesting to say the least.

[Craig Arko]

You all are missing the obvious choice:

 

Derek Jeter.

[HitInAPinch]

I kinda view any internal candidate as poisoned fruit.  Molitor is a great guy and by all accounts, one of the most knowledgeable baseball guys around.  From the list, I like Dave Martinez and I like the suggestion of Chili Davis, but as the hitting coach.  Although, it seemed like Bruno made great strides with some of the younger hitters.

 

However, I don't believe Gardy's firing is the end of the story.  Ryan is next.  But I have one question:  Under who's watch was Sano, Buxton, Hicks, Meyer, J.O., May, Santana, Vargas and Arcia brought in?  Was it all Ryan?  Would be the only saving grace for me......

[twinssouth]

Twins will continue to get younger, with more talent.  Mientkiewicz (man I hate spelling that name) and Martinez of Tampa Bay  are my choices.  Either one would work for me.

[gunnarthor]

I want Ozzie or Dougie Baseball.

[mudcat14]

I'm gonna go completely outside of the box and offer Jim Thome.  Liked & respected by everyone, Hall of Fame credentials and spent numerous years in the dugout as DH for a diverse mix of successful skippers like Mike Hargrove, Charlie Manuel, Ozzie Guillen & yes, Ron Gardenhire.  I'll bet he could put together a talented staff of supporting coaches from his Rolodex as well. 

[TheLeviathan]

Molitor or Dougie please.

[Twodogs]

I would love to see Paul Molitor as the next Twins manager.  I think that he could find someone in the baseball world that would be a good pitching coach.  Stienbach is a good candidate also, but I have been hoping for Molitor so that he can bring back some agressive play on the field.

[Thrylos]

You all are missing the obvious choice:

 

Derek Jeter.

 

Yeah. Bring Mariano as his pitching coach too...

 

[Seth Stohs]

Chili Davis is interesting... seems to be doing well as a hitting coach.

 

Dan Gladden is completely old school, though maybe managing would force him to consider new thinking. Gladden seems like a guy who would bunt any time there was a runner on 1B and less than two outs.

 

Jim Thome is certainly interesting... terrific career, but people should never confuse  Hall of Fame player with Good manager. It might, but there's no correlation.

[Craig Arko]

I could easily see Big Jim as a hitting coach, at least to start.

[Thrylos]

Another name to throw in the mix: Ray Searage currently the Pirates' pitching coach.  For obvious reasons...

[lecroy24fan]

Matthew LeCroy

[curt1965]

Anybody but Molitor. I agree with Seth: even though I'm an old guy, I would prefer someone young with some fire. If the Twins want to set a new tone, and they should, Dougie Baseball is my #1 choice.

[Willihammer]

Thoughts on Lovullo? His name seems to be circling in east coast/national circles. Morosi tweeted his name specifically as an outside candidate.

[jokin]

Another name to throw in the mix: Ray Searage currently the Pirates' pitching coach.  For obvious reasons...

 

I advocated for Searage in the recent past, but based on this......:

 

 

 

Asked how important it will be for the Twins’ next manager to fully embrace modern analytics, which Gardenhire sometimes resisted, Ryan said that “will be a piece.”

 

An important piece?                  “A piece,” he repeated.

 

I don't think Ryan would see him as a good fit, more like daily salt poured into old wounds.

Edited September 30, 2014 by jokin

[DocBauer]

Seth, I think you've assembled a very smart and likely list that to me, offers a lot of impressive possibilities.

 

I have absolutely no problem if the Twins stay internal. People can complain and moan all they want with reference to the "Twins Way" of doing things. But the Twins Way of playing baseball is the right way. It means defense, pitching, situational baseball, balance, playing hard, running hard to first, no big prima donnas, just doing the right things. And it meant a lot when TK managed. And it meant a lot in the Gardenhire era as well. You can argue the organization has gotten away from this valued approach, but I would argue it comes down to talent, a balanced roster, frustration, and perhaps a message and messenger that grew stale over time.

 

From what we read and hear, it seems Mauer and Mientkiewicz are good communicators and good baseball minds who "get it". They are Twins men, but also young and aggressive and I believe they could each be quality choices, especially if there is a good veteran bench coach available for them to lean on. I worry somewhat about their lack of experience, especially at a high level.

 

No offense to Glynn, but at this point in his life and career, is he a long term possibility? I think I could see Molitor or even Steinbach as the manager in a shorter time span with Mauer and/or Dougie M as coaches before taking over possibly. I really like that Molitor, Mauer and Mientkiewicz have first hand knowledge of the young talent arriving.

 

Push come to shove, I guess I'd vote for Molitor as bench coach to one of the younger guys.

 

Outside the organization, from all the good things I've read, I guess I'd vote for Dave Martinez. I love his being Maddon's bench coach, learning from one of the best.

 

 

[Rosterman]

Keeping in the Twins Way, we have to be looking at the next big group of long lasting coaches. Mientkiewicz could be around for 10-15 years. Jake Mauer definitely. And if you hired Jake as a third base coach, he would be grabbed by someone within five years if he didn't want to stay with the Twins. You can pepper the coaching staff with Glynn as the bench coach, or Steinbach. The Twins have Tommy Watkins, who would make a good coach. Probably Bonilla or Artega could become bullpen coach. You have to find a pitching coach. Cuellar could be it, if he is committed longterm.

 

Gardy's downfall, like TK's for awhile, was his close ties to a pitching coach. Dickie Such and Rocky Anderson both get more gruff than the manager. 

 

Gardy is still under contract. The Twins want him doing something for them if they are paying him. But if jobs are still open (would Texas, close to Oklahoma home, be appealing...would Milwaukee be a choice) or does Gardy be a goodwill ambassador, slopping down drinks in Hrbek's with Bill Smith until something better opens up mid next year or 2016. Yes, the Cubs would grab him.

 

Washington is out because of personal reasons, I imagine. Would the Twins want Kirk Gibson? Will Don Mattingly be available if the Dodgers flounder? Should the Twins give a long-term coach the chance no one ever took with Scott Ullger?

 

Going to be interesting to see the timetable, the reorganization of the minor leagues and such. I'm sure the Twins want to keep Bruno in the system. Molitor will always have an advisor job. Would love to see Vavra stay in some capacity (become Cedar Rapids manager if Mauer would move up).

 

And, yes, Jake Mauer might be the true Twins manager of the future, and why not take a running start and do it sooner rather than later or never.

[Thrylos]

Matthew LeCroy

 

Is he alive?

[Willihammer]

There is no way Jake Mauer could be the next manager, right? Conflict of interests anyone?

[Dbohnk]

What about Billy Heywood? He should be done with school and did a good job the first time around. 

[Willihammer]

I'm gonna go ahead and assume 90% the fans who want Dougie Baseball want him for the same reason people wanted the Vikings to draft Johnny Football - they like saying the name.