Gardenhire Returns to Bartend... and Enter the Twins Hall of Fame This Weekend

Ron Gardenhire is fired up, really fired up to be back at Target Field this weekend. But not at the same heat index Rocco Baldelli found himself at two weeks ago against the Blue Jays. 

Gardenhire’s response to Baldelli’s ejection on August 7rh? “Oh my god. That was the best [ejection] ever! If I would have had his number, I would have called him. That was good stuff right there. The call was an absolute joke. My wife almost kicked me out of the house. That’s how mad I was. Rocco was awesome, I just went in there and told him.”

Again, Gardy’s excitement remains at a hot level for his team hall of fame induction as he shared alongside Dan Gladden. 

“For me, it’s pretty fired up to get your name put up with a selective few Twins is pretty special, especially with Gladden. I think back to '91 all the time. He’s standing at third base. He’s screaming at me. I’m screaming at him. We can’t hear each other. So now to watch him go into the Twins Hall of Fame, well deserved, a big fan favorite, always has been. And I’m just happy to be here,” said Gardenhire.

“See how he deflects?” responded Gladden. 

“I’m the manager, that’s what I’m supposed to do,” responded Gardenhire. 

Gardenhire’s legacy with the Twins is not completely over as his son, Toby Gardenhire, currently manages the St. Paul Saints. Twins manager Rocco Baldelli had not yet spoken to Ron Gardenhire before his pre-game press conference but talked about his correspondence with Toby. 

“I talk to Toby a fair amount. He gives me some updates [on Ron], I think he's doing great. But it'll be fun, I think it'll be a lot of people in the house, too, that are pretty excited about cheering on the guys that are going in,” said Baldelli. 

Toby Gardenhire will be taking the day off from the Saints on Saturday to attend his dad’s Twins induction. Saints bench coach Tyler Smarslok will be acting manager in his place. 

When it comes to his speech preparation, Gardenhire is ready for what he has but has no anticipation of emotions flooding over him during the speech.

“I don’t think so, I think it’s just a proud moment for me, proud for my family. My grandbabies, I have about four or five of them now. It’s been really hard to concentrate on everything but them, so I’m excited to be out there. My wife and I tried to write a script here and make it quick and not make it last a long time like (Justin) Morneau did last year.”

“That won’t be broken,” Gladden interjected. 

During Friday night’s game, Gardenhire was the celebrity bartender at the Gray Duck deck on the main concourse, underneath the retired numbers in Twins franchise history. 

Gardenhire’s entry into the Twins Hall of Fame comes eight years after his last game as a manager with the Twins and two years from his retirement from the game as a whole. 

Gardenhire is second all-time in Twins franchise wins (1,068) for a manager behind two-time world champion Tom Kelly (1,140). Gardenhire and Gladden both worked under Kelly together for a total of five seasons and reminisced on some of their memories from that time. 

Saturday’s ceremony for Gardenhire’s Twins Hall of Fame induction begins approximately a half hour before the game’s first pitch at 6:10 p.m. CT. Fans can tune into Bally Sports North to catch the ceremony prior to the game.