Minnesota Twins GM Terry Ryan dismissed

The Minnesota Twins announced on Monday that General Manager Terry Ryan has been fired. He will be replaced by interim GM Rob Antony who currently serves as Vice President and Assistant GM of the Twins.

In a sign of the times, the Minnesota Twins tweeted out a press release on Monday announcing the news that General Manager Terry Ryan has been “relieved of his duties.” Ryan, who was originally named general manager in 1994, was made general manager of the club for a second time in 2011—Ryan initially served as GM from 1994 until 2007.

Twins owner and CEO Jim Pohlad said:

“Since joining our organization as a player in 1972, Terry has been a dedicated, loyal and respected member of the Minnesota Twins family. Terry has been a gifted leader of the baseball department for over eighteen seasons. It is impossible to overstate his contribution to our game, our team and the Upper Midwest baseball community. The decision to part ways with Terry was difficult, painful and not obvious. We are extremely grateful and very thankful to Terry, his wife Karilyn and their family for being a part of the Minnesota Twins.”

Ryan offered the following statement:

“While disappointed we were unable to bring Minnesota a third World Championship, I leave the GM post with immense pride in being part of the Twins organization for the better part of three decades. I’m grateful for the leadership opportunities provided by the Pohlad family; the collaboration and talents of my colleagues in the front office; the hard work and dedication of our manager, coaches and clubhouse personnel; the commitment and professionalism of our players; the passion and attention to detail of our minor league staff and scouts; and most importantly, the incredible support of our fans. It’s been an honor to be part of the Twins organization and I wish everyone nothing but the best going forward.”

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Ryan joined the Twins as a player in 1972, and after an arm injury cut his career short he went to school and graduated with a degree in Physical Education from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1979.

He returned to baseball in 1980 when he was hired by the New York Mets to serve as Midwest Scouting Supervisor. He was in that position until 1986 when he was hired by the Twins to be their Scouting Director.

More from the Twins’ press release:

“Prior to his first tenure as General Manager, Ryan served as the Vice President of Player Personnel, a position he assumed at the end of the 1991 season. In that role, Ryan was responsible for scouting and evaluating all talent at the major league level and assisting in personnel decisions. Ryan was also responsible for signing all major league players with less than three years of major league service.

Ryan’s interim replacement, Rob Antony, has been with the Twins’ organization 29 years. This is his ninth season as Assistant General Manager. He was named Assistant GM in September 2007. Antony was promoted to Vice President of the Twins in 2013 and ‘is responsible for major league contracts, including arbitration, and evaluating major and minor league players.'”

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Antony was hired by the Twins straight out of college—the University of Minnesota—to be the Assistant Director of Media Relations in 1988. He was promoted to Director of Media Relations in 1991 and held that post until December 1995, when he was promoted to Director of Baseball Operations.