Detroit Tigers: Ron Gardenhire retires effective immediately

In a bit of a surprise, Detroit Tigers manager Ron Gardenhire has announced that he is retiring effective immediately.

Ron Gardenhire has been one of the more successful regular season managers in the game over the past two decades. He had helped turn the Minnesota Twins into a powerhouse in the 2000s, reaching the postseason six times in his first nine seasons at the helm before three last place finishes in four seasons lead to his firing. When he was ready to return to managing, he was considered to be the perfect option to help guide the Detroit Tigers rebuild, a successful manager who had experience guiding prospects along their major league journey.

The end of that rebuild will be under someone else’s guidance. Tigers’ gm Al Avila announced on Saturday that Gardenhire is retiring effective immediately.

This was going to be Gardenhire’s last season on the bench anyway. He had planned on retiring at the end of the season, but had not been feeling well lately. As Gardenhire had battled prostate cancer in 2017, one can understand why he would be willing to end his career early.

With Gardenhire stepping aside, Lloyd McClendon will take over as the interim manager for the rest of the season. McClendon had spent parts of seven seasons as a manager with the Pirates and the Mariners, with a combined 499-607 record. He is, however, known for infamously stealing first base after being ejected in one of the all time great managerial tirades.

Gardenhire himself leaves behind a mixed legacy. The had incredible success during his first nine seasons with the Twins, but did not have a winning season after 2010. He is one of ten managers in major league history to reach 1000 wins with one team, notching 1068 wins in Minnesota before he was let go.

Overall, Gardenhire put together a 1200-1280 record in his 16 years on the bench, his 1200 wins the 46th most in major league history. It is also a testament to the teams that he had over his final seven years, as the Twins had faded when age and injuries caught up to their stars, and the Tigers ongoing rebuild did not help his career mark.

The Detroit Tigers need to find a new manager as Ron Gardenhire has decided to call it a career. Whoever ends up with that role will have some large shoes to fill.