Update, 12:42 p.m. Friday: The Tigers hire Ron Gardenhire as the team's 38th manager, replacing Brad Ausmus.
Ron Gardenhire: "Fans here are some of the most passionate in all of sports."
Detroit Tigers photo)
"There's a lot to be done here, but I'm very excited about this. It's baseball, and I know baseball," he tells reporters at a livestreamed Comerica Park news conference with General Manager Al Avila and Christopher Ilitch, team president and chief executive. (A 25-minute video is at the team's Facebook page.)
"It wasn't a hard decision to come here," the new hire adds. "I know what a great baseball town Detroit is. Fans here are some of the most passionate in all of sports. . . . "I'm very excited to be here and I look forward to the challenge."
► Related post: Sniping Starts Already: No Honeymoon for 'Gardy,' the Tigers' New Skipper
Asked why he accepted a three-year contract, the new skipper says: "If I do what I’m supposed to do, and we start getting better, who knows how long this could turn into?"
At the introductory event, Ilitch said: "We are trying to build a team that consistently competes for the World Series."
The managerial search started with 47 names, Avila says. Gardenhire, who turns 60 next Tuesday, and nine others were interviewed.
On social media, the call the manager "Gardy." Here's what the formal announcement says:
His last team tweets this sendoff:
Best of luck to Ron Gardenhire as he's been named the @Tigers new skipper. Detroit got a good one! pic.twitter.com/pIA43KyffU
— Arizona Diamondbacks (@Dbacks) October 20, 2017
Earlier post:
It didn't take the Detroit Tigers long to decide on a replacement for Brad Ausmus.
Former Minnesota Twins skipper Ron Gardenhire is apparently the choice, reports Ken Rosenthal of the website The Athletic:
The 59-year-old Gardenhire, who spent the 2017 season as the bench coach for the Arizona Diamondbacks, would bring ample experience into the dugout of a young Tigers team embarking on what could be a lengthy rebuild.
Gardenhire, who managed for 13 years with the Minnesota Twins with a 1068-1049 record and .509 winning percentage during that span, was one of ten candidates to interview with Tigers’ brass for the opening. The team initially began with a list of 50 candidates.
Other candidates who recently interviewed with the Tigers include Houston Astros bench coach Alex Cora, Colorado Rockies bench coach Mike Redmond, Miami Marlins third base coach Fredi Gonzalez, Chicago White Sox bench coach Joe McEwing and San Francisco Giants hitting coach Hensley Meulens. The Tigers also planned to interview Chicago Cubs’ bench coach Dave Martinez.
