Ron Gardenhire
From The Met Wiki
| Age: 52 (born October 24, 1957) |
| Position: SS (also 2B, 3B) |
| Bats: Right Throws: Right |
| Number: 19 |
| Acquired: Amateur draft |
| Contract: Retired |
Ron Gardenhire was a versatile infielder for the Mets from 1981 to 1985. He played second base, shortstop and third base during his time with the team. Gardenhire appeared in a total of 285 games.
In his major league debut on September 1, 1981, Gardenhire made some outstanding defensive plays at second base against the Astros at Houston. He got his first major league hit with a single off Cardinals' reliever Bruce Sutter at St. Louis on September 11. Ron also had two singles, a double, a stolen base and his first run batted in at Philadelphia on September 28.
In 1982, Gardenhire hit .240 and drove in 33 runs in 117 games played. He singled twice and drove in three runs in the Mets' 8-1 win over the Phillies at Shea Stadium on April 14. In a 15-inning, 5-4 Mets victory at San Diego on April 28, Ron had three singles and a run scored. Gardenhire hit his first career home run at Montreal on June 29. It was a two-run blast off Ray Burris that served as the game-winner in a 5-4 Mets victory. Against the Expos at Shea on September 21, Ron homered in the 10th inning to give the Mets a 2-1 win. In the season-closing game at Philadelphia on October 3, Gardenhire hit a home run off Steve Carlton for the Mets' only run in a 4-1 loss.
After playing most of the 1983 season in the minor leagues, Gardenhire was a Met for all of 1984. He batted .246 in 74 games for the year while spending a total of 43 days on the disabled list. On June 19, Ron hit his only home run of the season off the Phillies' Al Holland at Shea. The following night, he singled, hit his only triple of the year and scored a run in the Mets' 7-4 win over the Phils. Also in '84, Gardenhire had a seven-game stretch in which he hit .435 (10-for-23) from July 1 to July 6. The Mets won 6 of these 7 games.
Gardenhire continued to be plagued by injuries in 1985. He had two more stints on the disabled list and spent much time in the minor leagues while working his way back to health. Ron played in only 26 games for the Mets during the year. At Chicago on August 4, he doubled and scored in the Mets' 4-1 win over the Cubs. In the season's final game at Shea on October 6, Gardenhire tripled off the Expos' Dan Schatzeder in his last major league game as a player.
In 1986, Gardenhire played one more season in the minor leagues. He was traded to the Minnesota Twins the following November 12 for minor league pitcher Donnie Iasparro. Ron became a minor league manager in the Minnesota organization and was on the team's coaching staff for its 1991 World Championship.
Gardenhire found success as the Twins' manager with 6 American League Central Division titles (and a first-place tie in which they lost a playoff) from 2002 to 2010. He finished as runner-up in the voting for AL Manager of the Year five times (a record he shares with Tony La Russa) in eight years. In 2010, Ron was named Manager of the Year.
