Twins hire Toby Gardenhire

[gunnarthor]

http://www.twincities.com/2017/01/09/minnesota-twins-hire-toby-gardenhire-as-full-time-coach-in-minors/

 

Coach in the rookie leagues from the sound of it.  Good for him.

[Loosey]

 

http://www.twincities.com/2017/01/09/minnesota-twins-hire-toby-gardenhire-as-full-time-coach-in-minors/

 

Coach in the rookie leagues from the sound of it.  Good for him.

Maybe I am wrong on this, but didn't this actually happen months ago?  I thought Thrylos mentioned something about back in November?

[gunnarthor]

 

Maybe I am wrong on this, but didn't this actually happen months ago?  I thought Thrylos mentioned something about back in November?

Did he?  Berardino just reported it today.  

[Seth Stohs]

After the Stout season last year, Toby came down and helped out in the GCL. 

 

Now, he's left Wisconsin-Stout to become the GCL hitting coach. (or one of the GCL hitting coaches - there were two last year)

 

He's now a full-time Twins employee. This is a positive. 

[Bob Sacamento]

 

After the Stout season last year, Toby came down and helped out in the GCL. 

 

Now, he's left Wisconsin-Stout to become the GCL hitting coach. (or one of the GCL hitting coaches - there were two last year)

 

He's now a full-time Twins employee. This is a positive. 

So not the Manager then huh? I was wondering what they would do with Ramon Borrego he's been in GCL as far as I can remember and has a good rapport with the Hispanic players.

[Thrylos]

A hire totally based on merit:   He led a division III college team to a 81-116 record and slashed .232/.292/.274 for his career as a professional.  He even hit 6 HRs in 7 seasons.

 

What else does one want from a hitting coach?

[DaveW]

I think it's a little silly to say he can't be a hitting coach because he wasn't a great "pro" hitter. Plenty of successful coaches in every sport weren't elite, or even average players in their playing careers.

I normally would complain about nepotism etc but Toby isn't some retread coach, he's a young/new coach who deserves a shot. It's not like he is even taking some HUGE position anyways, so their really is no downside at all. I'm much more concerned about guys like Hunter getting front office positions...just because he was a Twin. Toby though? This isn't some PR stunt, they think he has the skillset to become an asset.

Best of luck to him!

[Thrylos]

 

I think it's a little silly to say he can't be a hitting coach because he wasn't a great "pro" hitter. Plenty of successful coaches in every sport weren't elite, or even average players in their playing careers.

 

The point is that he sucked as a division III College manager as well.

[ashbury]

The point is that he sucked as a division III College manager as well.

He won't be called upon to recruit for the GCL Twins, nor work around academic eligibility rules, etc etc. I'm inclined to wait and let the team work out whether he does the job or not.

[Rosterman]

He started after the Stout season. Because of the large number of players down there, the Twins have multiple coaches now, besides the coordinators.

 

 

[gunnarthor]

 

The point is that he sucked as a division III College manager as well.

I'm not sure his record wasn't an improvement at Stout.  That was a pretty sorry team he took over and had a .340 or so winning percentage in the four years before he took over. 

I know nothing about college baseball and the divisions so maybe Stout was a major college baseball player but I suspect it's likely that baseball, like football, has some teams that getting to .500 is considered a success. 

[jud6312]

If I recall, Andy has a son. Does he have a mediocre track record that could earn him a minor league pitching coach gig?

[DaveW]

The fact that he has managerial experience is a plus, he improved the team he managed as well, so I don't see why/how he was so terrible

 

Besides, he's not becoming a manager in this org currently anyways. To be honest, bashing this move just seems so petty/or jealous.

[nicksaviking]

Right, should he be disqualified because of his last name? It's not like he's creating policy or heading up the draft strategy. He's teaching guys how to square up a bunt and take good angles rounding the bases.

 

Would anyone be upset if it was Tom Kelly's kid?

[Seth Stohs]

 

A hire totally based on merit:   He led a division III college team to a 81-116 record and slashed .232/.292/.274 for his career as a professional.  He even hit 6 HRs in 7 seasons.

 

What else does one want from a hitting coach?

 

Only thing I want is that hitting coach to be a good communicator with players, understand hitting fundamentals, have a strong passion for the game, relate to the players and understands the big picture of player development.. No question, he gets all of that. 

 

I don't care about his personal stats. I don't care what his record was as manager at Stout. When you understand the baseball situation for players in Wisconsin and hence the players he gets at Stout, maybe 81-116 is a good thing. I don't know.

[TRex]

... and I would imagine 

 

I don't care about his personal stats. I don't care what his record was as manager at Stout. When you understand the baseball situation for players in Wisconsin and hence the players he gets at Stout, maybe 81-116 is a good thing. I don't know.

... and I would imagine most first year coaches in the GCL do not have ANY coaching experience, so what truly can be gleaned from Gardenhire's UW Stout experience?