Where Does Rocco Baldelli Rank Among the Best Managers in Twins History?

[Cody Christie]

Image courtesy of Left: © Brad Rempel- Imagn Images (Gardenhire), Upper Right: RVR Photos-Imagn Images (Kelly), Lower Right: Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images (Baldelli)

Rocco Baldelli recently passed Sam Mele for third-most wins in Minnesota Twins managerial history, behind only Tom Kelly and Ron Gardenhire. That milestone has renewed debates: how high does Baldelli rank among the franchise’s great managers, and what will the Twins’ brass do if the team’s middling recent performance leads fans to demand change?

Below is a look at the top managers in Twins history, how Baldelli stacks up, and whether the criticism he’s getting is earned or misplaced.

Tom Kelly (1986-2001)
The standard by which all others are judged. Kelly’s tenure brought the Twins their only two World Series titles (1987, 1991), along with multiple playoff runs, consistent regular-season success, and deep roots in player development. He logged 1,140 wins as Twins manager, the franchise record. Even when the team was rebuilding, Kelly was known for a steady hand, patience, and doing the little things well.

Ron Gardenhire (2002-2014)
Next in line in terms of longevity and success. Gardenhire guided the Twins to 1,068 wins during his 13 seasons. He won six AL Central division titles, kept the team competitive, and (despite playoff under-achievement) built a culture of ruggedness and consistency that Twins fans remember fondly.

Sam Mele (1961-1967)
Mele was the early benchmark. While the Twins were still adjusting to their Minnesota identity, Mele led them to multiple 90-win seasons, a club-record 102 wins in 1965, and their first AL pennant (though they lost the World Series that year). His wins total (522) has been in one of the top three spots throughout the franchise’s history.

Paul Molitor (2015-2018)
Molitor’s tenure was shorter and more uneven. He didn’t win as many games as Kelly, Gardenhire, or Mele, but he did earn a Manager of the Year Award (2017), helped stabilize the team, and presided over a sensitive transition era. 

Rocco Baldelli’s Rise — What the Numbers Say
When Baldelli arrived, expectations were mixed: a new front office, a young core, and a fan base hungry for something beyond mediocrity. His first season (2019) was explosive: 101 wins, a division title, and AL Manager of the Year honors. There was little he needed to do during that first season, because the team was hitting home runs at a record-breaking pace. 

Over the following seasons, the results have been more inconsistent: injuries, underperformances, missed playoff opportunities, and late-season fadeouts have plagued the team. Earlier this month, he moved past Mele in total wins as a Twins manager, becoming third all-time in franchise managerial wins.

At the same time, his postseason record is mixed. Through several playoff appearances, the Twins under Baldelli have not advanced far. His regular-season record is above .500, but expectations from fans and media have risen with each season, making the last two seasons’ collapses sting more. 

Ranking Baldelli Relative to the Greats
Here’s a sketch of how one might rank Baldelli in the pantheon of Twins managers, given what we know now, including their strengths and weaknesses. 

1. Tom Kelly
Strengths: Championships, longevity, consistency, deep institutional legacy.
Weaknesses: Late-career fade, but few managers have such a complete legacy. 

2. Ron Gardenhire
Strengths: Strong regular-season track record, many playoff berths, and a fan favorite.
Weaknesses: Never got over certain playoff hurdles, less hardware than Kelly.

3. Rocco Baldelli
Strengths: Won over 100 games in 2019, ended the playoff losing streak, modern managerial strengths (player rest, data, etc.).
Weaknesses: The team has missed the playoffs in four of the last five seasons, and there have been recent notable collapses. 

4. Sam Mele
Strengths: Set early peaks (102 wins, first pennant, foundational in club history. 
Weaknesses: Short tenure, fewer overall wins vs. those who followed. 

5. Paul Molitor
Strengths: Had flashes of success, won Manager of the Year, helped implement transitions
Weaknesses: Less long-term impact, mixed record, fewer cumulative wins.

This ranking puts Baldelli above Mele on total wins and modern expectations, but not yet at the level of Kelly or Gardenhire. Though there’s a case to be made that if he strings together a couple more solid seasons (especially with postseason wins), he could challenge for #2.

Where Baldelli Stands Now, and What’s Next
Baldelli has earned his place among the best managers in Twins history. He’s now third in wins, has captured division titles, won Manager of the Year, and, in general, met the expectations assigned to him when he took over. But he isn’t yet in the class of Kelly or Gardenhire, at least in terms of championships and defining legacy moments.

Going forward, the key for Baldelli is:

1. Playoff success: If the Twins can win in October under his leadership, many of the criticisms will fade fast.
2. Closing strong in seasons: Avoiding late-season collapses that turn good potential into mediocrity.
3. Roster health and construction: He can’t control everything, but when injuries aren’t overwhelming, performance must track with talent.

If he fails to produce postseason wins, or if the team continues to fold under pressure, ownership may well consider a change. However, it would be harsh to place all the blame on Baldelli now, since he deserves more credit than he often receives and more time than some fans are willing to give.

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How do you rank the top five managers in Twins history? Leave a comment and start the discussion. 

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[Riverbrian]

[Coach Wheels]

Not even going to read the article. Rocco and "Best" anything is not an article worth my time.

[Whitey333]

What a joke of a story.  Baldelli amongst Twins best all time managers?  Ridiculous.  Now co.pare him with some of the worst.  Must be a click bait story.  Or one of those satire stories.  It can't be real!!

[Nashvilletwin]

I will honor the story by attempting a concise thoughtful response. But it is a bit funny to have this article follow “How the Twins Can Spend $30MM in 2026”. 

It’s not even close. Rocco is not in the same ballpark as any of those other managers.  Other than one juiced ball year (with a roster he basically inherited) and one playoff series win, Rocco has consistently gotten less out of his players - individually and as a team - than any of those other managers.

The mentioning of injuries as the first excuse is ridiculous.  Roster construction? Please.  Rocco has had plenty of talent with which to work. His problem has not been the players he’s had; instead, it’s been both developing them and/or getting them to be the best ball players they can be,

The author points out three keys for Rocco going forward (one of which is “playoff success” - please insert the obligatory Jim Mora gif here).  None of these are nearly as important as being able to transform into true major leaguers the young talent that a small/mid market necessarily must consistently do in order to compete (particularly in this salary cap less MLB environment).

Rocco seems like a super nice gentleman. He’s more than likely well liked by the people who know him well.  However, it’s time to quit making excuses as to his suitability to be the manager of the Minnesota Twins. The data points and lack of results are all there right in front of all of us.  

[mikelink45]

No mention of Billy Martin? Gene Mauch?

Paul Molitor deserves to be higher than Rocco.  He was steady, consistent and dealt well with the talent he had.

I have him with Billy Gardner and above Rigney and Miller (the worst).  

I don't hate Rocco - just am not enamored with him.  But some of my criticism is on the system that Falvey and his abundant coaching staff and front office have followed.

[Hubie29]

Right below Frank Quilici, Billy Gardner and Ray Miller.

[Otaknam]

Baldelli deserves heavy criticism for two things. First, he relies too heavily on analytics and not his intuition, especially when it comes to pitching. He seems to doggedly follow what a computer algorithm dictates. If it says remove the pitcher, he does it. No wonder Sonny Gray wanted out. Who wants to pitch for a guy who doesn't have confidence that you can pitch more than five innings? Second, the team has played Earl Weaver ball for years, sitting back and hoping for a three run homer instead of trying for force some action. Nothing makes that more obvious than how this year has gone. The team has struggled offensively all year, with very poor stats with RISP. But it took the dismantling of the team with trades before it suddenly occurred to him that they should try to steal bases, hit and run, and try to take an extra base. Now they are stealing multiple bases every game, even by some of the power hitters like Wallner. Why did it take two thirds of the year to figure out the obvious? It’s time for some new blood in the FO and at the helm.

[karcherd]

33 minutes ago, Otaknam said:

Why did it take two thirds of the year to figure out the obvious?

More like seven years to figure out how to play baseball.

[Mike h]

Any manager who is employed long enough will accumulate a lot of wins, even if he does so at a slow rate.  But I think that using longevity as a weighty criteria for judging managers is not that accurate.  Billy Martin had a very short tenure with the Twins but I think he was better than Tom Kelly and Ron Gardenhire.  Do you think Rod Carew steals home 7 times in one year under any other manager?  Martin played exciting baseball and he won. I think winning percentage would be a better indicator than number of wins.  That, and the eye test.
As for Baldelli, I wish you had reviewed all the Twins managers, including Quilici, Rigney, Gardner, and Mauch so I could put Baldelli beneath them all. Worst manager ever. 
I realize I am contradicting myself because his winning percentage is not the worst, but in his case, I lean  heavily on the eye test.  His team is just no fun to watch.

[Peter]

Top 3!!! Lol On everyone who wants him fired-guess what that’s not going to happen!!! When it’s all said and done he will be best twins manager ever and that includes topping TK all time wins!!!

[sweetmusicviola16]

Just as it was time  for Gardenhire to be gone it is time for Rocco to be gone. Same with Falvey. The great failure of the entire regime is players not developing at the ML level. That's why 2019 was/is the outlier. 

[saviking]

1 hour ago, Otaknam said:

Baldelli deserves heavy criticism for two things. First, he relies too heavily on analytics and not his intuition, especially when it comes to pitching. He seems to doggedly follow what a computer algorithm dictates. If it says remove the pitcher, he does it. No wonder Sonny Gray wanted out. Who wants to pitch for a guy who doesn't have confidence that you can pitch more than five innings? Second, the team has played Earl Weaver ball for years, sitting back and hoping for a three run homer instead of trying for force some action. Nothing makes that more obvious than how this year has gone. The team has struggled offensively all year, with very poor stats with RISP. But it took the dismantling of the team with trades before it suddenly occurred to him that they should try to steal bases, hit and run, and try to take an extra base. Now they are stealing multiple bases every game, even by some of the power hitters like Wallner. Why did it take two thirds of the year to figure out the obvious? It’s time for some new blood in the FO and at the helm.

Im not sure he has any intuition. Might as well have a computer robot manage the team.  

[Irishman]

My rank for Minnesota Twins manager:

1.     Tom Kelly

2,    Sam Mele

3.    Billy Martin

4-10

11.   Ray Miller

12.  Ron Gardenhire

13.   Paul Molitor

14.  Rocco Baldelli

 

Rocco should never have been a Twins Manager.   He always suck!

[Aggies7]

Of all the twins managers in history, he’s one of ‘em

[DJL44]

What an utterly mediocre list of managers.

[Jeff K]

1 hour ago, Peter said:

Top 3!!! Lol On everyone who wants him fired-guess what that’s not going to happen!!! When it’s all said and done he will be best twins manager ever and that includes topping TK all time wins!!!

Are you two related?

[USAFChief]

He doesn't. 

[Jeff K]

Rocco is a poor manager.  When he is eventually fired, he will be hard pressed to remain a major league manager.  His longevity is purely a result of ownership moving far too slowly and their reluctance to fire someone with time left on their contract.  I can not understand his extension this year.  At all.

[Trov]

I know the article was about Rocco and his ranking, but I want to comment on Gardy. He was overrated as a manager and should have been fired sooner than he was.  He was not bad when he first came into the league, but was way to old school and the game passed him by very quickly.  I feel he was the "by the book" guy and just about anyone could have filled in for him and had similar success.  

I say this for a few reasons.  First, in playoff series he clearly had no way to manage a single game, he never wanted to "over manage" like some get accused of these days.  Sure, there are times managers these days go too extreme the other way, like Rocco might, but Gardy would be overly stubborn the other way. 

He also contradicted himself on decisions plenty of times.  A few examples, in a playoff game, where the Twins had a chance to go up 2-0 against the Yankees in the 2004 series.  He decided to start rookie Jason Kubel at DH, which I liked Kubel, nothing wrong with playing him.  However, he looked way over matched all game. We tied it up in the 8th against Rivera and with 1 out runners on 2nd and 3rd, just needing a fly ball to tie it Kubel came up.  We had Lew Ford on the bench, who had his best year of his career by far that year.  

Gardy stayed with Kubel because of the lefty matchup, but Rivera has better career numbers against lefties.  However, by the book Gardy says you have a lefty hit against righty when you can despite the long know career reverse splits for Rivera. Kubel strikes out and then Guzman grounds out ending the inning.  

Going forward in game, Nathan pitches the 10th, 11th, and rookie Jesse Crain, who was having a good rookie year was warmed up to come in if game was tied.  But we took the lead, and Gardy left Nathan for a 3rd inning, something he had not done all year.

Nathan was cooked and gave up the lead after walking 2 of the first 3 batters and ground rule double after that.  Then new pitcher gave up sac fly and we lose game.  After the game, Gardy says after they took the lead he was not going to put the rookie in that situation trying to get a save, but he had no problem leaving a rookie in trying to hit off the best closer of all time with a reverse split issue, when all you needed was to put ball in play. 

There are many other examples I could give, like when he would bring in his "8th inning guy" to pitch when the hitter he was facing had a history of destroying him, only to have it happen again, and he would say well he is our 8th inning guy. He would never look at advanced stats or think outside the box.  

He was fine getting wins in regular season, but I feel he did not do anything special, he was just the guy there, and he would never think of how can he do better and just say well lets play by the book.  Maybe, playing by the book was the right move at the time, but when he would need to make hard choices in short series he would cave. 

[markymark12]

Roc bottom, right below Mauch and Molitor. No clue what he's doing- might as well use AI to run the team.....

[Parfigliano]

1 minute ago, markymark12 said:

Roc bottom, right below Mauch and Molitor. No clue what he's doing- might as well use AI to run the team.....

He uses an algorithm.

[TopGunn#22]

Kelly is #1 for sure.  You can't be the manager on our only 2 World Series Championship teams and not be.

Billy Martin, in his one glorious season is #2.  Billy also lost his two playoff games against the Orioles to finish with a zero percent winning percentage, but that team may have been the most exciting team the Twins ever had.  They were beaten in the post season by an Orioles team that for 1969, 1970 and 1891 put together a pretty fantastic 3 year record.

Sam Mele is #3.  He took the Twins to a World Series, and some top 3 finishes in the American League.

Gardy gets #4.  He won a lot of division titles but his post season legacy knocks him down.

Paul Molitor gets #5 for me ahead of Gene Mauch.  I wish Molly had gotten more of a chance.  

I agree that Rocco is a fine person.  But post 2019 he's been very frustrating.  His magic lasted just enough to get us a playoff game in the Covid shorted season, but what magic he had is no more.  

 

[Rod Carews Birthday]

@Cody Christie, are you just a glutton for punishment?  You know what happens on TD when there is any mention of Rocco Baldelli in a positive light, let alone something nearly this superlative.  It's likely that ultimately (after time has passed and wounds have healed -- and hopefully after the team is sold) Baldelli will rank somewhere in the middle of all of those names.  At the moment, however, in the heat of battle, there really isn't any way to view him objectively.  

More importantly, it's probably time to move on from him at this point.  What that means without a new front office and/or ownership is probably very little.  The problems didn't start or end with Baldelli, but he is probably the public face on them. 

[theBOMisthebomb]

26 minutes ago, Trov said:

I know the article was about Rocco and his ranking, but I want to comment on Gardy. He was overrated as a manager and should have been fired sooner than he was.  He was not bad when he first came into the league, but was way to old school and the game passed him by very quickly.  I feel he was the "by the book" guy and just about anyone could have filled in for him and had similar success.  

I say this for a few reasons.  First, in playoff series he clearly had no way to manage a single game, he never wanted to "over manage" like some get accused of these days.  Sure, there are times managers these days go too extreme the other way, like Rocco might, but Gardy would be overly stubborn the other way. 

He also contradicted himself on decisions plenty of times.  A few examples, in a playoff game, where the Twins had a chance to go up 2-0 against the Yankees in the 2004 series.  He decided to start rookie Jason Kubel at DH, which I liked Kubel, nothing wrong with playing him.  However, he looked way over matched all game. We tied it up in the 8th against Rivera and with 1 out runners on 2nd and 3rd, just needing a fly ball to tie it Kubel came up.  We had Lew Ford on the bench, who had his best year of his career by far that year.  

Gardy stayed with Kubel because of the lefty matchup, but Rivera has better career numbers against lefties.  However, by the book Gardy says you have a lefty hit against righty when you can despite the long know career reverse splits for Rivera. Kubel strikes out and then Guzman grounds out ending the inning.  

Going forward in game, Nathan pitches the 10th, 11th, and rookie Jesse Crain, who was having a good rookie year was warmed up to come in if game was tied.  But we took the lead, and Gardy left Nathan for a 3rd inning, something he had not done all year.

Nathan was cooked and gave up the lead after walking 2 of the first 3 batters and ground rule double after that.  Then new pitcher gave up sac fly and we lose game.  After the game, Gardy says after they took the lead he was not going to put the rookie in that situation trying to get a save, but he had no problem leaving a rookie in trying to hit off the best closer of all time with a reverse split issue, when all you needed was to put ball in play. 

There are many other examples I could give, like when he would bring in his "8th inning guy" to pitch when the hitter he was facing had a history of destroying him, only to have it happen again, and he would say well he is our 8th inning guy. He would never look at advanced stats or think outside the box.  

He was fine getting wins in regular season, but I feel he did not do anything special, he was just the guy there, and he would never think of how can he do better and just say well lets play by the book.  Maybe, playing by the book was the right move at the time, but when he would need to make hard choices in short series he would cave. 

Yes, Gardy was overrated and stayed well past expiration date. Your examples could have been chalked up to bad luck, though at some point the manager needs to shoulder the blame. 

[David Maro]

Plain and simple why does it take until August 1,2025 for this team to start playing baseball. The excuse that no speed no bases doesn't fly. All of a sudden everyone is running wild. It's called his job is on the line and he knows it. Waiting for the homerun when you're lineup only has a couple of power hitters is a liability. Looking around the league there is only a handful of players with 30 or more homeruns. With this team its Buxton who in the past has missed 60+ games a season.

[Doctor Gast]

You can say these managers had X amount of wins, but to rank them according to wins is unfair. IMO, Gene Mauch was the Twins' best manager, but he didn't rack up a bunch of wins in his short time with us. After he left, he did much better. You have to consider what he had to work with. Baldelli's best years were his 1st 2 years, & I contributed more to his bench coaches for the wins than his managing alone. IMO, our '23 roster was the Twins' best roster in years. I wouldn't say that Baldelli is Twins' 3rd best manager, not by a long shot. 

[rv78]

3 hours ago, Otaknam said:

But it took the dismantling of the team with trades before it suddenly occurred to him that they should try to steal bases, hit and run, and try to take an extra base. Now they are stealing multiple bases every game, even by some of the power hitters like Wallner. Why did it take two thirds of the year to figure out the obvious?

You can't even give Baldelli credit for this. It was Tingler's idea. Remember a couple of years ago when Rocco said publicly that he couldn't figure out how to keep Buxton and Correa from having scheduled rest days happen on the same day? There's some real high intelligence there for ya. He's a buffoon.

Take away his first season and the team he inherited, where Cody even states that all he had to do was sit back and watch his team hit home runs, and he's done pretty much nothing. I find it laughable that in 2019 where he basically just stayed out of the way, was his best season. 

[jmlease1]

I think it's hilarious to see Molitor on this list. What did he actually do as a manager that made him good, other be Paul Molitor, Hall of Fame player? (I'd say that wore off pretty fast) He reportedly had some of the clubhouse conflicts that a lot of great players have when they try their hand at managing, caused by them not understanding how lesser players couldn't just do some of the things that came naturally to him. Molly did a terrible job running a bullpen (we all complained about it around here, and we were right). It may be that his age and level of interest in continuing to manage are what really kept him from another job, but it's also very likely that the rest of baseball saw him as a guy who didn't communicate well to today's player's in a managerial role and may have had the game pass him by.

Sneaking into a WC in one season surrounded by 2 bad ones shouldn't get you on this list. Gene Mauch was superior (and better than Baldelli) and should be here, even if he was short timed...he was better than Molitor. Billy Martin was a genius (and an utterly self-destructive maniac and a$$hole; he can be both things) but one season ain't enough, even if it was kind of amazing what he did.

Baldelli reminds me a bit of Gardy: when his players are healthy and play well, he looks good, and when they're not and don't every single thing that bothers you about him is magnified times 200.

1. TK
2. Mele
3. Gardy
4. Mauch
5. Baldelli...I guess? (it's not a great or even that long of a list)

Putting Rocco last is recency bias and/or showing how much you hate analytics or something. Because come on: Ray Miller. (and Bill Rigney and Billy Gardner were both really bad; look at how fast the Twins fell apart under Rigney, and they still had plenty of talent.)

[shimrod]

45 minutes ago, theBOMisthebomb said:

Yes, Gardy was overrated

Team fundamentals steadily degraded through Gardenhire's tenure. It frustrated me no end to hear the announcers, every game, talk about the Twins playing "the right way" and "doing the little things". Meanwhile on the field the team was missing the cutoff and kicking the ball around. 

Gardy coasted on Kelly's coattails for years. 

Still better than Rocco though.