a long, long time ago
Congratulations go out to Ron Gardenhire on the occasion of his 700th win as manager of the Minnesota Twins. Old-timers in the Jackson area will remember Gardenhire as the JaxMets shortstop in 1980. He had a good year for a team that made the Texas League playoffs under Bob Wellman. Gardenhire, who had been drafted in 1979 out of Texas, hit .258 with 16 doubles, 6 triples, 6 homers and 64 RBIs in his first and only Double-A season. He was a serviceable big league player. He’s been far more than that as a manager. Don’t bet against the small-market Twins catching Detroit in the American League Central and making the playoffs — again.
P.S. Following the milestone win on Tuesday night, Gardenhire, humbly deflecting credit, told The Associated Press, “My coaches work their tails off, and I tip my hat to them.” One of those coaches is Rick Anderson, a former Jackson Mets pitcher.