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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Bed Wetter" data-source="post: 95901" data-attributes="member: 428">[h=1]Gardenhire returns to Twins as special assistant[/h]<a href="http://www.inforum.com/sites/default/files/styles/full_1000/public/field/image/USATSI_8104817_168380579_lowres.jpg?itok=TNNb-AQc" target="_blank"><img src="http://www.inforum.com/sites/default/files/styles/16x9_860/public/field/image/USATSI_8104817_168380579_lowres.jpg?itok=DD2qmeSQ" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" /></a>Ron Gardenhire was the 2010 American League manager of the year. Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY SportsMINNEAPOLIS – The Minnesota Twins family is whole again.Ron Gardenhire, dismissed in September 2014 after 13 mostly successful seasons as big-league manager, has returned to the organization as a special assistant to general manager Terry Ryan, the team announced Monday.“I miss the ballpark,” Gardenhire said in a conference call with Twin Cities media. “I just miss being in a uniform and hanging out with the people. This is giving me the opportunity to get back in there and do those things.”Gardenhire, 58, will serve as a special roving instructor and evaluator, traveling to all Twins minor-league affiliates. Much of that over the next few months will be in the Fort Myers, Fla., area where he has a home.He also will serve as a mentor to the Twins’ minor-league managers and coaches.That was the role Ryan hoped Gardenhire would fill in 2015, the final season of his contract, but both sides eventually agreed it was best for the longtime baseball man to recharge his battery while out of the game.Ryan maintained contact this winter and spring, eventually convincing Gardenhire to return to the only organization he has worked for the past nearly three decades.“Terry really wanted me to come back here,” Gardenhire said. “In spring training, Terry called me a couple of times and told me I really needed to do this, they wanted me back and it was a good fit and that I could help out.”Then the classic Gardy wit surfaced as he brought his wife into the conversation.“Really it was Carol more than anything else that said, ‘You need to go to work,’ ” Gardenhire said. “And there you have it.”Paul Molitor replaced Gardenhire as Twins manager after four straight seasons of 92 or more losses. Sensitive to Molitor’s need to establish his own program, Gardenhire has stayed away from Target Field.He and Molitor have talked and texted in recent weeks as this new role was hammered out, and Gardenhire said the two remain friends.The Twins have discussed having Gardenhire return to Target Field in early June around the time of the amateur draft. Gardenhire won’t have input into the draft, but that’s when the bulk of Twins scouts and baseball operations people are in the same place.Gardenhire also plans to attend the Twins Hall of Fame inductions of Torii Hunter and former broadcaster John Gordon in late July.Skipper to six division champions in a nine-year span (2002-10), Gardenhire had a career record of 1,068-1,039 with the Twins, a winning percentage of .507. He previously served as a coach under former Twins manager Tom Kelly, who also remains in the organization as a special assistant to the GM.Gardenhire played his final season with the Triple-A Portland club in the Twins organization in 1987 before starting his managerial career in their system.This offseason, Gardenhire interviewed for big-league dugout openings with the San Diego Padres and the Washington Nationals and nearly landed the Padres job that eventually went to former Arizona Diamondbacks coach Andy Green, a first-time manager.Dusty Baker beat out Gardenhire with the Nationals.There were reports that Gardenhire might be open to serving as Green’s bench coach or taking a role in the Padres front office, but that never materialized.“I think we were really close,” Gardenhire said. “It just came down to the communication thing and kind of figuring out what it was going to be like. It was just unsure really what the job was when it came down to a special assistant-type thing. I just didn’t really know where it was leading to. I never really pinned them down.”Gardenhire also was mentioned as a potential candidate to manage Team USA in the 2017 World Baseball Classic, but that distinction went last week to former Detroit Tigers manager Jim Leyland, Gardenhire’s close friend. Gardenhire said he wasn’t in the mix for Team USA but Germany did call about having him manage its WBC entry.Gardenhire’s hiring gives the Twins three special assistants to the GM. Former Cincinnati Reds GM Wayne Krivsky holds the other spot.In addition, five former Twins greats serve as special assistants: hall of famers Rod Carew and Bert Blyleven, along with Tony Oliva, Jack Morris and Kent Hrbek.</blockquote>

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