Get To Know: The Twins Coaching Staff

Written by: Seth Stohs on 11th March 2009

Get To Know: The Twins Coaching Staff | read this item

The Twins coaching staff has largely remained intact sine Ron Gardenhire took over the team from Tom Kelly before the 2002 season. Even more interesting is just how long these guys have been in the Twins organization. Players and the manager get a lot of the credit, and blame, and deservingly so, but the rest of the coaching staff should really not be overlooked. Here is a quick look at the Twins staff:

Ron Gardenhire – The 51 year old “Gardy” played for the New York Mets from 1981 through 1985. Over that time, he hit .232/.277/.296 in 285 big league games while playing a slightly below average shortstop. Thankfully for Twins fans, his managerial career has been much more successful. In his seven seasons as skipper, the Twins have a 621-509 record. He has finished second in AL Manager of the Year voting four times. Only Tony Larussa has been runner-up more. He has won four division titles, and had just one sub-.500 season. He began his managerial and coaching career after the 1987 season in the Twins system. He was the Twins 3B coach in 1991 and remained a base coach until he was named manager.

Rick Anderson – Like Gardy, “Andy” began his big league career in the New York Mets system. He came up to the big league club for that magical 1986 season. After the season, he was traded to the Kansas City Royals where he saw big league time in 1987 and 1988. In his big league time, he pitched 96.2 innings in 28 games. He walked just 29 and allowed just nine home runs. But he struck out just 42 hitters. In 1989, he began his pitching coach career in the Twins organization, and he remained in the minor league system until he was named Ron Gardenhire’s pitching coach. He has been given a lot of credit for the Twins pitching success.

Joe Vavra – The Twins name Vavra their hitting coach before the 2006 season. Prior to that, he was the Twins minor league field coordinator from 2002 through 2005. And in 2001, he was the head coach of the Division III U of Wisconsin-Stout baseball team. Prior to that, he had been in the Dodgers organization since they drafted him in the 8^th round of the 1982 draft. He started his coaching days in 1987.

Jerry White – White has been the Twins 1B coach since the 1999 season. He certainly had the best playing career of any of the Twins coaches. He was the 14^th round pick of the Montreal Expos in 1970. He made his big league debut at age 22 in 1974, and played in at least parts of 11 big league seasons. He In 1,196 at bats, he hit .253/.337/.363 with 80 extra base hits. He started his coaching career as the Twins roving outfield and base running coordinator. He was the Twins 1B coach in 1995 because Gardy hurt his knee, and the Tigers made him their 1B coach for two years. He came back to the Twins and has remained their 1B and OF coach since 1999.

Scott Ullger – Ullger has been in the Twins organization for over 30 years, since they used their 18^th round pick in 1977 on him. He made his major league debut and had his final big league at bat in the 1983 season for the Twins. He did not get a hit in his first 19 at bats before getting his first hit. In 79 big league at bats, he hit .190/.247/.241 with four doubles. He spent the next three years playing 1B and 3B for the Twins AAA affiliate in Toledo. After one season in Rochester (which at that time was still an Orioles affiliate), Ullger began his minor league managing career in 1988. In 1995, he spent some time as the Twins 3B coach. In 1999, he was named the Twins hitting coach, a role he held until the 2006 season when he moved back to the 3B coaching box.

Steve Liddle – Liddle signed with the Angels in 1981 as a non-drafted free agent out of Lipscomb University. He was catching in AAA by 1984. He came to the Twins in a trade before the 1987 season and spent two seasons catching in AAA for the Twins. He began managing in the Twins system in 1989. He became the Twins minor league field coordinator in 1999, and in 2002, he became Gardy’s bench coach, a position he still holds.

Rick Stelmaszek – “Stelly” is entering his 29^th season as a coach for the Minnesota Twins. He began his professional baseball career when the Washington Senators drafted him in 1967. He made his big league debut in 1971 and went 0-9 as a backup catcher. His manager? The Splendid Splinter, Ted Williams. He came back to the big leagues in 1973 with a bad Texas Rangers team. He got his first big league hit off of Nolan Ryan of the Angels, the team he was traded to soon after. He spent 1974 with the Chicago Cubs where he hit his lone big league homer, off of Hall of Famer Don Sutton. That ended his big league career. In 1978, he joined the Twins organization. He has been the Twins bullpen coach sine 1981.

So there you have it, a quick look at the Minnesota Twins coaching staff. Clearly the organization values longevity, consistency and loyalty. These guys all worked their way up the Twins system, just like the players do.

Share on Tumblr

Topics: Jerry White, Joe Vavra, Rick Anderson, Rick Stelmaszek, Ron Gardenhire, Scott Ullger, Steve Liddle

Twins Talk « SethSpeaks.net says:

March 12, 2009 at 1:07 am

[...] Please be sure to check out my new article on the Twins coaching staff at the new Baseball Digest online [...]
Ask the leadership coach » Get To Know: The Twins Coaching Staff : Baseball Digest says:

March 12, 2009 at 1:37 am

[...] Jeremy posted a noteworthy aricle today onHere’s a small snippetThe Twins coaching staff has largely remained intact sine Ron Gardenhire took over the team from Tom Kelly before the 2002 season. Even more interesting is just how long these guys have been in the Twins organization. … [...]
Twins Morning Doinks : Baseball Digest says:

March 12, 2009 at 7:28 am

[...] every hardcore stathead wants answered: Is or isn’t Delmon Young a giant teddy bear. Seth Stohs runs provides us with a glimpse of the Twins’ coaching staff. One thing that Stohs does [...]