Tigers announce Ron Gardenhire to retire immediately

The acting manager of the Detroit Tigers announced his stunning retirement on Saturday evening.

For a brief period, the Detroit Tigers were in postseason contention, which many baseball fans weren’t expecting even in this truncated, 60-game season. However, they’re now all but eliminated from fall ball. Before the MLB regular-season ends next week, the Tigers were handed some shocking news.

On Saturday, the Tigers announced that manager Ron Gardenhire is retiring, effective immediately after two-plus seasons on the job. Bench coach Lloyd McClendon will serve as the team’s interim skipper for the remainder of the campaign.

Health a reason why Gardenhire retired

Tigers general manager Al Avila says that the reasoning for Gardenhire’s decision to step away from the game was for his health. Gardenhire revealed that he was originally intending to retire at the end of the season, when his three-year contract officially expires. However, Gardenhire told the media that he wasn’t feeling well as of late, and decided that it was in his best interest to take care of himself not just for his sake, but for his family’s sake.

Before taking the Tigers job in 2018, Gardenhire served as the manager for the Minnesota Twins from 2002 until 2014, where he accumulated a 1,068-1,039 record win-loss record, earned six AL Central Championships and won the 2010 American League Manager of the Year award. Unlike the Twins, the Tigers were a fully rebuilding team, and Gardenhire embraced it upon being hired.

In his two-plus years with the club, Gardenhire holds a 132-241 record. McClendon officially takes over the job tonight, as the Tigers face off against the rival Cleveland Indians.