Twins extend Gardenhire

The Minnesota Twins and Ron Gardenhire have reached an agreement for the iconic manager to stay on with the club for at least the next two years, the team announced. The 55 year old Gardenhire has managed the Twins since 2002, and has been with the organization since 1988.

Official: The #MNTwins have agreed with Manager Ron Gardenhire to a two-year contract extension, through the 2015 season.

— Minnesota Twins (@Twins) September 30, 2013

After ending his playing career in 1987, Gardenhire went into coaching, spending the next three years managing in the Twins' farm system. In 1991, he became the Twins' third base coach, a position which he held for 11 years before being promoted to the managerial position in January of 2002.

The Twins organization has been in a down spell for the last few years, with the team losing 96+ games and finishing among the bottom five teams in baseball for each of the past three seasons. In that span, Gardenhire's Twins have gone 195-291 largely due to a notable lack of talent on the major league roster.

However, there is hope for Gardenhire and the Twins as the club's farm system is widely recognized as one of the best systems in baseball, with their prospect pool being led by slugging corner infielder Miguel Sano and five-tool uber-athlete Byron Buxton, who most regard as the best prospect in baseball.

In his career, Gardenhire has guided the Twins to the playoffs on six occasions, though he has never advanced beyond the League Championship Series. He has won six AL Central division crowns, a World Series ring (earned as a third base coach in 1991), and the 2010 Manager of the Year award. He has finished as the runner up for the award on five other occasions.

In all, Gardenhire has a 998-947 record as the manager of the Minnesota Twins, and his new extension makes him a prime candidate to be the skipper on the next contending Twins team.