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QUEENS, N.Y. – Ron Gardenhire roamed these places in front of Citi Field, where circus tents filled the space that was previously the shea stage.
"My hamstrings are somewhere around here," he says. "And my groin. My groin was in the left field. "
Thirty-three years ago, the Detroit The veteran Tigers manager last dressed in a New York Mets uniform. It was a mistake – the team made a mistake in setting their alignment before the spring training and had to wear the injured inside to start the regular season – and he went out and sat in the office.
Ron Gardenhire discusses a call Saturday at Citi Field. (Photo: Mike Stobe, Getty Images)
"I told Davey Johnson (manager):" I will never participate in the game, even if you try to put me in the game, "Gardenhire said.
He was part of the Mets lineup in 1986 for two games, did not play either, and they were his last two players in the majors. In five seasons, Gardenhire – who often enjoys playing the role of "futility player" – beat .232 with four home runs in 285 games.
"How was I?" He said. "When I was healthy, I was a very aggressive guy."
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Remembering his playing career – he played in the big leagues with just the Mets – Gardenhire said the return to Queens was always special, even though it was a different stadium.
There have not been a lot of highlights in his career – he started 122 shuttles for New York in 1982 and played sparingly in his other four seasons – but two came to mind.
Pete Rose of the Philadelphia Phillies staggers after crashing against Ron Gardenhire, a New York Mets striker, on the base of the Shea Stadium on September 17, 1981, in New York City. (Photo: Ray Stubblebine, AP)
The first was his first career round, his team was faced by Ray Burris at the Montreal Olympic Stadium on June 29, 1982.
"Cursor suspended," Gardenhire said. "But what I remember most is Ellis Valentine who said to me, 'You have not hit it yet in the United States. "It was his reply," you still have not hit it in the United States. "My first major league tour, I'll never forget this line, it's a good line. "
[[[[The Tigers meet Mets in front of a strike]
The second was a painful memory, which sent him slowly but surely back to the majors as manager.
"In 1984, I played my best baseball," Gardenhire said. "Playing every day and very well, then I hit a ball in the gap in Cincinnati, on Mario Soto's Astroturf, and my average went from .210 to .242 or almost .250. I hit a gapper off Soto and blew my hammer. "
It was the first injured hamstring of Gardenhire.
"I was looking for the bag instead, I was looking at the ball to see if it attracted him and I kind of remembered looking over it, and then tense the toe to Make sure to touch the first goal and when I did it here. Shot like a cannon. I went down, not good.
Ron Gardenhire of the New York Mets is safe at home after a sacrificial volley brought him from third base in the second inning against San Diego Padres receiver Terry Kennedy on May 28 1984 in New York. (Photo: G. Paul Burnett, AP)
Injuries to the hamstrings would continue – "After that, it was all hamstrings," he said – and limited his stays in the major leagues. In September 1985, when the Mets were competing for the title of the NL East, Gardenhire blew them away.
"I did a good job there," he said. "A needle remained stuck in the groin because it was time for the sets, so instead of going on the waiting list, take a cortisone shot. and save it. "
He and former longtime director Larry Bowa were men of the Mets public services.
"We both used to sit on the bench and argue about who would go," Gardenhire said. "I said, Larry, I can move almost as much as you can."
With the Mets, Gardenhire played with other future managers, such as Bowa, the director of the Pirates, Clint Hurdle, and the director of the Giants, Bruce Bochy. They had more success in major tournaments and, after the Mets traded Gardenhire to the Minnesota Twins in 1987, he soon found himself on the management track.
After deciding to retire after his 1987 season with the Triple-A Portland Beavers, he said: "The most fun year I've ever had in baseball and the most defeats to which you participated, "he said. him to manage.
"I said," No, I'm going to make some ground but I will not succeed, "Gardenhire said. "It did not work very well."
Gardenhire is an inner nut. He likes to teach inner defense more than anything else. Then the twins sent him into the training league after the season, where he could watch the players and shoot himself.
But when he arrived at the spring training the following year, the Twins persisted.
"We had a working meeting and they came and said," You'll manage, "he said.
"I do not want to get by," Gardenhire said.
"You will manage," said Twins management. "We know you are a manager."
Thus, this season, less than a year after retiring from playing the most serene way, Gardenhire's managerial career began in Class A in Kenosha, Wisconsin. He is now in his 15th season as a manager in the majors.
He hung up forever on the last day of the 1987 season with Portland. They were on the road in Edmonton, he and the pitchers coach, as well as the Twins, who were going to beat the Tigers in the ALCS and Cardinals in the World Series, had just announced their orders of September.
"I said: How can they not call me from this group? he said, "I know I can go out there and help these guys – I really could not – and the old man says," Because you're a horse (shit), you're a horse ( shit!) Well, what do you really think?
Contact Anthony Fenech at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @anthonyfenech. Learn more about the Detroit Tigers and sign up for our newsletter.
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