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Joe Maddon’s Availability Puts Terry Ryan’s Goal In Perspective

By Collin Kottke

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Terry Ryan felt exactly like every Twins pitcher not named Phil Hughes or Glen Perkins on Friday. Ryan’s world got absolutely rocked.

The baseball world was rocked, but the epicenter was definitely under Ryan’s feet. As Joe Maddon stepped down as manager of the Tampa Bay Rays, one of the best managers in the game of baseball became available to hire.

From the beginning at the Ron Gardenhire firing press conference, Ryan has said that he wants the best guy available, the best guy for the job. The convenient thing for the general manager is that any candidate that he brought in, he could spin into being the best candidate possible.

Take the perceived finalists:

  • Paul Molitor – great baseball mind, been in the Twins organization for a long time, native Minnesotan, loved by the current players on the roster, has a great relationship with the minor leaguers
  • Doug Mientkiewicz – been a dynamite manager at Single-A, has already managed the up and coming stars, knows the Twins way of doing things
  • Torey Lovullo – years of coaching at the major league level, managed at highest levels of the minor leagues, brings an outsiders perspective

None of these can compare to the resume of Joe Maddon.

This tweet from ESPN’s Stats & Info is enough evidence to prove the point:

Joe Maddon has managed 1,510 more major league games then the top three combined. He’s won two American League Manager of the Year awards. He’s forward-thinking and analytic. He no doubt brings a voice that the Minnesota Twins organization is in desperate need of.

Terry Ryan’s job has hit a turning point. If Ryan convinces Maddon to come manage the Minnesota Twins, we might just throw a parade for the man. If Ryan fails to sign Maddon, he failed in his quest for getting the ‘right guy’.

Hire Joe Maddon, Terry Ryan. Rock my world.

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