Like more than 2,500 times in the past, Ron Gardenhire arrived at the ballpark Saturday prepared to manage a big-league game. Like nearly 400 times in Detroit, he sat down in his clubhouse office with Al Avila to discuss the state of the Tigers.
“Started out pretty routine with Al coming down, just talked about a few things. And then I just told him that I was going to retire,” Gardenhire said Saturday afternoon.
It feels sudden. Out of the blue. In reality, it was a few weeks – and maybe a few years – in the making. Gardenhire survived prostate cancer in 2017. He’s battled diabetes. He stared down COVID-19 at the age of 62 this season to fulfill his duty to his team. Then he came down with a stomach illness, later attributed to food poisoning, earlier this month in Minnesota. He hasn’t felt the same since.
Gardenhire has a wife to look out for, plus three children, plus two grandchildren. So he chose his family over his job, which was always more of a passion.
“When you come to the ballpark and you’re stressed out all day and your hands are shaking, that’s not fun,” he said. “I’ve got grandbabies and kids that I need to take care of, and my wife. As I told Al, 'I’m going to step back and take care of myself, try to get healthy.’
“A very tough decision. Very hard talking to the players and the staff because they’ve meant everything to me here. It’s been nothing but a pleasure managing this team, but I have to do what’s right for me.”
Gardenhire’s contract was set to expire at the end of this season. He said he was already leaning toward retirement. His health issues just accelerated that decision. Bench coach Lloyd McClendon will manage the club for the rest of the season, which concludes next weekend.
“It’s a tough day for me,” said Gardenhire, whose managerial career began in 2002. “Didn’t expect it, to tell you the truth, when I walked in. I just know how I’ve been feeling lately. I don’t want to feel like I'm running out on anybody, but I know I have to take care of myself here.”
Standing next to Gardenhire, Avila thanked him for his contributions to the club over the past three seasons. The Tigers hired Gardenhire to preside over an extensive rebuild, and he did so with patience, enthusiasm and care.
“I’m indebted to him, the organization is. He took us through the toughest two years of the transition, this year probably as tough as any just because of the pandemic,” Avila said. “These three years, his leadership really got us through this and put us in a good position moving forward to bring back winning baseball to Detroit.”
Before he departed, Gardenhire was asked what was going through his mind as he said farewell to the game, as he fielded questions from the media for the final time as a big-league manager. He could have been sentimental. He could have been sad. Instead, he was sincerely himself.
“Standing here right now, one of the first things that comes to mind is how much taller I am than Al,” Gardenhire said with a grin. “I really didn’t realize that.”
Then he turned to Avila.
“Sorry,” he said. “I couldn’t resist.”