Ron Gardenhire to receive lifetime achievement award from Twins

Gardenhire ranks eighth in MLB history with 84 career ejections.

May 25, 2013; Detroit, MI, USA; MLB umpire Joe West (right) ejects Minnesota Twins manager Ron Gardenhire in the third inning against the Detroit Tigers at Comerica Park. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-Imagn Images / Rick Osentoski-Imagn Images

Ron Gardenhire has been selected to receive the prestigious lifetime achievement award from the Minnesota Twins.

Gardenhire, 67, managed the Twins to 1,068 wins and 1,039 losses during a 13-year career as the team's skipper. He was named the American League Manager of the Year in 2010 and finished second in the vote for manager of the year in 2003, 2004, 2006, 2008 and 2009.

Gardenhire ranks eighth in MLB history with 84 career ejections.

A statement issued by the Twins on Tuesday revealed the honor for Gardenhire.

"The Minnesota Twins, in partnership with the Minnesota Twins Community Fund and the Twin Cities Chapter of the Baseball Writers Association of America, announced today that former Twins manager and Twins Hall of Famer Ron Gardenhire has been named the winner of the Herb Carneal Lifetime Achievement Award for 2024," the statement reads.

Gardenhire will be honored at the annual Diamond Awards, which is being held at TheArmory in Minneapolis on Jan. 23, 2025.

Prior to replacing Tom Kelly as manager in 2002, Gardenhire was the Twins' third base coach for 11 seasons. He was the assistant coach high-fiving Kirby Puckett as Puckett rounded third, headed for home after slugging a walk-off homer to beat the Atlanta Braves in Game 6 of the 1991 World Series.

The Twins went to the playoffs six times under Gardenhire, reaching the American League Championship Series in 2002, where they fell in five games to the eventual world champion Anaheim Angels.