Tigers to Bring Back Ron Gardenhire as Manager Despite Truly Terrible Season
By Ryan Giglio
The Detroit Tigers have lost exactly 200 games in the past two seasons combined, and the current one isn't even over yet.
While fans would like to see some accountability from the organization for such horrible performances, some may be disappointed that manager Ron Gardenhire will return in 2020.
Gardenhire will return as Tigers manager in 2020, Avila said.
— anthony fenech (@anthonyfenech) September 13, 2019
Gardenhire was hired after the 2017 season to lead the Tigers through a rebuild and teach young players how to discover winning baseball. It is not surprising that Detroit has been one of the worst teams since his hire, however, since GM Al Avila has made it clear that the team is in a rebuild and is looking to contend in a few years.
Still, it is tough to excuse the organization for losing more games than the 98 they dropped in 2018.
Ron Gardenhire has spent most of the season trying to get Tigers bullpen through games. He hasn’t had a chance to sort out an order when they have a chance to win games.https://t.co/TPD2scaQg4
— Jason Beck (@beckjason) September 4, 2019
Gardenhire should not receive most of the blame for his team's struggles, to be fair. It is not his fault that he was given a weak offense even before Detroit traded away its best hitter, and a young, unproven pitching staff.
Contributing to the losing is the plethora of failed free-agent signings made by the front office. Pitchers Matt Moore and Tyson Ross have been hurt all year. Infielders Jordy Mercer and Josh Harrison have been injured and ineffective (Harrison was recently released).
With one year left on Gardenhire's contract, the Tigers may have to make significant improvement in 2020 for him to stick around in the new decade. But he certainly can use help from his bosses.