Gardenhires keep tabs on each other

Father manages Twins, while son plays for Miracle

By David Dorsey
Fort Myers News Press

The baseball bond between Ron and Toby Gardenhire runs deep. They are father and son. They are manager and player within the Minnesota Twins. And they are friends.

But when Toby Gardenhire, a 24-year-old infielder, suits up for the Class A, minor league affiliate Fort Myers Miracle, Ron Gardenhire, 49, manages far away in the big leagues.

“I don’t get many opportunities to watch him play,” Ron Gardenhire said.

The Twins were getting ready to face the New York Yankees at the Metrodome in Minneapolis on Wednesday as Ron Gardenhire spoke. Meanwhile, Toby Gardenhire prepared to start at third base for the Miracle, about 1,600 miles away in Lakeland.

The Miracle face the Lakeland Flying Tigers at 7:05 tonight, this time at Hammond Stadium in Fort Myers, while the Twins have the day off as they travel to Seattle to face the Mariners on Tuesday.

Toby and Ron Gardenhire keep tabs on one another, with Ron Gardenhire checking out the results of the Miracle games at miraclebaseball.com — something Gardenhire would be doing every night anyway, as he takes an interest in all of the organization’s players.

Toby, meanwhile, catches Minnesota Twins highlights on ESPN. He also watches the big-league games on TV when they do not coincide with his own.

“Obviously, I have a different interest in him, because he is my son,” Ron Gardenhire said. “I enjoyed watching him play, just like any other parent would. But I didn’t get many opportunities to watch him play. I got a few opportunities.”

Said Toby: “He’s up there, and I’m down here. He listens to all of the games he can on the Internet. This spring, I got to come over and play in a big-league game.”

This spring training especially provided the father and son more time to spend together around their sport.

In a spring game against the New York Yankees, the Twins summoned Toby Gardenhire from minor league camp to help. Toby provided plenty of it. Although he did not get an RBI, his hard-hit ball bounced off the shortstop’s glove for an error, allowing the game-winning run to score as the Twins defeated the New York Yankees on March 27.

“It was nerve-wracking,” said Ron Gardenhire, who frequently excused himself from the big-league spring training games to walk over to the minor-league side. There, he would watch the big leaguers such as Sidney Ponson and Joe Nathan in action while Toby played in games on an adjacent field.

“I got to see him play this spring more than ever, which was fun,” Ron Gardenhire said. “I saw him play parts of three or four games down there. I can watch my guys do their thing, and then I could watch him do his thing.”

Toby Gardenhire’s “thing” requires playing multiple positions and fielding them well.

So far, Toby Gardenhire, like his father, has not been much of a hitter.

Ron Gardenhire hit .232 during parts of five big-league seasons with the New York Mets in 1981-85.

Toby Gardenhire, who carries a .240 batting average into tonight’s game, hit .198 last season in low-Class A Beloit after hitting .200 the season before in low-Class A Elizabethton.

Ron Gardenhire spoke to Toby this spring about becoming even more versatile — the versatility being Toby’s potential ticket to reaching the next level.

“He’s not one of these high-drafted prospects, or anything like that,” said Ron Gardenhire, himself a sixth round pick by the Mets in June of 1979 — three years before his son was born.

The Twins selected Toby Gardenhire out of the University of Evansville in the 41st round of the 2005 draft.

“He knows that he has to handle himself well, and he knows what’s expected out of him,” Ron Gardenhire said. As for being labeled “son of the manager,” Ron Gardenhire said: “I’m sure he’s going to take a little ribbing. He’ll get a little extra heat. But he can handle it.”

Said Toby: “I’m just another one of the guys.”

Sort of, but not quite, Miracle manager Kevin Boles said.

If anyone can put Toby Gardenhire’s situation into perspective, it’s Boles, who is also the son of a former big-league manager, former Florida Marlins’ skipper John Boles. Toby Gardenhire will have to prove his worth on the field and show he earned his spot, that it wasn’t handed to him by his father.

“It’s difficult,” Kevin Boles said. “It can be a positive, and it can be a negative. People don’t realize it, but you have to work twice as hard to prove yourself.

“Toby grew up around baseball, and you can tell he paid attention. It’s a credit to him that he studied the game. But the fact of the matter is, for him to reach the next level, he really has to earn it, just like all of these other guys do. So as far as I’m concerned, it’s a non-issue.”

Toby Gardenhire has made three infield errors this season, as have two of his teammates. But his play continues to improve, Boles said. There are plans later to this season to try Toby out at first, second, all three outfield positions and possibly even at catcher.

“I think at third base, he has really played some solid defense,” Boles said. On Saturday, Toby rushed in to field a bunt. He grabbed it barehanded, and then threw out the runner at first base. “He probably saved a run or two on defense,” Boles said.

Does Ron Gardenhire every wonder if he will manage his son in the big leagues?

“If he’s fortunate enough, that would be a wonderful thing,” Ron Gardenhire said. “I don’t put all of my stock into it. Just let him and all of the other players play. If someone clicks and gets it, they can become a player.”