Rocco Baldelli has accepted the Twins’ offer to fill their managerial vacancy, the club announced Thursday.
According to MLB.com, 37-year-old Baldelli replaces Paul Molitor, who had a record of 305-343 (.471) in four seasons at the helm in Minnesota, including one postseason appearance, when he led the Twins to the American League Wild Card Game, which they lost to the Yankees. That trip to the playoffs was part of a 26-win improvement (59 wins to 85), which earned Molitor the AL Manager of the Year Award. Minnesota regressed to 78-84 this season and never really came close to contending, which prompted the club to make a change.
Baldelli, who has no managerial experience, had been the Rays’ Major League field coordinator. Prior to that, he was Tampa Bay’s first-base coach after working in the team’s front office for four years. An outfielder in his playing days, Baldelli was the sixth overall selection in the 2000 Draft by the Rays out of high school, and he hit .278/.323/.443 with 60 home runs over parts of seven seasons before retiring at age 29 after dealing with a muscle disorder that often left him fatigued.
Baldelli is the first manager the Twins have hired from outside the organization since Ray Miller in 1985.
When the Twins decided to replace Molitor on Oct. 2, they offered him a chance to stay with the organization in an unspecified role in the baseball operations department. Molitor — who was born in St. Paul and attended the University of Minnesota — has yet to announce whether he will remain with the club. The local legend spent the final three seasons of his playing career with the Twins, collecting his 3,000th hit while playing for his hometown team. He retired following the 1998 season and finished with 3,319 hits, which ranks 10th on the all-time list. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2004.
