Rocco Baldelli will be the Minnesota Twins manager next season
There have been some questions as to whether or not Rocco Baldelli will be the manager next season after another disappointing year, but those questions have been laid to rest.
In an interview before the Minnesota Twins game on Friday night, President of Baseball Operations Derek Falvey had this to say about Baldelli’s future with the organization:
“Rocco’s our manager. He’s my partner in this all the way through. That’s never even crossed my mind, quite frankly. … Rocco’s a big part of our future. Not just next year, but beyond.”
Do-Hyoung Park | MLB
This will raise many fans’ blood pressure through the roof because Baldelli is not the most liked person in the Land of 10,000 Lakes.
He was hired in the fall of 2018 and went on to have an incredible first season with the Twins in 2019. That year he won AL Manager of the Year after a 101-61 finish. Fans were riding high and had a lot of belief in their new manager.
He followed that performance up with another playoff appearance in 2020 in the COVID-19 shortened season.
However, Minnesota has been one of baseball’s biggest disappointments over the last two years. Expectations were high entering the 2021 season, but they ended up being sellers at the trade deadline.
This season the Twins vibes were a lot better after the addition of Carlos Correa and a few trades. Once again, Minnesota disappointed, despite being buyers at the MLB Trade Deadline.
In Baldelli’s four years as a manager, the Twins have made the playoffs twice but have never won a postseason game.
- 2019: 101-61, .623 W% – Postseason, AL Central Winners
- 2020: 36-24, .600 W% – Postseason, AL Central Winners
- 2021: 73-89, .451 W%
- 2022: 73-78, .483 W%
- Total: 283-252, .529 W%
Baldelli is the second youngest manager in baseball and has only managed four seasons. There are some questionable decisions, but he’s also done good things under the Twins.
The argument about allowing his pitchers to go deeper in ballgames is valid, but he also doesn’t have the ace to do so. Just look at Sonny Gray’s statistics when he goes through the lineup a third time.
While Gray has expressed frustration with the pitching management, he also hasn’t shown much of a reason to allow him to go deeper in games. Even though he’s been critical, Gray respects Baldelli, and I think that’s the case for many other players in the clubhouse.
Baldelli is very analytical and does a good job of getting other players at-bats each and every day. He’s far from perfect, but he’s not a bad manager by any means. There are a lot of good qualities about him, and he’s only going to improve with time.
Stability is important for any professional sports team, and keeping Baldelli removes any of that. His tenure has been up-and-down, but it appears his job is safe, and he will be the manager of the Twins for the foreseeable future.
Let us know in the comment section below if you like the Twins’ decision to keep Baldelli.
