Sept. 30—The Minnesota Twins will hire Rocco Baldelli as head coach next year after failing in the past and missing the 2024 playoffs.
“Rocco is my manager,” Twins president of baseball operations Derek Falvey told reporters before Sunday’s 6-2 loss to the Baltimore Orioles.
Baldelli, 43, led the Twins to an 87-75 record and the American League Central title last season. They then won their first playoff series in 21 years, beating the Toronto Blue Jays in the wild-card round.
The Twins went 101–61 in Baldelli’s first year in 2019 and won division titles in each of his first two seasons in Minneapolis.
The Twins have posted a 457-413 record in Baldelli’s six years, including an 82-80 record this year. They were 70-53 after the win on Aug. 17 but have gone 12-27 since then, allowing division rivals Kansas City Royals and Detroit Tigers to overtake them in the wild-card round.
“It’s really disappointing as far as the season goes,” Baldelli said after the season-ending loss. “Everybody knows that. Every time I say it, I feel repetitive, but it’s the truth. We all know that.”
“As the season went on, we grew apart, and it’s hard to say, but it happened. That’s the way our season went.”
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