Marlins hire Mike Redmond to be their next manager; Ozzie Guillen wishes him luck

The Marlins have hired Mike Redmond to be their next manager.

Redmond, who was the first candidate to interview, replaces Ozzie Guillen, who was fired after a 69-93 season and a last-place finish in the National League East. Redmond, who signed a three-year deal, becomes the club's 13th manager all-time and the sixth in the last four seasons. He's also the first former Marlins player to get the job.

Redmond, 41, spent 12 years with the Marlins including seven at the big league leavel primarily as the team's backup catcher from 1998 to 2004. He retired after the 2010 season as a career .287 hitter with 13 home runs and 243 RBI in 764 games. He's spent the past two years managing in the Toronto Blue Jays' minor league system.

Reds pitching coach Bryan Price, former big league manager Larry Bowa and Tigers hitting coach Lloyd McClendon also interviewed.

The Marlins will have a press conference Friday at 1:30 p.m. at Marlins Park to introduce Redmond.

Guillen, who is still owed $7.5 million over the next three years by the Marlins, was one of the first people to take to Twitter and congratulate Redmond on his new gig.

"Congrats Mike Redmond for [your] new job," Guillen tweeted. "Good luck buddy. [You] have great guys going to play for you."

The Marlins thought of making Mike Redmond a minor league coach when his playing career was sputtering in the late 1990s.

Redmond, a member of the Marlins' 2003 World Series team, managed Single A Dunedin to a 78-55 record and first place finish in the North Division of the Florida State League in 2012. His overall managerial record in the Blue Jays farm system was 155-115.

He was named the Midwest League's Manager of the year in 2011 after leading Single Lansing Lugnuts to a 77-60 record and an appearance in the league finals. 

Last week, three former Marlins managers all gave Redmond ringing endorsements in interviews with The Miami Herald.

Jack McKeon said he “just loves” Redmond.

John Boles called Redmond a “perfect fit.”

And Fredi Gonzalez said Redmond “knows the game inside and out.”

“He was into the game all the time and is very knowledgeable,” said McKeon, who managed Redmond in 2003 and ’04. “I thought someday he might be a good manager.”

When Redmond became a free agent in 2005, the Minnesota Twins called McKeon for a referral.

“I praised the hell out of him, and they signed him,” McKeon said. “The next year they told me thanks a lot, and what a great asset he was.”

 

Boles said Redmond “has the right disposition” for the job.

“He’s smart and hard-working,” said Boles, who managed the Marlins from 1999-2001 when Redmond was with the team and is now a senior advisor for the Kansas City Royals. “I always thought he’d become a manager or general manager, one of the two.”

Gonzalez was managing in the Marlins’ minor-league system when Redmond was struggling to reach the majors. Gonzalez recalled a staff meeting toward the end of spring training in 1998 when it was decided that Redmond was going nowhere as a player and would be better off coaching.

“He was an hour or two away from starting his coaching career,” recalled Gonzalez, who now manages the Atlanta Braves. “We were real close to giving him a stopwatch, a pencil and a pad.”

But, somehow, Redmond hung on as a player, and when the Marlins continued their dismantling of the 1997 World Series team by trading Charles Johnson in May, 1998, and, one week later, Mike Piazza, the Marlins were in need of a back-up catcher for Gregg Zaun. Redmond was promoted, went 3 for 3 in his first big-league game, and spent the next 13 seasons in the majors as a solid back-up.

“He’s a guy who got every bit out of his talent,” Gonzalez said.

In addition to Redmond, the Marlins have also brought back longtime infield coach Perry Hill, who will also coach first base. Hill returned to the Marlins in 2011, but left the team in 2012 because of chronic problems with his left knee. The rest of the staff figures to be announced Friday.

The Marlins lost 90 games and finished last in the NL East in 2011, but posted a .985 fielding percentage under Hill, tied with four other teams for the best mark in the National League. The Marlins’ 93 errors were the sixth-fewest among NL teams.

In 2010, when Hill wasn't around, the Marlins made 123 errors and posted a .979 fielding percentage. The Marlins committed 103 errors and posted a .983 fielding percentage in 2012.

Under Hill’s guidance in 2009, the Pirates led all major league teams in fielding percentage (.988) and made the fewest errors (73) among all teams, setting club records for most errorless games played in one season (101) and also with their fielding percentage.

Hill guided the Marlins to a franchise-best .987 fielding percentage in 2003, ranking third in the Majors.

Comments

[flagstafffishfan]

Like the hire...good luck Mike. Glad to see Perry Hill back as well. Now who will be hired as pitching and hitting coaches??? Bench coach as well for Mike?

[Flav C.]

Pretty funny reading about Redmond and his "methods for breaking out of slump". Sure to be a hit in the Marlins organization.

http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news?slug=jp-passan_twins_chemistry_woes_slump_050311

[Dionysus Thelxinoe]

Good luck to Redmond, lord knows he'll need it.

Everyone knows a change at manager changes absolutely nothing about the reasons this team finished last. The owner will continue his reign of terror and his lackeys will continue to follow his bidding and fall on their swords when Loria's decisions turn out to be ... ahem ... colossal failures.

Either Loria sells or he's pressured by the local media (such as it is) to name a legit GM who'll run the baseball operations. That's the only chance they have.

[miguel]

I don't know if this will fix at least part of the big mess that Front Office created, picks and trades that resulted in nothing, but at least give me the hope that we will have a true professional guiding our team, good luck to him

[Peter Gammons Dog]

Loria will not be pressured by local media at all. Loria gives the local media the 'mushroom treatment' and they eat it up ,like a dog given a bone. Loria keeps them in the dark.and feeds them shitttt. After all,look who broke the redmond hiring.Local media? more like local lackey hackies.

[Bob]

Loria is in deep with Miami-Dade County officials. Local media is the lap dog of Miami politicians. Therefore, they are also the lap dog of Loria, and won't think about criticizing him. You have to go to the Sun Sentinel to get something close to criticism about the Marlins.

[in the know]

Wait until the SEC investigation is over. Loria and the Miami politicians are in so deep together,they will be buried 6ft deep and it will be RIP to all of them.

[Dionysus Thelxinoe]

That's the reason for my qualifier 'such as it is' about the local media. But I was encouraged this time around that at least this time around, Linda Robertson and Greg Cote has the presence of mind to lay the blame where it belongs, with Loria. Infullynwxpect him not to change at all. Maybe stung by the recent criticism, he'll cut Redmond some slack. But it's the players who'll determine the fortunes of this team, and with Loria continuing to call the shots, they'll go nowhere.

Mark my words, next winter they'll make Beinfest the scapegoat and make a big deal out of searching for another GM. That's when we'll know if the local media is again taken in by this guy or if they call it like it really is, ie, that Loria is baseball's version of Jerry Jones.

[spitballer]

Well, whats the over & under on Mr Redmond....I give him a season & a half.