MLB notes | 9-30-14

Twins fire Gardenhire after 13 seasons

Twins fire Gardenhire after 13 seasons

MINNEAPOLIS — The Minnesota Twins have fired manager Ron Gardenhire after 13 seasons that included at least 92 losses in each of the last four years.

The move was made Monday, ending the second-longest active tenure in the major leagues behind Mike Scioscia of the Angels.

Gardenhire played an integral role in the franchise’s renaissance, guiding the Twins to their first of six American League Central division titles in 2002 in his first season on the job. But Gardenhire’s teams only got out of the first round once in those six trips.

Gardenhire had one year left on his contract.

Astros hire Hinch as manager

HOUSTON — A.J. Hinch has been introduced as the new manager of the Houston Astros.

Hinch takes over for Bo Porter, who was fired on Sept. 1 in his second year. Tom Lawless ran the team for the rest of the season on an interim basis. The Astros finished 70-92 and fourth in the AL West.

Hinch managed Arizona from May 2009 until July 2010, when he was fired after a 31-48 start. He was the vice president of professional scouting for San Diego from 2010 until August.

The 40-year-old is a former catcher who spent seven seasons in the majors with the Athletics, Royals, Tigers and Phillies.

Hinch takes over a team that made a 19-game improvement over last year to end a streak of three straight 100-loss seasons and one that features AL batting champion Jose Altuve.

MLB crowds drop slightly for 2nd straight year

NEW YORK — Major League Baseball attendance has dipped slightly for the second straight season.

The 30 teams drew 73,739,622 for an average of 30,458, the commissioner’s office said Monday, a 0.2 percent drop from last year’s average of 30,515. Teams averaged 30,895 in 2012, down from a peak of 32,785 before the Great Recession.

Total attendance of 73.74 million was down from 74.03 million last year and 74.86 million in 2012 but was still MLB’s seventh-highest.

The Associated Press