Blunt and as straightforward as ever, Terry Ryan explained how he ended up being fired as the Twins general manager during last season.
"I just didn't win enough games," Ryan said. "If we did I would probably still be around. So 30 years is a long time with one club. For both parties, maybe it was the right time to make a switch and a change and go our separate ways. I'll be watching the Twins closely, hoping they do well.'
Ryan, hired by the Phillies as a special assignment scout Wednesday, made his first comments since being relieved of his duties on July 18, when the Twins were 26 games below .500. All optimism at the start of the season was washed away by an 0-9 start; the team eventually finished a major league worst 59-103.
Ryan said he, owner Jim Pohlad and team president Dave St. Peter took the losses hard. But he also dispelled any idea that he and Pohlad had a difference of opinion toward the end of his tenure with the Twins.
"I better not get into that,'' Ryan said. "We were struggling. We got off to a tough start, as everyone knows. Jim and Dave and I — many people in the organization — many of us weren't happy.
"Jim and Dave and I, it falls on our shoulders. I understand that. You can't have that kind of record with the optimism we had in spring training. You just can't have that without certain ramifications.''
New Twins Chief Baseball Officer Derek Falvey reached out to Ryan after Falvey was named to the position in early November, and Ryan gave Falvey his views of what was working and what needed to be addressed. But there was little chance Ryan was going to stay on in any capacity. Ryan spoke to several teams before opting to join the Phillies.
"I think, based on some conversations he had with Dave, and just generally where Terry was at the time, it felt like a mutual break was the best thing moving forward," Falvey said. "Certainly, his relationship with Andy and that group in Philadelphia played a role. I couldn't be happier for him that he has that opportunity now.''
