Former Minnesota Twins skipper Ron Gardenhire was announced Friday as the new manager of the Detroit Tigers. He replaces Brad Ausmus, who managed the Tigers the past four seasons.

Gardenhire spent 24 seasons on the major-league coaching staff of the Twins, including 13 years as manager (from 2002 to 2014). He served as bench coach of the Arizona Diamondbacks this year, though he missed five weeks early in the season after undergoing surgery for prostate cancer in April.

“Gardy” got his managerial start in the Midwest League, where he served as skipper of the 1988 Kenosha Twins. That team lost the MWL Championship Series to the Cedar Rapids Reds. The Kenosha squad included that year’s MWL Most Valuable Player, Lenny Webster, who batted .288 with 11 HR and 87 RBI in 129 games.

Baseball card of Ron Gardenhire as manager of the Kenosha Twins