Twins' Ryan Steps Down

By John Millea
September 13, 2007

When Terry Ryan announced his resignation after 13 years as the Twins general manager Friday afternoon, he offered his thanks to many people.

He started with owner Carl Pohlad. No surprise there. Ryan then worked his way through the front office, the scouting department, the minor league affiliates and on and on.

But the people at the end of Ryan's list said everything about the man who was stepping down. He thanked the batboys. He thanked the umpires and the agents. And he thanked the ushers, vendors and ticket takers who work 81 games each year at the Metrodome. "They kind of make us who we are," Ryan said.

That was typical of Ryan, 52. He has been a selfless part of the organization since 1986, when he was named scouting director. He became vice president for player personnel in 1991 and general manager in 1994.

He will stay with the Twins in an advisory role, primarily in player evaluation. Assistant general manager Bill Smith will take over as general manager. Smith, 49, has been with the club since 1986.  

The Twins announced Friday morning that an afternoon news conference would be held. When news of Ryan's resignation leaked, speculation immediately began on his reasons for leaving. Was it due to contract issues with the likes of Johan Santana, Torii Hunter, Joe Nathan and Michael Cuddyer? Was it due to unhappiness with Pohlad's unwillingness to spend big money, especially with a new ballpark scheduled to open in 2010?

Ryan shot down all the rumors. So why did he step down? In a word: burnout.

He said after 13 years, it was simply time for a change.

"It starts creeping into your mindset that this is a difficult job," he said. "I felt a lot of elation when we won and sorrow when we lost. Now all of a sudden the defeats are tougher to take and the wins are not as much fun. That's not good a thing for a general manager.

The time's right.

"This is a good thing for me. My health is intact, my marriage is intact, and that's a difficult thing to do in baseball. And I'm not going to leave this organization, which is another good thing."

Ryan became emotional only once during his news conference. That's when he talked about his wife Karilyn and children Tim and Kathleen. "I almost made it through this," he said as he choked up.

Ryan said he looks forward to taking winter vacations with his family, something that was never possible under his offseason schedule as general manager. "This position doesn't allow you to take a week or two weeks off," he said.

He said Smith is ready for the job. "The right thing for the person in the (GM) chair to do is to develop people and players who will come in behind you," he said.

Smith certainly has a pedigree that fits the job. He was named assistant director of minor leagues and scouting in 1986. In 1989 Smith was promoted to director of baseball administration, and two days after Ryan was named general manager in 1994, Smith was named assistant general manager and vice president.

In addition, the club made several other front-office moves, promoting Mike Radcliff--scouting director since 1993, the longest tenure at that position in the game--to vice president for player personnel. Former director of baseball operations Rob Antony becomes assistant general manager, while former crosschecker Deron Johnson steps into Radcliff's role as scouting director. Brad Steil replaces Antony as director of baseball operations after serving Radcliff as administrative scouting assistant.

Radcliff, a scout for the Twins since 1987, is on the short list of the most respected scouting directors in game and will remain involved in the Twins' draft process. In his new post, he will oversee player evaluation at the major and minor league levels while helping manage the professional and amateur scouting staffs.