Post by tigerbait99 on Nov 3, 2004 20:36:39 GMT -5
HOUSTON -- The Houston Astros reached agreement with Phil Garner Wednesday to return to manage the team in 2005.
Garner, 54, was named interim manager of the Astros after the club dismissed Jimy Williams during the All-Star break. The Astros were bound by the commissioner's hiring guidelines, which includes interviewing minority candidates for front office or management openings, and therefore needed Commissioner Bud Selig's approval to dispense with that process and give the job to the man who piloted the team to within one victory of the World Series.
Garner quickly became a fan favorite after taking over a struggling team and turning it around. Garner, the 15th manager in franchise history, took over a team that was 44-44 on July 15 and finished 92-70 to win the National League Wild Card.
The Astros were 36-10 in their final 46 regular-season games, the best stretch run by an NL team in 53 years. The Astros won a club record 18 consecutive home games to close out the season. The Astros went on to defeat Atlanta in the National League Championship Series for the first playoff series win in franchise history.
Houston came within 12 outs of reaching the World Series. The Astros led the best-of-seven NLCS three games to two and had leads in both Games 6 and Game 7 and were ahead, 2-1, in the sixth inning of the final game before bowing to the St. Louis Cardinals at Busch Stadium.
Garner, who previously managed at Milwaukee and Detroit, owns a career managerial record of 800-872.
Garner, 54, was named interim manager of the Astros after the club dismissed Jimy Williams during the All-Star break. The Astros were bound by the commissioner's hiring guidelines, which includes interviewing minority candidates for front office or management openings, and therefore needed Commissioner Bud Selig's approval to dispense with that process and give the job to the man who piloted the team to within one victory of the World Series.
Garner quickly became a fan favorite after taking over a struggling team and turning it around. Garner, the 15th manager in franchise history, took over a team that was 44-44 on July 15 and finished 92-70 to win the National League Wild Card.
The Astros were 36-10 in their final 46 regular-season games, the best stretch run by an NL team in 53 years. The Astros won a club record 18 consecutive home games to close out the season. The Astros went on to defeat Atlanta in the National League Championship Series for the first playoff series win in franchise history.
Houston came within 12 outs of reaching the World Series. The Astros led the best-of-seven NLCS three games to two and had leads in both Games 6 and Game 7 and were ahead, 2-1, in the sixth inning of the final game before bowing to the St. Louis Cardinals at Busch Stadium.
Garner, who previously managed at Milwaukee and Detroit, owns a career managerial record of 800-872.
