Although Doug Mientkiewicz’s teams finished in first place in four of five seasons, he was fired as the manager of the Fort Myers Miracle on Friday, according to Phill Miller of the Star Tribune.
He helped the Miracle to postseason play this summer and compiled a record of 385-299 overall in his five seasons as a skipper.
Mientkiewicz told the Star Tribune, “I wasn’t shocked, because I had a message that changes were taking place.”
The former Gold Glove first baseman managed the Miracle from 2013-2014, with a stop as manager of the Chattanooga Lookouts in 2015, before returning to the Miracle for this season.
He was also a finalist to be the manager of the Twins in 2015, before Paul Molitor won the job.
It’s not known why Mientkiewicz was fired.
However with Chief Baseball Officer Derek Falvey and general manager Thad Levine rebuilding the organization from top to bottom, it’s clear that the duo wanted to go in a different direction.
Mientkiewicz was drafted by the Twins in 1995 and played in Minnesota from 1998-04. He won a Gold Glove at first base in 2001 and helped the Twins to division titles in 2002 and 2003.
