On their way to securing their first American League Central divisional title since 2010 and only their second postseason berth since that year, the Minnesota Twins were led to this much success by their manager, Rocco Baldelli, who just so happens to be in his first year as an MLB manager. While success usually comes to those who wait, Baldelli’s fortunes went aces wild in 2019, much to the chagrin of their divisional opponents, the Cleveland Indians.

Baldelli, who made a name for himself as one of the players tasked with shedding light on the Tampa Bay Devil Rays when they were at least referred to by their full names, was brought on to help lead this talent-optimum team tasked with trying to dethrone the Indians from their yearly purse of winning the division. Not only did he help this team get out to a fast start this season, but their lack of ‘not being there-ness’ did not catch up to them down the stretch, paving the way for a guarantee of postseason play up in Minnesota.

Baldelli’s 99th victory was the same game in which the Twins clinched the division, as their Thursday 10-4 victory over the lowly Detroit Tigers was doubly as sweet for the team. In the former Rays’ career, he may have only been on the team in Tampa Bay for 99 total wins as a player, so to get that amount as a manager in his first season is quite impressive (the Devil Rays were so bad, they had to change their name).

The record was previously held solely by Joe Cronin, who’s 1933 season leading the Washington Senators turned out very successful, as he also led the team to 99 victories in his first season at the helm.

Having been a member of the Devil Rays from 2003 through 2010, the former outfielder never truly lived up to his time in the minors, especially when he was named the 2002 Baseball America Minor League Player of the Year while playing for the Durham Bulls. Injuries and inconsistencies plagued him throughout his career, which saw him only play in more than 100 games twice across his eight-year career.

Baldelli did not suit up at the major-league level at all in 2005, and he truly was never able to rebound from there, so the writing was on the wall for Baldelli, although he did end up playing for both the Devil Rays and the Boston Red Sox after that year.

For the Twins, having moved on from the previous manager, Paul Molitor, provided the front office with a chance to start fresh and bring someone else in with a fresh mindset, and Baldelli has apparently pushed all of the right buttons so far. Moving towards the playoffs, the Twins are less powerful than both the Houston Astros and the New York Yankees, so their chances of advancing far in the playoffs may be tough – but with Baldelli at the helm, 2019 could turn into something even more special than it already has been.