seasons managing the Twins, Gardenhire was ejected 73 times. An early 2006 television commercial for the Twins pokes fun at this, showing Gardenhire arguing with an office worker planning to go home after work rather than go to the Twins game. Heading into Gardenhire's first season as team manager, the Twins had not been to the postseason since their World Series championship in 1991, and had barely escaped being dissolved entirely by a contraction plan that was aborted by a court ruling which binded the team to their lease with the Metrodome. Under Gardenhire, the Twins had a turnaround season in 2002 as they won the American League Central division and made it to the 2002 American League Championship Series. In thirteen seasons as the Twins' manager, Gardenhire's team had a losing record five times (2007, 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2014), and won the division six times (the Twins lost a one-game playoff to the Chicago White Sox to determine the division champion at the end of the 2008 season). Despite all of the team's regular season success under Gardenhire, the Twins advanced to the American League Championship Series only once – his first season, in 2002 – and did not reach the World Series. In Gardenhire's tenure as the manager of the Twins, the team posted a playoff record of 6 wins and 21 losses. He was the first manager in major league history to take a team to the playoffs six times in a tenure and never make it to the World Series (Bob Melvin joined him in 2020), and he is one of just five managers with at least four playoff appearances to never appear in one. Gardenhire won the American League Manager of the Year Award in 2010 and finished as runner-up for the award in 2003, 2004, 2006, 2008, and 2009 while leading the Twins. He finished third in the voting in 2002, his first season as manager. Gardenhire's five runner-up finishes are tied with Tony La Russa, who won the award outright an additional four times. In 2009, he received the Chuck Tanner Major League Baseball Manager of the Year Award. On November 13, 2008, Gardenhire signed a contract extension that kept him as the Twins' manager through the 2011 season. On November 18, 2010, the Twins announced a two-year contract extension through 2013. In October 2012, after two consecutive 90 plus loss seasons,