Ryan raking leaves one minute and taking Twins GM job the next

Dan Madden was Terry Ryan's youth baseball coach in Janesville, Wis., and remains a close friend. He visits spring training each year to hang out with Ryan, take in a few games and soak in the sun.

Madden still remembers his visit to Fort Myers in 2008, months after Ryan had stepped aside following 13 seasons as Twins general manager.

"We asked if he would ever be a GM again," Madden said. "He said, 'I don't think so. But I would never say never.'"

Many who work at 1 Twins Way -- and some of his closest friends in baseball -- are thankful that Ryan didn't totally rule out a return.

Ryan, 58, was worn out by some aspects of the job, such as dealing with agents and media demands. He was the second-longest-tenured GM in baseball, but he took a step back to return to his baseball roots -- scouting -- and spend more time with his family, while remaining with the club as a senior adviser.

Along the way, Ryan got his edge back.

When he was introduced to the staff on Monday as Bill Smith's replacement, many Twins employees noticed the same determined look on Ryan's face that he had during his first stint as GM. As friends from across the league called to congratulate him, they, too, noticed a change.

It didn't take Ryan long to start making decisions. On Friday the Twins reportedly agreed to terms with free-agent infielder Jamey Carroll, who might be the team's everyday shortstop in 2012.

The Mariners, Nationals, Cubs and Mets all inquired about interviewing Ryan as a potential general manager in recent years. But he was comfortable in Minnesota and in his adviser role and turned them down.

But when the Twins turned to him for help, Ryan, who joined the organization in 1986, was ready.

"He wouldn't do this," Madden said, "unless he didn't think he could save the team."

Piling up the miles

He has spent the past four years evaluating every Twins minor league team. His annual projects included scouting the Arizona Fall League, the Instructional League and amateur draft prospects. He also scouted the 2009 World Baseball Classic.

"He called me one day," said Byrk, who has known Ryan for more than 30 years. "He was at a Legion tournament. A Legion tournament, somewhere. How many people like him would spend all day at a Legion tournament? You're lucky to see [a quality player to] follow out there. He scouted it like the old days.

"He worked as hard, or harder, doing what he was doing. So he might as well be a general manager."

Teams swing and miss on prospects frequently, but Ryan always has liked the process.

"It's a huge challenge," he said. "It's probably one of the more difficult things to do in the game. Sometimes you're looking at 15-, 16-year-olds. Sometimes you're looking at 38-year-olds. And you have to make a decision."

"The first year, I stepped aside," Ryan said. "I wanted to make sure no one was going to think that someone was looking over his shoulder. Last year, I was in here more often because we struggled more."

Balancing act

For years, Ryan would head to spring training. Inevitably, a snowstorm would hit the Twin Cities and he knew that his wife, Karilyn, was muttering to herself as she plowed the driveway.

The GM demands too often kept him away from his family. His son, Tim, and daughter, Kathleen, were teenagers near the end of his first GM tenure. He wanted to watch their sporting events.

The day he stepped aside -- Sept. 13, 2007 -- he joked about watching more "Oprah" now that he'd be home more.

"My wife had it on in the next room," he said.

But he was able to spend more time with his family and make up for some of what he missed during his 13 seasons as general manager.

"I was trying to be a husband," Ryan said. "Whatever my wife wanted to do, I was trying to be accommodating. If she wanted to go somewhere, I went somewhere. I was trying to ease back into being the husband I signed up to be."

How did he do? "We're still married," he joked. "So I must have accomplished something."

Ryan was raking leaves last week when Twins President Dave St. Peter called to talk about returning to the GM role. Ryan had to run the idea by Karilyn.

The decision

The discussion with St. Peter was difficult -- "a tough conversation," Ryan said -- because he would be replacing Smith, one of his closest confidants.

St. Peter was prepared to make the hard sell, but it never got that far. Once he got past his concerns about Smith, Ryan began to talk about bringing the franchise back to where it was a few years ago, when it developed fundamentally sound players who made other organizations envious.

"Once he decided to do it, he had some specific ideas of how we needed to proceed here," St. Peter said. "From that point on, [the conversation] moved pretty quickly."

How different will Ryan be this time around?

Ryan said he would tend to overreact to things during his first stint. Injuries, especially, because it meant a possible disabled list move or 40-man roster move.

Good thing he wasn't in the big chair this past season, when the Twins used the DL 27 times.

Ryan has started to examine the medical and training staffs to see if the club needs to make changes to help players stay on the field.

"There are certain things that can be fixed," Ryan said.

And those words have brought renewed confidence at Target Field.