Baseball: Gardner to manage Eugene Emeralds.

Richard Dunn

CORONA DEL MAR - Daily Pilot Sports Hall of Famer Jeff Gardner, who

has said for years he would love to manage in the major leagues one day,

kick-started his career in that direction when it was announced Thursday

that Gardner is the new manager of the Eugene (Ore.) Emeralds.

Eugene, a charter member of the Northwest League, is a single-A

affiliate of the San Diego Padres, for whom Gardner has been an advance

scout the last five years.

Gardner, 37, was responsible for scouting the Padres’ upcoming

opponents and compiling detailed reports. Gardner had such success as a

scout, the 1998 National League champion Padres voted him a partial share

of their World Series earnings, an almost unheard-of gesture.It will be

Gardner’s debut as a manager or coach, although the Corona del Mar

resident has conducted baseball camps and given instruction for several

years in the area.

A former major league infielder with the Mets (1991), Padres (1992-93)

and Expos (1994), Gardner had a career batting average of .246 with one

home run and 26 RBIs in 186 games, mostly in ’93 when he started at

second base for San Diego.

An Estancia High and Orange Coast College product, Gardner was an an

All-CIF Southern Section 3-A selection in basketball as a guard under

former Estancia Coach Larry Sunderman in 1982, as well as a baseball

standout.

Gardner played two years of baseball at Orange Coast under Coach Mike

Mayne. In 1984 he was voted South Coast Conference Player of the Year on

an OCC that also featured future major leaguers Damon Berryhill and Kevin

Reimer.

Gardner, whose favorite part of the year (spring training) is only

days away, was unavailable for comment Friday, but Eugene publicist Bryan

Beban said the team is excited about Gardner coming aboard.

Twice a minor league all-star in the Mets’ organization, Gardner

played eight years in the minors, beginning in 1985, when he was a

single-A South Atlantic League all-star for Columbia, S.C. Gardner was

again the circuit’s top second baseman in 1991 with the Tidewater Tides

of the International League (AAA).

The Padres’ spring training home is Peoria, Ariz., where there’s

another local connection with catcher Tim DeCinces (Corona del Mar High),

who will be vying for a roster spot on the Padres’ triple-A Portland,

Ore., team or double-A Mobile, Ala., squad.