Marlins Name Fredi Gonzalez New Manager

Fredi Gonzalez puts on his jersey and smiles after being named the new Florida Marlins manager at a press conference Tuesday, Oct. 3, 2006 in Miami (AP Photo/Luis M. Alvarez) (Luis M. Alvarez - AP)

MIAMI -- A year ago, the Florida Marlins chose Joe Girardi over Fredi Gonzalez as manager.

Now they're going the other way.

Florida fired Girardi after only one season Tuesday and hired Gonzalez, the third-base coach for the Atlanta Braves the past four years.

Gonzalez said he expects no problems with his new bosses, even though owner Jeffrey Loria is on his fourth manager since buying the Marlins in 2002.

"I left a pretty good place in Atlanta," Gonzalez said. "If I had any hesitation, I wouldn't have come here. The more I spoke to Mr. Loria, the more comfortable I got. I think our relationship will be fine."

Gonzalez was runner-up to Girardi for the job in October 2005. A year later, the Marlins were so eager to reverse their decision that they began negotiations with Gonzalez a week before the season ended, hoping to head off other teams in the market for a manager.

By the middle of last week, the Marlins and Gonzalez had reached an agreement.

"We knew Fredi was our guy, and we wanted to beat our competition to him," general manager Larry Beinfest said. "Interviewing while you have a sitting manager probably isn't the greatest thing, but we went through proper channels with the commissioner's office and the Atlanta Braves."

The Marlins are coming off a surprising 78-win season with baseball's youngest roster, including four rookies who won 10 games or more. San Francisco, Washington and the Chicago Cubs also decided to change managers, but Gonzalez found the vacancy in Miami especially appealing.

"This one might have been the most coveted one in baseball," he said. "With a good young pitching staff, you've got to like that."

Born in Cuba and raised in Miami, Gonzalez became the first manager in the Marlins' organization when they hired him to run their first minor league team in Erie, Pa., in 1992. Beginning in 1999, he coached third base for 2 1/2 years under Marlins manager John Boles.

"It's a long way from Erie, man," a smiling Gonzalez said at a news conference. "I hope I'm here for a lot of years."