Ryan, the GM the past 13 years, will be replaced by Bill Smith.

"I felt a lot of elation when we won and sorrow when we lost," Ryan said. "Now all of a sudden the defeats are getting a little harder to take, and the wins aren't as much fun. That's not a good thing to experience as a general manager."

The Twins won the American League Central last season, but they're two games under .500 this season and out of the playoff chase.

Smith began in the organization as the director of baseball administration in 1989, and he was promoted to assistant general manager at the same time Ryan took over for Andy MacPhail as GM in September 1994.

Smith's primary responsibilities have been planning for the new ballpark, overseeing the Twins' development academies in Venezuela and the Dominican Republic, and sharing contract negotiations with Ryan.

The 52-year-old Ryan long has been considered one of baseball's most savvy general managers, working within a limited payroll to build a team that won four AL Central titles in five seasons.

"This is a good thing for me. My health's intact. My marriage is intact. That's a difficult thing to do in baseball," Ryan said.

A native of Wisconsin, Ryan's minor league career with the Twins was cut short by arm trouble. He was a scout for the New York Mets until he was hired as Minnesota's scouting director in 1986. Eight years later, he became general manager.

There were several dark years, and Ryan's hold on his job was tenuous until the 2001 turnaround that ended a streak of eight straight losing seasons by the club. A group of young players, most of them scouted and drafted by Ryan's department, came together that year and set the stage for a successful decade.