St. Louis Cardinals are so pleased with the way interim manager Mike Shildt led the team after Mike Matheny was fired, that they decided to give him a full-time gig. The Cardinals announced on Wednesday that Shildt would be promoted to full-time manager with a contract that runs through 2020.
“Why now? We could have waited, but we feel like the time is right,” – said Cardinals’ President of Baseball Operations John Mozeliak following the announcement. “As we stated from day one, we would use this time to really see how he handled the job. We just felt like we could not do better. Mike has shown he can do the job. Mike checks a lot of boxes along the way.“
St. Louis Cardinals started the season with a 47-46 record, which put them in jeopardy of missing the playoffs for the third straight year, which would be the first time since the 1997-1999 period. The front office then decided to make a change just before All-Star Break and fire Mike Matheny, who led the team since 2012.
Cardinals chose Mike Shildt, team’s bench coach, as a temporary solution and the 50-year-old made the best of this opportunity. Under Shildt, Cardinals went 27–12 and 20-5 in the last 25 games, which put them into the top spot in the National League wild-card standings.
“I have been given a lot of credit for what’s happened in the past six weeks,” – said Shildt of his success. “I appreciate it, but I cannot accept it. The players make the plays and run the bases. They are a special group, and I’m glad to be a part of it.“
While this was the first opportunity for Mike Shildt to lead an MLB team, he has managing experience from the minors where he composed a 471-432 record.
