On Monday, San Diego Padres manager Mike Shildt announced he would be resigning from his position. The 2019 National League Manager of the Year has led the Padres since 2024, after previously managing the St. Louis Cardinals.
Jon Heyman of the New York Post revealed that there was tension between Shildt and his coaching staff, and that similar issues arose when he was fired from the Cardinals in 2021.
“Sources suggest that one of the coaches recently became so upset after taking offense to Shildt that a fight almost broke out. Shildt developed a similarly blunt and temperamental reputation in St. Louis, where he was fired after an outstanding season. In St. Louis, the feeling was that he did not treat the support staff appropriately. So the situation is somewhat similar,” Heyman wrote.
Were the Cardinals right to fire Mike Shildt?
When the Cardinals fired Shildt, then-president of baseball operations John Mozeliak described it as “philosophical differences,” but it’s clear there was more to it than just a difference in philosophies.
Ultimately, it confirms that the Cardinals made the right decision to let him go.
Nearly four years after the shooting took place, these issues are coming to light for the first time. Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune also revealed some very important information about Shildt’s decision to resign and his dismissal from the Cardinals in 2021.
The cardinals have only ever said publicly that Shildt was fired because of “philosophical differences.”
“A half-dozen sources, including current and former members of the Cardinals organization and two people in front offices who considered interviewing Shildt in the month after he was fired, said some Cardinals coaches and others threatened to quit if Shildt stayed,” Acee wrote.
If that was the case in St. Louis, then Mozeliak’s decision to fire the former Manager of the Year will suddenly be viewed in a very different light by fans and media members who were once critical of the decision.
The reason for criticism was the record-breaking winning streak that helped the Cardinals reach the postseason that year, but what happened behind the scenes was unknown to the public at the time.
However, there is much more to the story than initially thought. Ultimately, it’s much better for a team not to have to deal with such intensity from a manager, which makes Mozeliak’s decision to relieve Shildt of his duties four years later makes much more sense.
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