Once the sting from the hit that ended their season started to fade, the Cardinals felt an updraft of confidence carrying them into the offseason from many things that happened leading into that walk-off, wild-card loss at Dodger Stadium.
They set a club record with 17 consecutive wins, they re-signed their bedrock battery, Yadier Molina and Adam Wainwright, and could prepare marketing for their final season together. The centerpiece acquisition of the previous winter, Nolan Arenado, announced his intentions to not exercise an opt-out and raved about the organization’s culture. The chosen outfield blossomed, starter Dakota Hudson returned strong from surgery, and the front office praised the collaborative effort of manager and coaching staff. Internally, they felt a gust of positive momentum — headed into an offseason with a full house of tickets to sell.
And then, in a move as swift and unexpected as its explanation was vague, the Cardinals fired manager Mike Shildt.
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For the first time in 10 years they start the offseason with a vacant office in the clubhouse.
The whiplash from the dismissal of a homegrown, hand-picked and winning manager for the second time in 3 ½ years clouded optimism with confusion and focused the fog lights on John Mozeliak. The longtime head of baseball operations identified, groomed, and hired both managers he’s now fired. In the coming weeks, he will be making the third managerial hire of his time atop baseball operations. Given the heightened expectations, questions surfacing from Shildt’s firing, and the stakes of 2022, this is arguably the most significant hire of Mozeliak’s tenure.
It may also be his lasting one.
“Your skipper is always a very important hire, no matter where you are in the (competitive) cycle,†club president Bill DeWitt III said. “But, the good news is for any potential candidate — who wouldn’t want this opportunity? So, I think we should have a difficult decision among some great candidates. Let me reiterate, there is a lot of optimism here that we’ve got a real good situation for the foreseeable future. The fans care about winning.â€
Shildt has declined public comment but plans to make a statement Monday.
Multiple sources described how players, coaches, and others in the organization were “stunned†and “confused†by the firing. Two sources said Shildt “never saw it coming†before he was fired by phone Thursday morning. He has one year remaining on his contract and the Cardinals intend to pay him that salary as the terms of the contract have been kept.
Chairman Bill DeWitt Jr. said the firing resulted from a “difference between Mo and his group and the manager†that could not be resolved. Using the same phrase the Cardinals cited for the dismissal of a hitting coach and former general manager Walt Jocketty, Mozeliak called it a “philosophical difference.†For reasons he said were private, Mozeliak’s repeated refusal Thursday to detail what difference caused the split invited one clear philosophy — skepticism.
What specific statement or stance led to the firing is unclear, though officials and sources said meetings that started the previous Friday with Shildt, his staff and the front office underscored a clashing of ideas. Mozeliak said he became aware of “a collection of information,†gathered background on what was expressed, and made the call. He declared it a “baseball decision.â€
Internally, there had been concern about the absence and ongoing leak of Cardinals-rooted presences. Former ace Chris Carpenter’s departure for a role in the Los Angeles Angels’ organization when the Cardinals did not make an offer is a recent example. Cardinals leadership have sought to modernize while also insisting they draw success and strength from a wealth of institutional knowledge, passed down from generation to generation, coaches like Jose Oquendo to infielders, advisers like Carpenter to starters. A source described a rising frustration for “losing tradition.â€
There had also been discussions on how this team should strive beyond a 90-win, wild-card finish for higher aspirations in 2022, multiple sources described. What view was stated about the organization’s goal and by whom may have "pushed too hard" in the opinion of the front office, a source confirmed.
Every coach contacted by the Post-Dispatch declined comment. Players with the longest tenure and prominent roles on the team also declined comment or did not return messages. A few said they first wanted more information from the team. Yadier Molina, one of the players who declined comment, held a press conference Saturday night in Puerto Rico before the basketball team he owns played a quarterfinal game, and he echoed the surprise of others.
"It took me by surprise," Molina said in Spanish, according to reports from El Nuevo Dia and Primera Hora. "I obviously have a lot of confidence with (Shildt). ... We had very good communication. We went to the playoffs three times in four years. Maybe there was some problem between him and the management. I can't give you reasons, but from what I know inside the clubhouse, there wasn't any kind of problem."
Molina expressed an interest in playing "for a Puerto Rican manager my last season. But the mentality of winning ... is what a player wants most."Â
Mozeliak declined an invitation to elaborate on his comments during Thursday’s Zoom meeting to announce Shildt’s sacking. The rushed press conference was knotted with contradictions such as Mozeliak saying the decision was “not something we came to quickly†but also how “things have kind of moved quickly.†He said he was “not finger-pointing here†during a press conference held to announce the firing of one employee. As direct questions yielded fewer and fewer answers, the impersonal Zoom presser was like watching an ice cube melt on the stove, though less transparent.
In the past 60 years, the Cardinals have had only nine full-time managers. Six have been fired, and Whitey Herzog resigned. Of those seven, five had a team with a losing record at the time of their dismissal.
The only two who did not are Mike Matheny and Shildt, the past two managers. Matheny’s team was 47-46 when Shildt took over. His replacement inherits a 90-72 team.
Both were hired for their firm roots in the Cardinals’ organization, their existing relationship with the front office — Mozeliak saw managerial potential in Matheny; he hired and promoted Shildt — and their commitment with the team’s time-tested philosophies. As if out of Cardinals central casting they emerged with traits the front office stressed it wanted leading the dugout, nurtured for years before hiring. Now, there’s an 0-2 count.
“I still think our continuity is a strength,†said Mozeliak, who has overseen baseball operations for 14 consecutive winning seasons, two pennants, and one World Series championship. “You still have internal issues that can happen. People evolve. People change. Ideas change. Philosophies change. Ultimately, it’s Bill’s responsibility (and) my responsibility to try to keep the organization going directionally where we’d like it to go. We’re proud that we’ve had the ability to promote from within. People from our system advance. Candidly, I hope that we can continue to do that.â€
Two leading internal candidates, bench coach Oliver Marmol and first-base coach Stubby Clapp, fit the continuity trend and familiarity with the current team. Mozeliak said his hope is to have the entire coaching staff return, finalizing that as early as this coming week.
If there’s interest in restoring the presence of past Cardinals with strong ties to the organization and its ethos, Skip Schumaker and Matt Holliday are both interested in being considered for the opening. Schumaker is a rising manager prospect in the industry after serving as San Diego’s associate manager. Holliday, who coaches at Oklahoma State, said in a text how much he “loves the idea of cultivating a championship environment.â€
Another former Cardinal who left an impression with club leadership, Carlos Beltran, was hired to manage the Mets but promptly dismissed for his reported role in Houston’s sign-stealing scandal.
The National League Championship Series offers a contrast in manager origins. Atlanta’s Brian Snitker rose through the ranks of the Braves’ system – a lifer like Shildt. The Dodgers’ Dave Roberts played a few seasons for LA but did not manage anywhere before LA. He captured the modern role of the manager when discussing LA’s choice Thursday night to start a reliever in an elimination game. He said the decision was not entirely his own, coming “all the way to the tippy top of the Dodgers’ organization on down.â€
His hefty title did not carry added weight.
“I do not get more than one vote,†he said.
Of the 10 playoff teams this season, seven have managers who are with the first team they’ve had that role, including Snitker and Roberts. Shildt managed the Cardinals to the postseason in each of his first three seasons, and in that span 16 of the 18 teams had a manager with his second club. Only the Giants’ Gabe Kapler (2019) and Miami’s Don Mattingly had led other dugouts.
Less than two weeks ago, the Cardinals were flush with possibilities, riding the helium of their 17-game winning streak and a third consecutive postseason berth. Leadership believes they have a team that can maintain those heights, reach for a division title, and ownership aims to find a manager to resume that course after this past week’s detour. That manager becomes the daily face of the organization, regardless of the say he has in decisions.
The Cardinals have a successful team, believe they have a strong culture, and the front office chose to make a significant, sudden change.
It better work.
They better win.