Cardinals fire Mike Shildt

The St. Louis Cardinals have fired manager Mike Shildt, per multiple reports.

This is a pretty surprising move — Shildt took over for Mike Matheny during the 2018 season, and won the N.L. Manager of the Year Award in 2019 after leading the Cards to a 91-71 record that year. The Cards won the division that year before being swept in the NLCS by the Washington Nationals.

The Cards went 30-28 in 2020 and made the Wild Card series, falling 2 games to 1 to the San Diego Padres. They also had a very strong finishing kick in 2021, ultimately ending the year at 90-72 and claiming the second Wild Card spot. They were defeated in the Wild Card Game by Los Angeles.

Shildt had a 252-199 record as manager of the Cardinals, good for a .559 winning percentage, and I hadn’t seen any indications leading up to this that Shildt’s job might be in jeopardy. I am not sure what the motivation behind this move is, or who the Cards will be looking to replace him with.

UPDATE — Cards g.m. John Mozeliak cites a “philosophical difference in the direction” of the team as the reason for the move.