Fansided

Cardinals stunningly fire manager MIke Shildt, despite historic winning streak and postseason trip

By Josh Hill

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - SEPTEMBER 14: Manager Mike Shildt #8 of the St. Louis Cardinals in action against the New York Mets at Citi Field on September 14, 2021 in New York City. The Cardinals defeated the Mets 7-6 in eleven innings. (Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - SEPTEMBER 14: Manager Mike Shildt #8 of the St. Louis Cardinals in action against the New York Mets at Citi Field on September 14, 2021 in New York City. The Cardinals defeated the Mets 7-6 in eleven innings. (Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images) /
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The St. Louis Cardinals have fired manager Mike Shildt, despite a historic winning streak to end the season with a postseason berth. 

It’s truly been a whirlwind fall for St. Louis Cardinals fans.

After seemingly being dead in the water entering September, the Cards tore off a historic 17-game winning streak to end their season, one that propelled them into the postseason via a Wild Card berth.

St. Louis ultimately lost to the Los Angeles Dodgers in the NL Wild Card, but it wasn’t as though the team was blown out. The Dodgers needed ninth inning heroics to end the Cardinals miracle run to October, but front office brass apparently needed more for Shildt to keep his job.

According to ESPN’s Jeff Passan, the Cardinals have decided to fire Mike Shildt. No replacement was named and the search for the next manager in the St. Louis dugout begins now.

Why was Cardinals manager Mike Shildt fired?

According to Passan, the firing resulted from a “philosophical difference” between Shildt and the front office.

"Cardinals president John Mozeliak said he fired manager Mike Shildt earlier today due to a “philosophical difference” in the direction of the team. “We decided internally it would be best to separate now,” he said, even though Shildt had one year left on his contract."

Simply put, this is a stunning decision.

St. Louis wasn’t a great ballclub this season but the team was by no means in bad shape. Even when you take out comparisons to the bottom-dwelling Chicago Cubs — who also made a stunning decision to blow its roster up at the trade deadline — the Cardinals seemed to be moving in the right direction.

Had the Cards made it out of NL Wild Card game, there’s a decent chance they would have adopted the moniker of the team you don’t want to play given how their season ended. Going on the type of insane winning streak the Cardinals did in September isn’t dumb luck, and seemed to be a solid endorsement of Shildt’s managerial skills as far as gathering his clubhouse at a time lesser managers would have watched the season melt away.

Not Shildt, though, but it apparently wasn’t enough.

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