NL Manager of the Year voting makes Cardinals look worse for firing Mike Shildt

The NL Manager of the Year results proved that the St. Louis Cardinals took a risk in firing Mike Shildt after the season.

While most of the attention this MLB offseason is focused on free agency signings and potential trades, it is also awards season. On Tuesday, the Baseball Writers Association of America revealed their votes for the Manager of the Year in their respective leagues. Gabe Kapler of the San Francisco Giants easily won the award with 28 first-place votes after leading the team to a 107-win season.

But if there was one interesting takeaway from the voting results, it was that Mike Shildt finished in third-place on the ballot for his work with the St. Louis Cardinals this season. Shildt, of course, was fired by the Cardinals at the end of the season.

The full results of the NL Manager of the Year can be found here.

Mike Shildt finishes third-place in NL Manager of the Year voting

The Cardinals were the hottest team in baseball in the second half of the season. Shildt’s squad rode a franchise-best 17-game winning streak to help rise up the standings and ultimately clinch the final NL Wild Card spot. They, unfortunately, matched up against the 106-win Los Angeles Dodgers in the Wild Card round, and were beaten 3-1 in the single-elimination game.

Despite the success the team had this season, the Cardinals opted to part ways with Shildt, sending shockwaves throughout MLB. President of baseball operations John Mozeliak said he made the decision due to a “philosophical difference” in regards to the direction of the team. Shildt had one year remaining on his contract.

The Cardinals then decided to go with an internal candidate to replace Shildt, and that was bench coach Oliver Marmol. At 35 years old, Marmol is the youngest manager in MLB.

Even though naming Marmol manager brings stability to the team, the NL Manager of the Year voting results showed that the Cardinals did take a calculated risk in parting ways with Shildt, considering he finished third on the entire ballot.