The San Diego Padres have overcome a nine-game NL West deficit and are tied with the Los Angeles Dodgers as of this writing. The Dodgers have won 13 NL West titles since 2011. The Padres haven't won any. San Diego's push was clear at the MLB trade deadline – they were willing to win by any means necessary – even if that includes unloading their farm system. The Padres deadline additions have paid off and then some, but the one constant in a chaotic time for the Friars has been Mike Shildt.
Shildt is the ultimate players' manager. The Padres clubhouse loves him, and he's willing to stand up for his guys whenever called upon. Even when players like Gavin Sheets see their playing time take a hit thanks to trade deadline additions, Shildt knows how to get on their good side again.
“What can you say about Gavin Sheets?” Shildt said. “That guy kept his head in the game, hasn’t been able to get the at-bats he was getting early and accepted it like a pro, stayed ready for his teammates.”
Shildt's steady hand is valued in San Diego, but not everywhere. The Padres haven't won a World Series in his tenure, which started in 2023, but they're getting close.
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Why did the Cardinals fire Mike Shildt in the first place?
St. Louis fired Shildt at the end of the 2021 season for what John Mozeliak coined as 'philosophical differences'. Here was his explanation at the time.
"All I can say is where we felt the team was going, we were struggling to get on the same page," Mozeliak said. "With him having one year remaining on his contract, we could have gone into 2022 having that over him, and we just decided that internally it would be best to separate now and take a fresh look as we head into a new season."
Shildt signed a three-year extension in St. Louis prior to the 2019 season. In that 2021 season, the Cardinals won 17 straight games, a streak which carried them into the postseason via an NL Wild Card spot. The now-Padres skipper had spent decades with the Cardinals organization before he was fired, as the team hired him as a scout in 2004.
Cardinals should regret getting rid of Mike Shildt
Since joining San Diego, the Padres and Cardinals have gone in different directions, with Shildt succeeding and his replacement Oli Marmol floundering. Marmol is a much different manager than Shildt. First, he's younger and fiery. Marmol doesn't shy away from calling out his own players to the media, even if poorly-timed, to send a message. Former Cardinals Tyler O'Neill and Dylan Carlson know this all too well.
On the diamond, Marmol's teams had gotten steadily worse until 2024. This season, Marmol received praise by leading a far younger team with veterans in the right places to a surprising start. Yet, they're just one game over .500 and 15 games back of the NL Central-leading Milwaukee Brewers. The Cards are likely to retool under Chaim Bloom, who is taking over for John Mozeliak after this season.
Who knows if the Cardinals would have been better off keeping Shildt? All we can do is examine the facts, and they don't look good for St. Louis, Marmol or Mozeliak.