Michael Timothy Shildt (born August 9, 1968) is an American

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding ...

coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Co ...

for the

San Diego Padres The San Diego Padres are an American professional baseball team based in San Diego. The Padres compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1969, the club has won two NL penna ...

, where he is the team's interim third base coach. After serving as a scout and manager in the

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals h ...

minor league Minor leagues are professional sports leagues which are not regarded as the premier leagues in those sports. Minor league teams tend to play in smaller, less elaborate venues, often competing in smaller cities/markets. This term is used in N ...

system, he served as the first-base coach for the Cardinals in 2017 and was named the club's manager in 2018 after the dismissal of

Mike Matheny Michael Scott Matheny (born September 22, 1970) is an American former professional baseball player and former manager of the St. Louis Cardinals and Kansas City Royals of Major League Baseball (MLB). He played in MLB for 13 seasons as a catche ...

. The 2019 Cardinals advanced to the

National League Championship Series The National League Championship Series (NLCS) is a best-of-seven playoff and one of two League Championship Series comprising the penultimate round of Major League Baseball's (MLB) postseason. It is contested by the winners of the two Nation ...

and he was named

NL Manager of the Year In Major League Baseball, the Manager of the Year Award is an honor given annually since 1983 to two outstanding managers, one each in the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winner is voted on by 30 members of the Baseball Write ...

. The 2020 and 2021 seasons ended in losses at the National League Wild Card Game. Shildt was dismissed as Cardinals manager on October 14, 2021. He was hired by the

on January 26, 2022, in a player-development role, and stepped in as the team's third-base coach to begin the 2022 season after Matt Williams had hip surgery.

Early career

Born in

Charlotte, North Carolina Charlotte ( ) is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont (United States), Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, Meckl ...

, Shildt played high school baseball at Olympic High School and college baseball for University of North Carolina (UNC) Asheville

Bulldogs The Bulldog is a British breed of dog of mastiff type. It may also be known as the English Bulldog or British Bulldog. It is of medium size, a muscular, hefty dog with a wrinkled face and a distinctive pushed-in nose.curve ball", Shildt became a coach at West Charlotte High School where he helped bring the baseball team their first winning season in 20 years. After leaving the high school, Shildt was hired by

UNC Charlotte The University of North Carolina at Charlotte (UNC Charlotte or simply Charlotte) is a public research university in Charlotte, North Carolina. UNC Charlotte offers 24 doctoral, 66 master's, and 79 bachelor's degree programs through nine colle ...

to become an assistant coach for the

Charlotte 49ers The Charlotte 49ers are the intercollegiate athletics teams that represent the University of North Carolina at Charlotte in Charlotte, North Carolina. The 49ers compete at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level ...

baseball team. He held the position for five years. During the off-season he owned a baseball training facility in

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia a ...

, becoming a full-time baseball instructor to area youths.

St. Louis Cardinals system

Minor leagues

Shildt started his

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL) ...

career as an associate

scout Scout may refer to: Youth movement * Scout (Scouting), a child, usually 10–18 years of age, participating in the worldwide Scouting movement **Scouts (The Scout Association), section for 10-14 year olds in the United Kingdom ** Scouts BSA, sect ...

with the league for three seasons. He moved on to the

organization, working as the area scout for North Carolina,

South Carolina )'' Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no) , anthem = "Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind" , Former = Province of South Carolina , seat = Columbia , LargestCity = Charleston , LargestMetro = G ...

and

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the East Coast of the United States, Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography an ...

. On a recommendation from future Cardinals

general manager A general manager (GM) is an executive who has overall responsibility for managing both the revenue and cost elements of a company's income statement, known as profit & loss (P&L) responsibility. A general manager usually oversees most or all ...

John Mozeliak John Mozeliak (born January 18, 1969) is an American baseball executive who is the president of baseball operations of the St. Louis Cardinals of Major League Baseball (MLB). Never a professional baseball player, Mozeliak came to the Cardinals ...

, Shildt began his

coaching career as a part-time coach. Shildt was sent to the Cardinals' Single-A affiliate in the

New York–Penn League The New York–Penn League (NYPL) was a Minor League Baseball league that operated in the northeastern United States from 1939 to 2020. Classified as a Class A Short Season league, its season started in June, after major-league teams signed th ...

. He was a part-time coach during 2004 and 2005, while continuing his scouting duties. He was promoted to a full-time coaching position in 2006, and kept coaching with the single A affiliate until the 2007 season. In 2008, Shildt coordinated the Cardinals' minor league

spring training Spring training is the preseason in Major League Baseball (MLB), a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spring training allows new players to try out for roster and position spots, and gives estab ...

workout camp. Afterwards he became the hitting coach for the

Johnson City Cardinals The Johnson City Cardinals were a Minor League Baseball team based in Johnson City, Tennessee. The team was affiliated with the St. Louis Cardinals organization from 1975 through 2020 and played in the Rookie-level Appalachian League. The team wo ...

for the 2008 season. Shildt was promoted to manage Johnson City in 2009, where he finished with a 37–30 record. In his second season, Johnson City posted a 42–24 win–loss record, and after defeating its two playoff opponents, won the

Appalachian League The Appalachian League is a collegiate summer baseball league that operates in the Appalachian regions of Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, and North Carolina. Designed for rising freshmen and sophomores using wood bats, its season runs from J ...

championship. For his effort, Shildt was named St. Louis Cardinals Minor League Manager of the Year by Scout.com. He was also named the Appalachian League Manager of the Year. Among the players he helped improve during the season include Appalachian League's Pitcher of the Year Ryan Copeland, and

batting average Batting average is a statistic in cricket, baseball, and softball that measures the performance of batters. The development of the baseball statistic was influenced by the cricket statistic. Cricket In cricket, a player's batting average i ...

champion Phil Cerreto. After Johnson City's season ended, Shildt was invited to spend some time on the St. Louis Cardinals roster in order to gain experience. After the season, Shildt was awarded the Appalachian League Manager of the Year award, and the George Kissell Award for his "excellence in player development" by the St. Louis Cardinals organization. Johnson City repeated as league champions in 2011 under Shildt. It was the first time that Johnson City clinched two consecutive league championships since 1975–1976. Shildt managed the

Springfield Cardinals The Springfield Cardinals are a Minor League Baseball team based in Springfield, Missouri. They compete as a member of the Texas League's North Division. The Cardinals began play in 2005. The team is owned by the 11-time Major League Baseball ( ...

of the

Class AA Double-A (officially Class AA) is the second-highest level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States since 1946, below only Triple-A. There are currently 30 teams classified at the Double-A level, one for each team in Major League ...

Texas League The Texas League is a Minor League Baseball league which has operated in the South Central United States since 1902. It is classified as a Double-A league. Despite the league's name, only its five South Division teams are actually based in the ...

for three seasons. Shildt guided Springfield to its first Texas League championship before being recognized as ''Baseball America''s Team of the Year in 2012. He then spent two seasons as the manager for the

Memphis Redbirds The Memphis Redbirds are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals. They are located in Memphis, Tennessee, and are named for their Major League Baseball affiliate. The Redb ...

of the

Class AAA Triple-A (officially Class AAA) has been the highest level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States since 1946. Currently, two leagues operate at the Triple-A level, the International League (IL) and the Pacific Coast League (PCL ...

Pacific Coast League The Pacific Coast League (PCL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the Western United States. Along with the International League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A level, which is one grade below Major League Bas ...

Major leagues

Shildt was again promoted in 2017, this time to the MLB team, as the quality control coach. After a rough start to the 2017 season, third base coach Chris Maloney was reassigned in the organization, and Shildt became the full-time Cardinals third base coach for the rest of the 2017 season. When

José Oquendo José Manuel Roberto Guillermo Oquendo Contreras (born July 4, 1963), nicknamed The Secret Weapon, is a Puerto Rican former infielder and current coach in Major League Baseball (MLB). He currently serves as Minor League Infield Coordinator of ...

was brought back for the 2018 season to be the Cardinals' third base coach, Shildt became the team's bench coach for the 2018 season. On July 14, 2018, Shildt was made interim manager of the Cardinals following the firing of

. He became only the eighth man to manage a Major League Baseball team despite not having ever played professional baseball at any level. On July 15, 2018, he collected his first major league managerial win in a 6–4 victory over the

Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division and were a charter member of ...

Bob Nightengale Bob Nightengale is an American journalist who currently is a Major League Baseball insider and columnist for ''USA Today''. He formerly worked for ''The Arizona Republic'', ''The Kansas City Star'', and the ''Los Angeles Times''. He is the incum ...

USA Today ''USA Today'' (stylized in all uppercase) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth on September 15, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headquarters in Tysons, Virg ...

tweeted on August 28, 2018 that the team would remove the interim tag from Shildt's title and name him the club's permanent manager, awarding him a three-year contract. Shildt won his 100th game as Cardinals manager with a 6–2 win over the

Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division. Founded as part o ...

on August 9, 2019, his 51st birthday. Following a 3–2 win over the

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as part of the National League (NL) Central division. The club plays its home games at Wrigley Field, which is locate ...

on September 22, 2019, the Cardinals clinched a playoff berth for the first time in Shildt's career as manager, and the first for the team since 2015. He was named the

National League Manager of the Year In Major League Baseball, the Manager of the Year Award is an honor given annually since 1983 to two outstanding managers, one each in the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winner is voted on by 30 members of the Baseball W ...

. The Cardinals reached the playoffs in a shortened

2020 Major League Baseball season The 2020 Major League Baseball season began on July 23 and ended on September 27 with only 60 games amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. The full 162-game regular season was planned to begin on March 26, but the pandemic caused Major League Baseball ( ...

, losing in the Wild Card series. During the 2021 season, the Cardinals won 17 games in a row, the longest winning streak in franchise history. They clinched the second Wild Card spot, but lost in the National League Wild Card Game on a two out, two-run, walk-off home run given up by Alex Reyes in the bottom of the ninth inning. On October 14, 2021, the Cardinals announced Shildt would not return in the 2022 season having been fired due to "philosophical differences." He was nominated for National League Manager of the Year following the season's end, and came in third as the award was won by

San Francisco Giants The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco, California. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1883 as the New Y ...

Manager

Gabe Kapler Gabriel Stefan Kapler (born July 31, 1975), nicknamed "Kap", is an American former professional baseball outfielder, and current manager of the San Francisco Giants of Major League Baseball (MLB). Kapler was a 57th-round draft pick (1,487th ove ...

. After leaving the Cardinals, Shildt was hired by MLB. On January 26, 2022, Shildt was hired by the

to serve in a player development role. However, he began the season as the Padres' interim third base coach after Matt Williams had hip surgery during spring training.

Managerial record

Personal life

Shildt married his long-time fiancee, Michele Segrave, on March 6, 2020 in Jupiter, Florida. They have two daughters. Shildt is a

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words '' Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρ ...

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shildt, Mike Baseball coaches from North Carolina Major League Baseball bench coaches San Diego Padres coaches St. Louis Cardinals managers St. Louis Cardinals scouts Charlotte 49ers baseball coaches UNC Asheville Bulldogs baseball players 1968 births Living people Memphis Redbirds managers