Mike Shildt Out As Cardinals Manager in Surprising Move by Team

The St. Louis Cardinals parted ways with manager Mike Shildt this afternoon over philosophical differences in the direction of the team.

While these decisions are difficult, both parties agreed that philosophical differences related to the direction of the organization brought us to this conclusion, said Cardinals' President of Baseball Operations John Mozeliak in a team release.

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch characterized the announcement as shocking to multiple people in the organization. And the paper also said Mozeliak characterized Shildt's reaction as shocked.

The Post-Dispatch says Mozeliak didn't go into the differences between Shildt and the baseball club, and neither did the team's press release. However, MLB.com reported that Shildt and the team's front office had some kind of disconnect that had come to a head over the past week.

Shildt spent 17 years with the Cardinals organization joining the team in 2013. Over the years he worked in player development as a scout, coach, and manager before joining the major league staff in 2017. He was promoted to interim manager on July 15, 2018, and had the interim tag removed a month later.

In his three-plus seasons as manager Shildt posted a 252-199 won-loss record and was voted Manager of the Year in 2019 by the Baseball Writers Association of America.

The firing comes less than a week after Shildt guided the Cardinals to their third postseason in a row. Despite losing in the Wild Card, Shildt managed the team into an improbable playoff position and a record-setting 17 game winning streak at the end of the team's 2021 campaign.