Mike Shildt resigns San Diego Padres The manager, who has two years left on his contract, says “the intensity of the baseball season has taken a toll on me mentally, physically and emotionally.”
Shildt, 57, informed the team Saturday that he was retiring, nine days after the Padres were eliminated by the Chicago Cubs in a tense three-game wild-card series. He stated that he made the decision of his own free will.
Shildt led the Padres to the postseason in each of the two seasons he led the franchise. The club confirmed Shildt's decision on Monday.
“While it has always been about serving others, it is time for me to take care of myself and leave on my own terms,” Shildt said in a statement. given to the San Diego Union-Tribune. “I gave everything I had to help make Peter Seidler's dream of bringing the World Series championship to San Diego come true.
“We fell short of our final goal, but I am proud of what the players, staff and organization have been able to achieve over the past two seasons.”
Shildt went 183-141 as coach in San Diego. The Padres won 90 games this season and finished second in the NL West before being eliminated by the Cubs.
“I am very grateful to our players,” Shildt said in a statement. “San Diego is rightfully proud of the Padres. This is a group that plays with class, is committed to each other and to the common goal of winning the World Series. I love our players and will miss them dearly!!
“After 34 years of rigorous coaching and management, I can look back with great satisfaction on achieving my two main goals: helping players make the most of their God-given abilities and becoming better people. And also win games.”
Before joining the Padres organization in early 2022 as a player development coach, Shildt was the manager of the St. Louis Cardinals from 2018 to 2021, posting a winning record in each of his three full seasons. He won National League Manager of the Year in 2019 after leading the Cards to 91 wins and the NL Central title.
“We would like to congratulate Mike on a successful career and thank him for his significant contributions to the Padres and the San Diego community over the past four years,” Padres general manager AJ Preller wrote in a statement.
Preller added that the search for a new Padres manager “will begin immediately with the goal of winning a World Series championship in 2026.”
The new Padres manager will be the eighth person to lead the bench since Preller fired Bud Black in June 2015. Their archrival, the Dodgers, have been managed by San Diego County product Dave Roberts since November 2015.
San Diego becomes the eighth MLB team to open a managerial position and the ninth to change managers this offseason. Texas has already hired Skip Shoemaker, but there are vacancies with the Padres, Angels, Braves, Orioles, Twins, Giants, Nationals and Rockies.
Information from Alden Gonzalez of ESPN and the Associated Press was used in this report.
