Ex-Cardinals Manager Listed As Top Candidate To Be Nominated For Prestigious Award

The former St. Louis skipper is thriving

Apr 4, 2024; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; A general view as the Budweiser Clydesdales trot around the warning track before the St. Louis Cardinals home opener against the Miami Marlins at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports / Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports

The St. Louis Cardinals front office has made poor decisions over the last decade that have drastically altered the organization's direction.

It's a mystery where the Cardinals could be today if they hadn't given up on players who blossomed into star players after leaving St. Louis for another team.

Not only have the Cardinals traded away valuable talent for small returns in recent years but they've also made the poor choice to part ways with a former skipper, who's thriving in his new role.

San Diego Padres manager Mike Shildt is in his first year as manager for the National League West club and was recently mentioned as the No.2 top candidate to receive the NL Manager of the Year award after this season ends, according to The Athletic's Jim Bowden early predictions.

Shildt returned to Busch Stadium on Monday for the first time since being fired by St. Louis after the 2021 season. Unfortunately, his Padres defeated the Cardinals 7-4 in the four-game series opener and upset his former team the following night in a 7-5 comeback win.

Despite winning NL Manager of the Year in 2019 with the Cardinals, philosophical differences led to Shildt's firing from St. Louis. Subsequently, Oli Marmol was hired to take over as the new skipper.

Marmol is on the verge of leading the Cardinals to a second consecutive season of missing the playoffs. It's tough to witness Shildt's Padres, who hold one of the three NL Wild Card spots, dominate the Cardinals, knowing things could be different if St. Louis didn't choose to go in a different managerial direction when they did.

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