Cardinals fire Mike Shildt over 'philosophical differences'

The Cardinals fired manager Mike Shildt over philosophical differences within the organization Thursday, just one week after St. Louis lost to the Los Angeles Dodgers in the National League wild-card game.

Cardinals president John Mozeliak said the firing was “something that popped up recently,” but he declined to expand on what he called “philosophical differences.” He did point out that Shildt was heading into the final year of his contract but that it wasn’t the sole reason for parting ways.

Shildt replaced current Royals manager Mike Matheny on an interim basis in August 2018, then took over the permanent job the following season. The Cardinals won 91 games that season, earning Shildt the NL manager of the year, and advanced to the NL Championship Series before getting swept by the Nationals.

The Cardinals went 30-28 during the pandemic-shortened 2020 season, losing the wild-card game, before using a franchise-record 17-game winning streak to reach the wild-card game again this season.