When we last saw Mike Shildt on Get More Sports, he was of rowdy sorts. While celebrating a game five NLDS victory over the Atlanta, the St. Louis Cardinals manager went on a raucous tirade. Within the rant he said that the Cardinals were ‘going to kick anyone’s ass’ and then some.
Then, the Cardinals were swept handily in the NLCS by the Washington Nationals.
However, the organization must be happy with the progress being made. Therefore, they extended the contract of Shildt, John Mozeliak, and general manager Michael Girsch on Tuesday. In addition, the entire Major League coaching staff will return in 2020.
Today we announced contract extensions for President of Baseball Operations John Mozeliak, Vice President & GM Michael Girsch and Manager Mike Shildt.
Additionally, the entire Major League coaching staff will return in 2020 👉 https://t.co/Cdkm07K4Pr pic.twitter.com/fNfW9cHAMV
— St. Louis Cardinals (@Cardinals) November 5, 2019
Cardinals chairman Bill DeWitt Jr. spoke about the extensions:
“What Mo and his group have accomplished since he took over in 2008 as the head of our baseball ops is pretty impressive. We’ve been in the playoffs seven times. We’ve had 12 consecutive winning seasons, two pennants, a world championship. … We continue to have a robust farm system, which is not easy to do. When you have winning seasons, you don’t draft high. But we’ve got a very strong scouting and player development group.”
However, more news shook out of the news other than just the extensions. The president of baseball operations Mozeliak noted that the team was discussing a 2020 contract with starting pitcher Adam Wainwright.
Then, Mozeliak left the door open to the next chapter who will run the Cardinals. Remember, Mozeliak has been a member of the Cardinals’ organization in some capacity since 1995 as a scout. Since 2007, he has served as the general manager or president of baseball operations.
“Not going to do this forever,” Mozeliak said, “so having a way to think about succession and giving people that opportunity to grow I think is most important. We certainly don’t want to be a broken record. We certainly don’t want to be an organization that doesn’t feel like we’re trying to innovate or be fresh.”
Certainly, the Cardinals are looked at as one of the more stable organizations in the game because they have had people in these position for the long-term. Stability starts at the top in any organization.
