Cardinals’ John Mozeliak optimistic about Mike Matheny’s second chance with Royals
New Kansas City Royals manager Mike Matheny’s major-league track record so far consists of one previous stint about four hours across the state in St. Louis.
After Matheny posted a winning record in six and a half seasons managing the St. Louis Cardinals, the sides went their separate ways when the team fired Matheny during the 2018 season. They tabbed Mike Shildt to take over as manager.
Tuesday, Shildt garnered the National League Manager of the Year Award for taking the club to the National League Championship Series.
Earlier that same day, Cardinals president of baseball operations John Mozeliak spoke to The Star at the MLB general managers’ meetings in Scottsdale, Arizona, about the decision to move on from Matheny as well as Matheny garnering a second chance in Kansas City.
“I was happy for him,” Mozeliak said. “He and I were friends, and we unfortunately had to make a tough decision. But I think it’s a great opportunity for him to hit the restart button and have another shot at this. He’s a bright guy. He’s a charismatic person that the more you’re around him, the more you’ll realize that. I definitely think that he has a lot to bring to the Royals.”
Matheny, who played 13 seasons in the majors and won four Gold Gloves as a catcher, never managed before he took over a team in St. Louis that won a World Series under Tony La Russa in 2011.
From 2012 until his firing in 2018, Matheny’s teams went 591-474, won three division titles, made four consecutive playoff appearances and went to a World Series in 2013. But the team finished third in the NL Central in 2017, and they were one game above .500 (47-46) when the Cardinals made the change during the 2018 season.
“I think there were a lot of dynamics going on at the time, and he was facing some headwinds. The demand for winning baseball in St. Louis is very real,” Mozeliak said. “We just felt like we had to do something different.
“Unfortunately, it’s much easier to make a difference in the manager than it is to change a roster, especially mid-stream. So ultimately, that was the decision we had to make. It wasn’t an easy one. At that point in time, we felt it was time.”
Despite having made the decision to oust Matheny in favor of Shildt, Mozeliak expressed optimism about the marriage of Matheny and the Royals, who introduced Matheny as their new manager on Oct. 31.
Mozeliak described Matheny as a “reflective” person who continually tries to learn and grow.
During his introductory news conference with Royals GM Dayton Moore in Kansas City, Matheny admitted shortcomings in his interactions with the media in St. Louis as well as his understanding of analytics. He has taken steps to address both areas in the past year.
“For me, right away I was just trying to be an honest evaluator of where I was. I tried to get as much feedback as possible,” Matheny said. “I talked with Dayton a lot about blindspots. I need to identify blindspots so I don’t make some mistakes twice, whether that’s tactically or that’s relationally.”
Matheny also spoke about working to build trust and individual relationships to get the most out of players, even if that meant leaning on other members of his staff.
“When I think about his time, he stepped into a very difficult seat,” Mozeliak said. “We’d just won the World Series in 2011. Expectations were extremely high, and he kept that rock rolling down the hill in a very positive way. I think it’s a hard job. It’s a demanding job. I think sometimes when you’re just always showing up and having high expectations, it can wear on you. I do think towards the end, it was starting to affect him.
“Ultimately, the relationships — there were a lot of players that would swear by him and I’m sure there’s some that their relationship wasn’t as healthy as they would want it to be. But he’s a guy that is going to learn and grow from what he perceives as his mistakes.”
This story was originally published November 13, 2019 at 5:00 AM.
