Mike Shildt’s Unique Career Path Contributes to System-Wide Culture

WASHINGTON, DC — In his second year as the manager of the San Diego Padres and sixth in the big leagues, Mike Shildt has plenty on his plate.

With significant holes in the lineup, the team is hanging on to final Wild Card spot. A low-powered offense has meant that the club has played more close games than any club in baseball, which in turn is taxing the back of a talented bullpen. But that’s just one aspect of his job.

Given his unique résumé, Shildt is also uniquely positioned to drive culture across the organization.

A Path Like Few Others

Shildt is one of only eight big league managers ever who never played a single game professionally. Two of the other seven, Emil “Judge” Fuchs and Ted Turner, got the position because they owned the team.

After playing baseball at the University of North Carolina – Asheville, Shildt moved home to his native Charlotte and began coaching at the high school level. After a few years, he moved on to serve as a collegiate assistant baseball coach while opening his own baseball training facility.

He wound up as a part-time associate scout for Major League Baseball, which finally opened the door for him to be hired by the St. Louis Cardinals, where he would spend the next 18 years.

He worked for the organization as a scout before convincing them to let him serve as a part-time coach provided he continued his scouting duties. In short order, he was added as a full-time coach, then managed at three different minor league levels before joining the big league staff in 2017. The next year, he was installed as the interim manager when St. Louis fired Mike Matheny.

He performed well enough that the interim title was dropped from his title and by 2019, he earned Manager of the Year honors. He won 90 games or more in each of his two full seasons with them, but was unexpectedly let go after the 2021 season due to “philosophical differences.”

A New Perspective for a New Organization

Shildt briefly took a job back with MLB until the Padres came calling with a player development role. However, an unscheduled hip surgery for Matt Williams in the spring of 2022, forced him to step into an interim role as the big league club’s third base coach.

After his time in the Padres’ clubhouse, he picked up his regularly-scheduled duties, which took him to every level of the organization. Thus, when he stepped into the role of manager following the 2023 season, he had an unusual grasp of the entire organization.

In his first year, Shildt won 93 games, the second most in team history. We caught up with him to discuss his role and his views on player development.

MadFriars: When we go around to the various affiliates, there seems to be a new sense of system-wide cohesion. El Paso manager Pete Zamora, who has been in the organization for 10 years, pointed out that he has felt that San Diego has developed a “Padres Way” for the first time. He credited that to your long tenure with the Cardinals, who have always had a strong culture.

I’m sure you could discuss this subject for a couple of days, but could you go into that briefly? 

Mike Shildt: [laughs] Yes, we could talk about that for a few days.

I’ve been fortunate to have been around many quality baseball people who are truly Hall of Fame-level in instruction and management. George Kissell is the first person that comes to mind, followed by Earl Weaver, Sparky Anderson, Jimmy Leland, Tony La Russa, and Joe Torre, along with many second-generation leaders.

To me, there was a clarity to the way things were done, and no one, especially Mr. Kissel, would have professed to have all the answers. Our goal was to be fundamentally sound and compete consistently. What I learned a great deal about was the fundamental and mental aspects of preparing, competing, and playing the game. I was fortunate to have some of the world’s best teachers help me understand that, and I wanted to bring some of that knowledge here.

That being said, when I came here, we had a lot of really good baseball people already in place. A.J. Preller is not only one of the best GMs in the game; he’s a good baseball guy. I thought I brought some ideas about structure, and it melded into what already existed. We’ve worked with our players on what it means to be a Padre and are trying to develop the “Padres Way.”

Before you became the manager here, you worked in the front office and served as a coach on the big league team.  You also had the opportunity to visit the different affiliates and gain an idea of what you liked, as well as some areas that could be improved upon. Did that help?

Mike Shildt: Yeah, you know, I had two years here. I coached a few times with the big league club and did a bit of everything. I really enjoyed connecting with and working with the player development group.

I did travel within the system, and it provided me with an opportunity to work with people and figure out how to put all this together. So, I’ve enjoyed trying to be a part of building something.

One criticism that has been prevalent in the past is when players come up to the big leagues and are then asked to do something they haven’t done in the minors, or they are told to do something differently. Pete Zamora made it a point to emphasize that it’s not happening as often.

Mike Shildt: That’s right. The big leagues are more of a finishing school; it’s not a place for training wheels. I believe that much of what we have accomplished here is due to individuals like Pete, Luke Montz in San Antonio, Lukas Ray in Fort Wayne, and Brian Burres in Lake Elsinore, as well as their respective staffs.

They have just been fantastic, and we are in communication with all of them. We have the pitching, batting, and fielding synced up, and when these guys come up here, I want it to be seamless.

You don’t want a player making the most significant jump of their career, with definitely a lot more stimulation and eyeballs watching, and not be familiar with how we do things.

And that’s what we have been able to do.  The real finishing school is the clubhouse, where we have players like Manny Machado, Fernando Tatis Jr., Jake Cronenworth, and Joe Musgrove who will teach them how to be big leaguers.

That job is not teaching them how to play; their job is to help them show up and get ready to play.

With all that you have going on as a manager of a big league baseball team, how often are you able to follow what goes on in the minors on a day-to-day basis?

Mike Shildt: All of our staff read those reports every day, and we do our best to stay in touch with them. That’s part of the system; everyone has to be on the same page.