Cardinals fire manager Mike Shildt

In a statement announcing the change, the team cited "philosophical differences" as the reason for Shildt's ouster. The Cardinals went 252-199 during three-plus years under Shildt's guidance.

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Mike Shildt guided the St. Louis Cardinals to three consecutive playoff appearances, won 252 games across four campaigns, and received the Baseball Writers Association of America National League Manager of the Year Award after his first full season leading the club in 2019.

But he won't be managing the Cardinals anymore.

Citing "philosophical differences," the team announced Thursday that Shildt has been fired. The 53-year-old, who had one year remaining on his contract, spent 13 years in player development with the organization until joining the big league coaching staff in 2017. After Mike Matheny's ouster midway through the 2018 season, Shildt took over as interim manager before becoming the team's official bench boss in August of that year. He was the 50th manager in club history.

A late-season, franchise-record 17-game winning streak propelled the Cardinals into this month's postseason, where they fell to the Los Angeles Dodgers on a walk-off home run during last week's National League Wild Card Game. Shildt was 4-9 during postseason play, leading the Cardinals as far as the 2019 National League Championship Series.

"While these decisions are difficult, both parties agreed that philosophical differences related to the direction of the organization brought us to this conclusion," John Mozeliak, the team's president of baseball operations, said in a statement. "With just one year remaining on Mike's contract, it was in everyone's best interests that we address this now."

It's uncommon for teams to make significant personnel moves during the middle of the postseason, and The Washington Post reports that the Cardinals asked for—and received—permission from Major League Baseball to make the move so early in the offseason. Thursday's announcement marks merely the third managerial change for the club since 1996.

Although it's unclear where the Cardinals will turn for a replacement, Mozeliak told reporters he believes that the organization has quality internal candidates who could be in the mix.

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