Mike Shildt

 ( 1968 Births ) 

Shildt was promoted to manage Johnson City in 2009, where he finished with a 37–30 record. In his second season, Johnson City posted a 42–24 win–loss record, and after defeating its two playoff opponents, won the Appalachian League championship. For his effort, Shildt was named St. Louis Cardinals Minor League Manager of the Year by Scout.com. He was also named the Appalachian League Manager of the Year. Among the players he helped improve during the season include Appalachian League's Pitcher of the Year Ryan Copeland, and batting average champion Phil Cerreto. After Johnson City's season ended, Shildt was invited to spend some time on the St. Louis Cardinals roster to gain experience. After the season, Shildt was awarded the Appalachian League Manager of the Year award, and the George Kissell Award for his "excellence in player development" by the St. Louis Cardinals organization.

Johnson City repeated as league champions in 2011 under Shildt. It was the first time that Johnson City clinched two consecutive league championships since 1975–1976. Shildt managed the Springfield Cardinals of the Class AA Texas League for three seasons. Shildt guided Springfield to its first Texas League championship before being recognized as Baseball Americas Team of the Year in 2012. He then spent two seasons as the manager for the Memphis Redbirds of the Class AAA Pacific Coast League.

On July 14, 2018, Shildt was made interim manager of the Cardinals following the firing of Mike Matheny. He became only the eighth man to manage a Major League Baseball team despite not having ever played professional baseball at any level. On July 15, 2018, he collected his first major league managerial win in a 6–4 victory over the Cincinnati Reds. Bob Nightengale of USA Today tweeted on August 28, 2018, that the team would remove the interim tag from Shildt's title and name him the club's permanent manager, awarding him a three-year contract. Shildt won his 100th game as Cardinals manager with a 6–2 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates on August 9, 2019, his 51st birthday. Following a 3–2 win over the Chicago Cubs on September 22, 2019, the Cardinals clinched a playoff berth for the first time in Shildt's career as manager, and the first for the team since 2015. He was named the National League Manager of the Year. The Cardinals reached the playoffs in a shortened 2020 Major League Baseball season, losing in the Wild Card series. During the 2021 season, the Cardinals won 17 games in a row, the longest winning streak in franchise history. They clinched the second Wild Card spot but lost in the National League Wild Card Game on a two-out, two-run, walk-off home run given up by Alex Reyes in the bottom of the ninth inning to the Dodgers' Chris Taylor.

On October 14, 2021, the Cardinals announced Shildt would not return in the 2022 season having been dismissed due to "philosophical differences". He was nominated for National League Manager of the Year following the season's end, and came in third as the award was won by San Francisco Giants Manager Gabe Kapler.

On November 21, 2023, Shildt was named manager of the Padres after former manager Bob Melvin was hired by the San Francisco Giants. On November 6, 2024, Shildt and the Padres agreed to a two–year contract extension that runs through the 2027 season. On October 13, 2025, Shildt announced his retirement from the Padres, two years prior to the end of his contract. He finished 183–141 with San Diego with a 5–5 record in the playoffs. He was the first manager in the franchise's history to lead the team to consecutive 90-win seasons.

Shildt's .562 career-winning percentage makes him the 6th-winningest manager in baseball since 1947 among managers who have managed at least 450 games.

In 2021, Shildt's Cardinals secured their place in the playoffs with a 17-game winning streak during the last month of the season. It was the longest winning streak in the NL since 1935, broke the Cardinals' franchise record set in 1935, and was the first time the team won even 10 games in a row since 2001.

He was the 2019 NL Manager of the Year in his first full season as a manager.

Shildt teams are known for exceptional defense and baserunning. The Cardinals' defense went from 29th in 2018 to 1st in 2019. That year, their league-best +42 OAA was far ahead of the next closest team at +33. They made a franchise-low 66 errors on the season.

Shildt's Cardinals had twice as many Gold Glove winners from 2019 to 2021 as did any other team, including an MLB-record five (plus the team Gold Glove) in 2021.