Shildt runner-up for NL MOY in first season at Padres' helm
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SAN DIEGO -- Padres manager Mike Shildt finished second to Milwaukee's Pat Murphy for the National League Manager of the Year Award, which was announced Tuesday night.
It marked San Diego's second runner-up finish in as many nights in the BBWAA Awards, after Jackson Merrill came in second to Pittsburgh’s Paul Skenes for NL Rookie of the Year on Monday.
Shildt received 70 voting points -- including one first-place vote -- to Murphy's 144. No Padres skipper has won the award since Bud Black in 2010. Shildt was vying for his second Manager of the Year Award, after earning the honor with the Cardinals in '19.
• All-time Manager of the Year Award winners
Nonetheless, Shildt's first season with the Padres was a largely successful one -- and it recently resulted in an extension for Shildt through the 2027 season.
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"He took a talented group and got them together, really from Day 1," general manager A.J. Preller said recently. "He brought a competitive spirit to our team and brought a lot of joy, energy and happiness to the city of San Diego. It was a lot of fun to be a part of it with him."
In four full seasons as a big league skipper, including three with St. Louis, Shildt has now reached the postseason four times. There's a case that his performance in San Diego in 2024 was his most impressive to date.
After a star-studded San Diego team missed the ’23 postseason entirely, the Padres overhauled their roster, trimming payroll while a number of those stars ended up elsewhere. The Padres still finished with 93 wins -- an 11-win improvement and the second highest total in franchise history (98 wins in 1998).
It’s often hard to quantify the specifics of a manager’s impact. But the Padres were excellent situationally in 2024, winning the types of close games that they rarely won in ’23.
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Their clubhouse was also a different place. The 2023 season saw numerous reports of discord -- reports that, in some cases, may have been overblown but were not entirely without merit. Conversely, the ’24 season saw a Padres team buoyed by its clubhouse culture. Yes, it was a different roster. But Shildt’s role can’t be discounted.
After being let go by the Cardinals following the 2021 season, Shildt spent the previous two seasons as an adviser in the Padres' organization.
"I came from a good place with a connection with players," Shildt said on Tuesday's BBWAA Awards show on MLB Network. "Partnered with the players, then it got to be about just playing baseball and making sure our players enjoyed themselves.
"Sparky Anderson always talked about the No. 1 thing that he wanted was to make sure when the players were driving to the ballpark, they were looking forward to getting there. Just creating that atmosphere, the staff was fantastic. ... And it was about winning baseball games and good fundamental baseball."
The BBWAA will unveil its Cy Young and MVP Award winners on Wednesday and Thursday night, respectively, and the Padres have several players who could receive down-ballot votes. But they do not have any finalists for either award.