Schumaker's culture propelling Marlins to next step

This story was excerpted from Christina De Nicola’s Marlins Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

JUPITER, Fla. -- Much is made of the culture Skip Schumaker created during his first year as manager, and how it helped the underdog Marlins shock the baseball world by reaching the postseason in 2023. It’s the reason why he was named National League Manager of the Year, becoming the fourth person in franchise history to have the honor bestowed upon him.

This time a year ago, Schumaker and his staff worked to gain the trust of players at Spring Training. Their messaging would foster an atmosphere of accountability and togetherness. Miami embodied Schumaker’s fighting spirit, defying low postseason odds with one-run and comeback wins. Whether it be newcomer Nick Gordon or Trade Deadline acquisition Josh Bell, Schumaker’s mark on the club is clear.

“I think it was a lot of attention to detail,” Bell said. “I can say that from across the dugout, across the field, playing against them last year, the attention to detail, how they took the field, how they were running each play out -- there's a right way to play the game. There's a right mentality, and it starts with him. Just taking first to third, grinding out at-bats … that mentality, and it definitely was seen last year.”

With that foundation in place, it’s now a matter of upholding that standard in 2024. How Miami performs could also determine the 44-year-old Schumaker’s future: His contract runs through this season.

“I've always played as a player year to year,” Schumaker said. “I've coached year to year, and I'm going to manage year to year as well. If they give you a five-year contract, they can let you go after Year 1. So that doesn't really matter to me. You always coach to try to be irreplaceable. I've always thought that. I try to tell my staff that.

“‘If I lose you, is it going to be tough for us to figure out your replacement?’ And that's how I've always thought about coaching. The contract, I'm not going to talk about it again, because it doesn't matter to me. It really doesn't, and I think that we'll figure out that stuff at the end of the year.”

President of baseball operations Peter Bendix knows how rare of an opportunity he has, inheriting the reigning NL Manager of the Year in his first chance to run a front office. Once he was hired, Bendix flew to California to meet Schumaker. Ever since, they have had countless conversations about pushing the organization forward even more.

“We're really aligned on just about everything that's important: The importance of culture, the importance of winning, the importance of empowering people to do their job well, and I'm really fortunate to walk into that situation,” Bendix said.

Bendix saw firsthand how a manager can get the best out of his club. Tampa Bay has one of the Majors’ best in two-time American League Manager of the Year Kevin Cash, who has led the small-market Rays to five straight postseason appearances, including two AL East titles and an AL pennant during that span.

There is much debate on what sort of an impact a manager can truly have in baseball, especially with the utilization of analytics. A skipper’s duties and responsibilities vary depending on the organization. Oftentimes, the value isn’t quantifiable.

“The manager is the key piece in the clubhouse,” Bendix said. “The manager is the leader of this group of men that are going to be going at this for the next 180-plus days, and then hopefully deep into the postseason, too. It's a grind. You're coming to work every day. You're working for 10-12 hours, you're traveling, you're away from your family, maybe you don't speak each other's language.

“And then also you're going out onto a stage every day in front of millions of fans and performing and failing every day. And this is the person that is keeping everybody on track, and this is the leadership. It's such an important position.”