SAN DIEGO (AP) — The San Diego Padres have given Mike Shildt another chance to manage in the big leagues, just two years after his run with St. Louis ended abruptly despite him leading the Cardinals to three straight playoff appearances and winning the 2019 NL Manager of the Year Award.
Shildt signed a two-year contract on Tuesday to replace Bob Melvin, who was hired away by his hometown San Francisco Giants on Oct. 25 with a year left on his contract with the Padres. That ended a fractured two-year relationship with general manager A.J. Preller.
“I’m really grateful for a second act,” Shildt said at a Petco Park news conference. “Not everybody gets it. You take for granted there are only 30 of these jobs. I promise you I won’t take this one for granted. I’m excited about our team.”
Both Shildt and Preller spoke fondly about Peter Seidler, the Padres owner and chairman who died a week earlier at 63.
Seidler dreamed aloud last spring about the Padres winning the World Series and having a parade. But the star-studded roster, which had baseball’s third-highest opening day payroll of $258 million, flopped dramatically and missed the playoffs.