At this point, the San Diego Padres are poised to find themselves in October for the second year in a row. Their playoff appearance in 2024 led manager Mike Shildt to sign a two-year contract extension until the 2027 season.
Clearly, he is doing something right. But when asked about his time as a player, he gets very candid. On Saturday, Shildt was brutally honest about his playing abilities at the University Of North Carolina At Asheville, per MLB Network.
“I was a terrible player, just brutal in college,” he said. “When you're bunting with one out, you're a coach.”
"I was a terrible player, just brutal in college. When you're bunting with one out, you're a coach." 😂
– Mike Shildt on his path to being a Big League manager
MLB Network + @SageUSAmerica pic.twitter.com/lDnqY1u54v
— MLB Network (@MLBNetwork) September 20, 2025
After college, Shildt didn't play professionally. Ultimately, he deciding to charter his path into coaching. His first coaching stint was at West Charlotte High School in Charlotte, North Carolina. Then, Shildt went back to his alma mater to be an assistant coach.
Later on, Shildt officially founded the On Deck Baseball Academy in Charlotte as a training facility.
From 2018-2021, Shildt was the manager for the St. Louis Cardinals. In 2019, he was named the NL Manager of the Year and helped lead the Cardinals to the NL Central Division title. Ultimately, they were swept in the 2019 NLCS by the eventual World Series champion Washington Nationals.
Later, Shildt was fired due to “philosophical differences”. In 2023, he was hired by the Padres to be the manager. Last year, they made it to the NLDS before losing to the eventual champion Dodgers.
Mike Shildt is part of an elite group of managers
Shildt isn't alone in managers who didn't play professionally. Among the others included Joe McCarthy, Earl Weaver, and Joe Madden.
McCarthy was the famed manager of the New York Yankees from 1931-1946. Altogether, he won eight World Series titles and was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame. The same was true for the legendary Earl Weaver, who won 1,480 games and is also inducted into Cooperstown.
Madden was the manager who led the Cubs to the 2016 World Series. All of whom had never saw their name on the lineup card, instead they were the ones who brought it to the umpire.
