If These Walls Could Talk: St. Louis Cardinals by McNeal Stan;McNeal Stan;

Author:McNeal, Stan;McNeal, Stan;
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781623688462
Publisher: Triumph Books
Published: 2015-03-08T00:00:00+00:00

The 49th manager in Cardinals history, Mike Matheny walks out to the mound

during Game 6 of the 2012 NLCS.

But the Cardinals decided to take a risk. To replace the winningest manager in franchise history, the Cardinals hired a 41-year-old who had not managed a day in his life unless you count his sons’ youth league teams. Besides a lack of experience, Matheny possessed all the qualities that DeWitt and general manager John Mozeliak were seeking. He was a strong leader, which they knew from the five seasons he played for the Cardinals. The presence and personality he displayed during his interview had blown away the team’s four-man interview panel that in addition to DeWitt and Mozeliak, included assistant general manager Michael Girsch, and special assistant Mike Jorgensen. “After that, we looked at each other and said, ‘Wow, I don’t think we can do any better than this,’” DeWitt said.

The brain trust learned something else about Matheny during the interview, too. He had been paying attention during his three-plus years as a special advisor with the club. Part of his role was to visit the club’s minor league affiliates and assist the young players. While doing this Matheny also had watched and studied nearly every player in the organization. His familiarity with the up-and-comers gave him a clear advantage over the other candidates. “He knew who was coming. He knew where certain players might have an opportunity to do better. He hadn’t been on the inside of discussions about any of our players, but he clearly had been doing his homework,” DeWitt said. “He nailed that part of the interview.”

During his 13 seasons as a catcher, Matheny had developed a reputation around baseball for leadership and toughness. His leadership usually was displayed behind closed doors, where Matheny had no problem getting in the face of a teammate if he felt there was a need. His toughness had become near legendary—for good reason. Matheny was forced to retire as a player because of concussions that left him, according to one friend, “not sure of his name for a year and a half.” The majority of the concussions were believed to be a result of foul tips to the catcher’s mask, but Matheny had been involved in his share of collisions at the plate, too, and he rarely had backed down. He wanted his teammates’ respect and did whatever he could to gain it.

When Matheny left the Cardinals after the 2004 season, he signed a three-year deal with the San Francisco Giants. Hoping he could make an impression on his new teammates, Matheny went on a paintball expedition with his fellow Giants in spring training one night, even though his wife, Kristin, had just arrived from St. Louis for a short visit. “It was a great opportunity for me to say, ‘Guys, I’m going to dinner with my wife,’” Matheny says. “But I told her I really have to do this.”

And did he ever impress his teammates. Near the end of the outing,

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