The Orioles are hiring former Cardinals and Padres manager Mike Shildt as their new coordinator of instruction in the upper levels of the minor league system, Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com reports. Samuel Vega, who had been the Orioles’ Latin American coordinator of instruction, will now be the organization’s coordinator of instruction in the lower levels of the system.
The 57-year-old Shildt surprisingly stepped down as Padres manager following the season, despite the fact that he had two years remaining on his contract. The decision was Shildt’s and did not come from the organization. In the wake of his decision, Shildt explained to Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune that the daily grind of managing a 162-game season (plus playoff appearances) had “taken a severe toll mentally, physically and emotionally.” Subsequent reporting painted a somewhat strained relationship between Shildt and some members of the organization.
Shildt has publicly voiced a desire to remain involved in baseball — ideally in a less-demanding player development role. He’ll land just such an opportunity in Baltimore under president of baseball operations Mike Elias, with whom he overlapped during the pair’s early days as scouts (and, in Shildt’s case, a minor league coach) in the Cardinals organization.
Shildt’s ties to the Orioles organization run far deeper than that early overlap with the team’s front office leader now, however. As MLB.com’s Anne Rogers wrote back in 2020, Shildt grew up around the O’s. His mother worked for the team’s Double-A affiliate and frequently brought her son to the park. He eventually became a bat boy, scoreboard attendant and clubhouse attendant in the organization.
A 12-year-old Shildt was helping out in the Double-A clubhouse at the same time a top Orioles prospect named Cal Ripken Jr. made his way to that level, and a couple decades later Shildt was in attendance when Ripken both tied and broke the major league record for consecutive games played. Readers are highly encouraged to check out Rogers’ piece in full for a fascinating, detailed breakdown of Shildt essentially growing up in the Orioles’ system.
In many ways, the new role is a homecoming for Shildt — a return to the organization where he helped out during his formative years and a return to his player development roots. Specifics regarding his duties and his schedule aren’t yet clear, but he’ll play a notable role in helping to finish off the development of the next wave of O’s stars as they progress toward big league readiness in Triple-A (and presumably in Double-A as well).