Posted by Sabrina B. @gametimegirl
Mike Matheny will be the new manager of the St. Louis Cardinals.
The team announced the move on its Twitter feed. A press conference is scheduled for Monday at 11 a.m., CST at Busch Stadium.
Matheny will follow Tony La Russa who became the first manager in major league history to step down following a season in which he led his team to the World Series title.
The Cardinals defeated the Texas Rangers in seven games to win a National League-best 11th championship and the franchise’s second under La Russa.
While Matheny, a former major league catcher, inherits the defending champions, there still remains great uncertainty in St. Louis as slugger Albert Pujols remains available on the free agent market.
Matheny, 40, played for four teams over his 13-year career, inlcuding a five-year stint in St. Louis during which he won three of his four career gold gloves and played for La Russa.
Matheny retired in 2006 after two seasons with the San Francisco Giants and prior to this hiring, had been a minor league instructor with the Cardinals with no managing experience.
He was one of six men the Cardinals interviewed to replace La Russa.
They also talked to Hall of Famer Ryne Sandberg, longtime Cardinals third-base coach Jose Oquendo, former Boston manager Terry Francona, Triple-A manager Chris Maloney, and Chicago White Sox coach Joe McEwing.
Matheny told the Post-Dispatch after interviewing with the Cardinals earlier this month that his lack of managerial experience was “the elephant that walked in with me” to the interview. But that proved not to be a major point of contention, he said.
“That was defused right away. They made it clear that this is a leadership position and that what they were looking for to fill the role is a leader,” Matheny said at the time, according to the Post-Dispatch. “Yes, there are the baseball things and the knowledge of baseball, but we talked a lot about the characteristics that are necessary to be a leader at this level and a leader of that clubhouse.”
–ESPN
