For St. Louis Cardinals’ GM, manager Mike Matheny is part of teams long-term future – MLB News
As rookie manager Mike Matheny took charge of the St. Louis Cardinals he was up against a massive uphill task. If he did not succeed in defending the World Series title, he did not fail either in putting the Redbirds in one of the top clubs in Major League Baseball.
Mike Matheny had to fill the shoes of an indisputably great and eminent manager, Tony La Russa. Although Matheny was fairly aware of the task he was accepting – with all the concomitant challenges, he did not let down anyone, including the general manager John Mozeliak.
"One of the things that had to be considered in hiring the replacement [for] Tony La Russa was finding [someone] who understood the culture we developed and how things go down here," said Mozeliak. "I wanted a guy who not only could come in and maintain what we have built, [but] someone who would be a part of our long-term future.”
Mike Matheny’s name did not initially pop up in the list of candidates being considered for the job. However, being associated with the club in the past, knowing its culture well, Matheny eventually emerged as the most favourite and ultimately the only candidate to replace Tony La Russa.
Mozeliak spoke of what he had been envisioning when Matheny was brought in to discharge the managerial responsibilities.
He said, "A lot of people might have felt they needed to put their fingerprints on the team, but we felt what we do as an organization, we do well. We wanted someone to build off what we had, not build something different.”
Proving to be a worthy successor, Matheny put the team on the winning path even though the incipient days of this task were visibly tough and challenging. Inheriting a champion team, literally encumbered with defending the title, Matheny also had to take forward the legacy left behind by former manager Tony La Russa.
Since Matheny had been part of the team, at one point in time when Tony La Russa was the manager, it was a combination of player and manager experiences that was turned to account as the Cardinals made their journey this year.
With all coming his way, and the way Matheny has fared so far, it remains to be seen as how the Cardinals perform in the years to come as they not only have to retain their ascendancy in the Division but also in MLB.
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