St. Louis Cardinals manager establishes his credentials as successful manager
The start was slow. Ostensibly shaky. But it moved from slow to dynamic, and then extraordinary.
Rookie manager Mike Matheny has indeed made a breakthrough to stardom, thanks to his enviable managerial skills which he – coupled with thorough professionalism, utilized to put the club on the winning path.
He took the charge of this team at a time when veteran manager Tony La Russa had announced his retirement after the Cards won the 2011 World Series. The club had cornered the market on tense games under the aegis of La Russa; thus Matheny had numerous challenges
to grapple with.
All odds and handicaps that could affect the club were capably handled by this manager, though. During his 13-year career previously, Mike Matheny has played as a catcher – representing four different teams.
Winning four National League Gold Glove Awards, Mike Matheny proved his ascendancy as the best catcher of his times. It did not end there, it was his history-making record to catch at least 100 games that placed him in a unique position.
While his feat as a catcher remains unmatchable to this day, it was his becoming manager in the age of 42 that made him the youngest manager in the history of Major League Baseball. And the start could not be more propitious than winning the debut game –
against the Miami Marlins.
But it was not going to be a smooth ride. The very first big news that came his way, which could potentially disrupt the winning flow, was the news of ace pitcher Chris Carpenter’s being out of the season due to the Tommy John surgery.
That was a big setback. After a year when Adam Wainwright had faced the same circumstance, Carpenter’s going out of lineup could prove to be detrimental to the club’s bid to defend the World Series championship.
However, he went on to put the club in the winning course despite the initial hitches wherein the Cards lost many of their games in the first half of the season. Those defeats threatened to put Cardinals out of the NL Central, but things were brought under
control immediately.
“Well, I think he's a man of immense character,” Wainwright said of his rookie manager. “I think he's a role model, a leader that we look to, leads by example, a guy who never gets flustered, always is in smooth control of his mind and his body. But, I don't
know, he kind of brings that leadership, maybe like a Tony Dungy or somebody like that, that quiet strength you just kind of feed off of.”
The Cardinals – for the second consecutive year, got Wild Card berth, outshining all other rivals. Not only that, they moved on to not only beat in the Atlanta Braves in the Wild Card game, but also Washington Nationals in the National League Division Series.
Motivation is what this manager has instilled into his team.
“As far as motivation for Mike, he's always positive,” Jay said. “That's the No. 1 thing. That's something that definitely rubs off on us. He's never negative about anything.”
Although the Cardinals could not defend their World Series title this year, Mike Matheny’s credentials as the manager were established beyond doubt here with his amazing managerial skills, putting the team on its rightful position when it comes to heavyweights
of baseball.
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