Cardinals manager Mike Shildt was voted by the Baseball Writers Association of America as the 2019 National League Manager of the Year. He is the first manager to ever win the award without having played the game professionally prior to his managerial career.
Shildt elbowed out Brewers manager Craig Counsell, 95 points to 88, despite having fewer first-place votes (10 to 13). The Braves’ Brian Snitker, last year’s winner, finished in third place with 45 points. Also receiving votes were the Dodgers’ Dave Roberts, the Nationals’ Dave Martinez, and the Diamondbacks’ Torey Lovullo.
Whitey Herzog was named Manager of the Year in 1985 and Tony La Russa won the award in 2002, so Shildt is the third manager in Cardinals history to earn the honor.
Shildt’s Cardinals went 91-71, winning the NL Central and reaching the postseason for the first time since 2015. The Cardinals went on to defeat the Braves in a decisive fifth game in the NLDS but were swept out of the NLCS by the eventual world champion Nationals.
The Cardinals moved Shildt into an interim manager role after firing Mike Matheny 93 games into the 2018 season. The club went 41-28 under Shildt, whose interim tag was taken off in the offseason.