Last year, the Padres were caught off guard when, right after their Wild Card loss, manager Mike Shildt announced he was stepping away from the job. The reason? “The grind of the baseball season has taken a severe toll on me mentally, physically, and emotionally,” Shildt said back in October. But given his track record, the move surprised a lot of people. Before joining the Padres in 2022, Shildt had managed the Cardinals from 2018 to 2021 and finished each full season with a winning record. So seeing such an experienced manager walk away raised eyebrows.

What made it even more surprising was that less than eight weeks later, Shildt resurfaced with the Orioles. That sparked questions about what really drove his decision to leave San Diego.

Now, when Shildt finally opened up about it, his comments added fuel to a broader debate around baseball managers.

“The best way of describing it is I was tired of being the principal. I wanted to get back to being the teacher,” Shildt shared in an interview with The Washington Post.

Well, let’s clear up a common misconception first: in baseball, managers are not the same as coaches.

In MLB, the manager is essentially the head of the operation. They set lineups, make strategic decisions, handle substitutions, and oversee the entire clubhouse. Coaches, on the other hand, are specialists. Pitching coaches, hitting coaches, and base-running coaches focus on player development and instruction, working under the manager to carry out that broader vision.

That’s why Mike Shildt’s analogy makes sense.

A principal runs the whole school, but a teacher works directly with students to help them improve. When Shildt was managing the Padres, his responsibility was the entire clubhouse. But his real strength has always been developing players, especially younger talent preparing for the next level.

That’s also why his coaching role with the Cardinals fit him so well. It was tailored to what he does best: teaching, mentoring, and shaping players for the big leagues.

Now, as Shildt transitions back into a development-focused role, he’s once again spending time in the minor league environment.

He’ll work with players during major league spring training and then visit each of Baltimore’s three top minor league affiliates for a few days every month during the season. His job, as he’s explained, is to train Orioles prospects into the kind of big leaguers the major league staff wants, a role he’s already done successfully in St. Louis.

But could we consider Shildt’s stressful time with the Padres as an exception? Maybe not, as we witnessed the same scenes before. For instance, back in June last year, the Angels sidelined their manager, Ron Washington, for health issues. As per the Angels’ general manager, Perry Minasian, they were playing a few tight games and stressful games. So, Washington was asked for a break. Sounds familiar with Shildt?

So, all of these point to one thing: blaming managers for a player’s skill deficiencies often misses the mark. Managers stay as the face of the franchise and one of the most visible and exposed front office figures for a team. So, in case of fans’ frustration, the first and perhaps easiest target always is the managers. After Washington, Shildt again proved what goes for a baseball manager.

Mike Shildt might be the best thing for the Orioles right now

2025 was a season the Orioles would rather forget. Reportedly, after winning the AL East in 2023, they still haven’t won a postseason game, and when the moment was biggest, their young position players largely went quiet at the plate.

This year, though, Baltimore is clearly trying to fix what went wrong. Moves like going after Pete Alonso show real intent. Still, bringing in veterans alone won’t solve everything if the farm system isn’t doing its job. And that’s where Mike Shildt comes into the picture.

Shildt gives the Orioles something valuable: proven winning experience. He’s bringing the big-league perspective into the minor leagues as an upper-level instructional coordinator. His role is to help shape top prospects into players who can actually contribute in Baltimore, while also offering high-level strategic guidance throughout the system.

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That said, there’s still an open question. Shildt has a reputation as a more old-school, no-nonsense leader. And it remains to be seen how that approach will resonate with young players coming up through the Orioles’ system.