Why Stubby Clapp is the right pick as St. Louis Cardinals’ manager. And why he isn’t.
When the St. Louis Cardinals added Stubby Clapp to their major league coaching staff before the 2019 season, it was a move made in part out of necessity.
The then recently-promoted Mike Shildt needed to backfill his coaching staff, and Clapp, who had just managed the Memphis Redbirds to a Triple-A championship, was deserving of a promotion.
Part of that deservedness, though, drove the other aspect of that decision. If the Cardinals hadn’t brought Clapp to the big leagues, another team would have, and perhaps in the manager’s seat.
The Texas Rangers interviewed Clapp that offseason before hiring Chris Woodward, and the Pittsburgh Pirates interviewed him the following year before hiring Derek Shelton.
Clapp, 48, has long been considered a rising candidate for one of baseball’s biggest chairs, and following Shildt’s firing, he may well be in line to become the 51st Cardinals manager.
Who is Stubby Clapp?
Born Richard Keith Clapp, Stubby — listed generously at 5-foot-8 and the third generation of his family to carry that nickname — would be the second Canadian (following Bill Watkins) and sixth foreign-born manager of the Cardinals. The last, Cuba’s Mike González, managed a total of 22 games split between 1938 and 1940.
Clapp was drafted by the Cardinals in the 36th round of the 1996 draft after graduating from Texas Tech. After six years in the minors, including three at Memphis, Clapp made it to the big leagues for 23 games in 2001.
He would play three more years in the minors in the St. Louis, Atlanta and Toronto organizations before finishing his playing career in Edmonton of the independent Northern League. He played for Canada in the World Baseball Classic in 2006 and 2009, as well as the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
He began his coaching career in the Astros organization in 2010, and he took his first managerial job leading Tri-City in the New York-Penn League in 2011. After a stint as a hitting coach in the Blue Jays organization, he was hired as the Memphis manager for the 2017 season.
The Redbirds won the Pacific Coast League championship in both of his seasons as manager, and in 2007, after his retirement, his No. 10 became the first (and, to date, only) number retired by the franchise. He retains the best managerial winning percentage in Redbirds history, and in both his seasons there was named the PCL Manager of the Year.
Why is he a good fit?
Following Shildt’s dismissal, Cardinals chairman Bill DeWitt Jr. squared that decision with the club’s emphasis on continuity by saying, “I value continuity if we’re continuing to head in the right direction.”
Clapp, certainly, would seem to provide that.
With President of Baseball Operations John Mozeliak expressing a desire for the majority of the coaching staff to return as well as pledging for the organization to move quickly with a hire, Clapp would seem to check those boxes. His presence in the day-to-day operation of the club was substantial, and in addition to coaching first base, was a frequent contributor of defensive instruction.
Indeed, on a given day at the ballpark, players seeking to get in extra work on the field would invariably be accompanied by Clapp drilling down with a fungo bat.
Following José Oquendo’s permanent relocation to Florida, Clapp took charge of the infield instruction and positioning, and in that capacity collaborated with the pitching coaches to ensure all aspects of the run prevention side of the ball were working in harmony.
As the summer wore through its most difficult stretch in June, officials in the front office acknowledged a gap in communication on the offensive side of the ball, with players feeling as though they had insufficient instruction from those who played the game at the highest level. Clapp, albeit briefly, played in the big leagues, and could help bridge that gap.
What are the downsides?
Clapp has never managed in the major leagues. While that’s likely to be true of all of the club’s top candidates for the position — and it was true of their last two managerial hires — it remains to be seen whether his success at the lower levels would reliably translate to the top job.
Moving Clapp to the manager’s seat would also mean shifting his duties, at least in part, away from the defensive instruction which has helped solidify the most consistent unit of the Cardinals over the last three years.
While some change on the coaching staff is inevitable with the hiring of a new manager, elevating Clapp would perhaps require the largest reconfiguration of the possible internal candidates.
Despite his stints in other organizations, Clapp is also largely considered a Cardinal lifer, brought up through the system which has defined his career in baseball. In that way, despite his playing career, he’s similar to Shildt, whose perceived harmony with the front office soured rather quickly.
Verdict
Clapp is widely viewed as a front-runner for the position, and for good reason. He’s certain to be a big league manager in the near future, and there would be no better fit for his skills than in an organization where he already has established bonafides.
Popular with players and a natural leader, the Cardinals will have Clapp right at the top of their list.
This story was originally published October 19, 2021 at 6:00 AM.
