Is respect enough to make Skip Schumaker a candidate for St. Louis Cardinals manager?
Perhaps the first public sign of the leadership skills that would come to define Skip Schumaker’s coaching career came in spring training before the 2009 season, when he agreed to pour himself into a transition to playing second base from the outfield.
Other than a very brief pit stop at third base in double-A, Schumaker hadn’t touched the infield dirt as a professional.
Still, the Cardinals had a need, and Schumaker was a consummate professional as he worked to fill it. He became an adept infielder at the highest level, and he won a World Series ring in 2011 as the highlight of an 11-season career in the majors.
In 2016, he went to spring training with the San Diego Padres but retired as a player before camp broke. After the 2017 season, the Padres hired him to be their first base coach, marking another occasion in which a team allowed Schumaker to run with an unexpected opportunity.
The Cardinals have a need again with the manager’s job open following the surprise firing of Mike Shildt. Might this be yet another opportunity that Schumaker can exploit? Will the Cardinals give him the chance?
Who is Skip Schumaker?
More familiar to Cardinals fans than many of the other candidates thanks to his eight big league seasons in St. Louis, Schumaker was drafted out of the University of California, Santa Barbara in 2001.
He made his debut in the majors in 2005 and received a ring as a part-time player for the 2006 World Champions, but he broke in for good midway through 2007 and was a starter by 2008.
Frequently the team’s leadoff hitter, he put up a better than .300 batting average in both 2008 and 2009. The Cardinals traded him to his hometown Dodgers after the 2012 season, and he played one year in Los Angeles before finishing his career with two seasons in Cincinnati.
Unlike many of the other candidates for the manager’s seat, Schumaker has never coached in the minors or, indeed, managed at any level. After two years as the Padres’ first base coach, he was promoted to associate manager (in essence, bench coach) before the 2020 season, and served in that role for both of Jayce Tingler’s seasons as the manager in San Diego.
Why is he a good fit?
His nickname is Skip (his given name is Jared Michael). The job is to be the skipper. Couldn’t fit any better.
More to the point, Schumaker earned the support of teammates like Matt Holliday and coaches like Mark McGwire during his tenure in St. Louis due to his leadership abilities and the calming presence he provided in the clubhouse. He would bring immediate credibility by virtue of his connections and the former teammates in Yadier Molina and Adam Wainwright who are still on the team’s roster.
Despite having not been officially a part of the organization for nearly a decade, Schumaker has deep Cardinals ties and could plausibly be explained as an example of the continuity the club has said it values. However, his time away also could bring a fresh perspective.
To be steeped in Cardinal lore could be seen as a positive, but not if it reinforced an echo chamber that could prevent the club from moving forward.
Among the top tier contenders for the job, Schumaker has far and away the most experience in the majors as a player. Members of the front office acknowledged this summer that a voice with recent, relevant experience playing at the highest level was missing from their mix, and Schumaker would be able to provide that voice, loudly.
What are the downsides?
The Cardinals have had recent experience hiring a popular former player with no managerial experience to be their skipper, and while the Kansas City Royals seem to be happy with Mike Matheny’s development, his tenure in St. Louis did not end particularly well.
It would also be difficult to bring in a candidate from outside the organization and yet still expect the coaching staff to return largely as constructed, as the Cardinals have said they expect.
A new manager should have the right to bring in some of his own people, and despite his familiarity with the coaches currently in essential roles, Schumaker could be unfairly restricted.
It may also be challenging for a manager to capture a clubhouse largely composed of players who remember him as a competitor across the diamond. Molina and Wainwright were his teammates, but players like Nolan Arenado and Paul Goldschmidt were adversaries. Old rivalries die fast, but the situation could create some awkwardness.
Verdict
If the Cardinals decide on an outside hire, then Schumaker is the betting favorite to be named to the seat.
His relative inexperience would be a fair concern; without another addition to the staff, the 2022 season could start with no coaches in uniform who have managed in the big leagues.
Still, that Schumaker is so well respected — and the people from whom that respect comes — would go a long way toward lending him credibility as he works to develop his own over time.
This story was originally published October 21, 2021 at 7:00 AM.
