4:00 p.m.: The Marlins have now officially announced the hiring. “After a lengthy process, it is with great pride and excitement that we announce Skip Schumaker as manager of the Miami Marlins,” chairman and principal owner Bruce Sherman said in the statement.
“I’m very excited and grateful that Bruce, Kim and the Marlins organization have given me the opportunity to manage a very talented team,” Schumaker himself said. “Delivering a winning and enduring culture in hopes of getting into the playoffs is the next step for this organization and South Florida – and I can’t wait to get started.”
2:55 p.m.: Marlins to fill vacated managerial position by hiring Cardinals bench coach Skip Schumakeraccording Miami Herald’s Craig Mish.
As another disappointing season ended in Miami, it was reported that manager Don Mattingly and the club would part ways. In recent weeks, recent reports have indicated that the final four candidates were Schumaker, Rays bench coach Matt Quatraro, Astros bench coach Joe Espada and Yankees third base coach Luis Rojas. It now looks like Schumaker has pushed his competitors and will take over as the new shoal leader for the fish.
Schumaker, 43 in February, played in the big leagues from 2005 to 2015, spending time with the Cardinals, Dodgers and Reds. He signed a minor league contract with the Padres for 2016 but announced his retirement in March. It didn’t take long for him to get involved in post-playing roles as he was hired by the Padres to be their first base coach for 2018. Prior to the 2020 season, the Brothers gave him the title of ” associate manager”. ”
A year ago, the Cardinals surprisingly parted ways with manager Mike Shildt despite a strong dugout run. Once they promoted Oli Marmol to take over, they suddenly had a vacancy as bench coach and hired Schumaker to take over. The Marmol-Schumaker pairing seemed to work well, as the Cards went 93-69 in 2022 and took over the Central Division. However, the club will now be looking for a new bench manager for a second consecutive year.
For the Marlins, they are looking to turn a corner after years of frustration. Outside of the pandemic-shortened 2020 season, they haven’t made the playoffs since 2003. Marlins took a serious leap in contention. They had a strong pitching squad and supplemented their positional mix by bringing in outside additions like Jorge Soler, Avisail Garcia, Jacob Stallings and Joey Wendle. Unfortunately, all four of these players suffered injury or underperformance, or both. When combined with injuries and disappointing results elsewhere on the roster, Miami once again fell out of contention and found themselves with a 69-93 record.
Chief executive Kim Ng and the rest of the front office are surely hoping Schumaker will help turn the tide. Coaching impacts can be hard to quantify, but there’s no doubt that Schumaker rose through the ranks quickly. Just a few years ago he was still playing and he quickly joined the big leagues as a coach without needing a stint in the minors. From there, he earned a promotion to San Diego and then was quickly poached by two different organizations, underscoring the respect he has around the game. If that’s not enough, Marlins players are quick to show their approval, with Jazz Chisholm Jr. and Sandy Alcantara both taking to social media to share their excitement (Twitter connections).
Of course, a manager alone cannot turn a bad team into a champion. The Marlins still have a lot of work to do this winter to improve their roster. But for now, they can cross one item off their to-do list, adding a promising young manager who seems to have immense respect throughout the game.
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