Approximately 18 years ago, my son and I joined a group of other young baseball players and their parents in an empty warehouse on the outskirts of Charlotte to hear a young man talk about his vision for creating a place where players could come year-round and work on their skills. They were told that those who played for the institution's teams would find a holistic approach taken to their development. Attention would be placed not only on developing them as players, but as individuals, as well.
Having heard the young man's presentation, my 9th-grade son turned to me and said, "Dad, I HAVE to do this." ...and, he did.
The man was Mike Shildt, and the empty warehouse was turned into the home of On Deck Baseball Academy. Over the ensuing 4 years, no one individual would be more influential on the overall development of the group of young players who bought into his vision that evening.
On Deck flourished under Mike's leadership; but, after a few years, he decided it was time for his career to head in a new direction. He placed On Deck in the very capable hands of its new owners and accepted an offer to become an associate scout for the St. Louis Cardinals.
It wasn't long before those of us who kept up with Mike heard that the Cardinals had promoted him as a scout and asked him to organize their Spring Training. Then, he became a minor league coach, minor league manager at the A, AA, and AAA levels; picking up Minor League Manager of the Year in the process. Last year, he joined the major league team's coaching staff as bench coach.
As many of you are probably aware, at the All Star break he was named Interim Field Manager of the major league team; and, following a blistering performance by the team since that move was made, the "Interim" piece was removed yesterday by Cardinals' management.
Mike Shildt IS baseball. ...or, as my son tweeted last night, "the game 'knows.'" No one could love the game more than Mike; but, it's also the case that no one could want those around him to flourish more...both as players and persons...than Mike.
Three cheers for Mike Shildt!
