MIAMI — Skip Schumaker was a candidate to take over as manager of the Boston Red Sox and New York Mets in recent years, only to see those clubs pick someone else.
The Miami Marlins didn’t let him get away.
Schumaker was hired Tuesday by the Marlins to become the 16th manager in franchise history after what the team described as “an extensive process.”
“As we continue to grow as an organization, we felt it was important to find an individual who had been a part of a winning culture,” Marlins GM Kim Ng said. “Having been a member of two championship teams, along with his reputation for tenacity and getting every ounce out of his ability, Skip will be a tremendous example to our players. His leadership style, teaching skills and attention to detail made him the clear choice as the club’s new manager.”
Schumaker – who played for World Series-winning clubs in St. Louis in 2006 and 2011 – comes to Miami from the Cardinals, with whom he spent this season as the bench coach. Schumaker had been a first-base coach and associate manager for San Diego from 2018 through 2021, then joined the Cardinals’ staff.
“Skip has a long list of distinguished accomplishments as both a player and a coach that showcase the remarkable individual he is as well as the high level of credibility and leadership he will bring to the dugout and the Marlins organization,” Marlins owner Bruce Sherman said. “He has an incredible passion and winning spirit that will set the course for the Marlins franchise.”
The 42-year-old Schumaker takes over for Don Mattingly, who managed the Marlins for seven seasons. Mattingly went 443-587 with Miami, winning the NL Manager of the Year award after leading the Marlins to the playoffs in the pandemic-shortened 2020 season.
Mattingly’s contract expired when this season ended, and he and the Marlins’ front office agreed it would be best for both sides not to enter into a new deal.
The Marlins went 69-93 this season, the 12th time they finished with a losing record in the last 13 years. The exception was 2020, when they went 31-29.
The 2022 season for the Marlins started with a bit of a shocker: In February, Hall of Famer Derek Jeter – who had been Miami’s CEO, the first Black person in baseball history to hold that role with a franchise – announced a surprise departure after 4 1/2 mostly unsuccessful years that didn’t come remotely close to matching his success as a player for the New York Yankees.
Now Mattingly, like Jeter a former Yankees captain, departs and Schumaker takes over to lead the next rebuilding effort in Miami. Schumaker inherits a club that has a Cy Young Award hopeful in All-Star ace Sandy Alcantara (14-9, 2.28 this season in an MLB-best 228 2/3 innings). But the Marlins struggled mightily at the plate – their .230 team average ranked 27th out of 30 MLB clubs, and the team was 28th in runs scored.
“I’m very excited and grateful that Bruce, Kim, and the Marlins’ organization have given me an opportunity to manage a very talented team,” Schumaker said. “Delivering a winning, sustainable culture with the expectation of getting into the postseason is the next step for this organization and South Florida – and I can’t wait to get started.”
The Marlins are the second team to change managers since the regular season ended. Texas hired veteran Bruce Bochy as its skipper last week, and now there are two openings left – Kansas City and the Chicago White Sox.
TIGERS: The Detroit Tigers hired Tampa Bay scouting director Rob Metzler as vice president and assistant general manager, the team announced.
Metzler spent 15 seasons with the Rays, working the past seven years as the team’s senior director of amateur scouting.
He will lead the Tigers’ amateur and international scouting departments, working under president of baseball operations Scott Harris.
“Rob’s track record of success with the Rays speaks for itself, and his innovative approach to talent acquisition will help us achieve one of our main goals: to acquire, develop and retain young talent in Detroit,” Harris said in a statement.
The Tigers have made multiple leadership changes in 2022, most notably firing longtime executive Al Avila in August after seven years as general manager.
Harris was hired as president of baseball operations after Avila’s departure.
The Tigers also announced a series of staff changes earlier this month, including the departures of hitting coach Scott Coolbaugh and quality control coach Josh Paul.
Detroit finished the season 66-96 – the third-worst record in the American League – and has not made the playoffs in eight years.
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