Kansas City Royals hire Mike Matheny as Special Advisor
Four months after being let go as manager of the St. Louis Cardinals, former manager Mike Matheny has landed on his feet with a new MLB gig – even managing to stay in Missouri. On the day after Thanksgiving, the Kansas City Royals announced that they hired Matheny as a Special Advisor for Player Development.
The 48-year-old will assist in several aspects of the Baseball Operations Department, including scouting and player development.
“This is a great opportunity to have Mike become a member of our organization,” said Dayton Moore, Royals Senior Vice President of Baseball Operations and General Manager. “It has always been our policy to hire the best baseball people we can and this is the perfect example of that. Mike has contributed so much to our game as both a player and a manager and has a wealth of knowledge that can only make us better. I’m excited about the possibilities of what he’ll bring to our organization.”
Matheny spent 13 Major League seasons as a catcher, playing for Milwaukee, Toronto, St. Louis and San Francisco. He then served as a Special Assistant in Player Development for the Cardinals before being named manager on November 14, 2011. During six-plus seasons at the helm, he became the first manager to reach the postseason in each of his first four seasons managing. Matheny had a winning record in every season, finishing with a 591-474 career mark for a .555 winning percentage.
“I’m excited about the opportunity to join the Royals in this capacity,” said Matheny. “I’ve long respected the accomplishments of Dayton and his staff while developing a winning culture in Kansas City. This is a great chance for me to contribute in a variety of areas that will include player development and scouting. After being in uniform for the majority of my professional career, this is a unique opportunity that I could not pass up.”
During his playing days, Matheny made his big-league debut with Milwaukee in 1994 and was a Brewer through ’98, then spent a season with Toronto (1999).
He joined the Cardinals in 2000 and spent five years behind the plate for the Redbirds, going to the postseason in three of those seasons including the World Series in 2004. His playing career was capped with two years in San Francisco (2005-06). A defensive specialist, Matheny was a four-time Rawlings Gold Glove winner while setting the receiving record for consecutive errorless games (252) and consecutive errorless chances (1,565), a mark that has since been broken.
An Ohio native, Matheny was a 1991 eighth-round Draft pick of the Brewers out of the University of Michigan after co-captaining the Wolverines’ baseball team. His wife, Kristin, was also a varsity athlete at Michigan, playing field hockey. The Mathenys, who make their home in St. Louis, have five children: daughter, Katie, and sons, Tate, Luke, Jacob and Blaise and one grandson, Ryker James.
According to a report from Sporting News, Matheny’s hiring now has the MLB rumor mill abuzz, “with some suggesting Matheny could be a manager in waiting, which would put Royals manager Ned Yost on notice.”
(Source: MLB)
~ Written by: Richard Webster, Ace News Today / Connect with Richard on Facebook and Twitter
