By Jordan Long
The Kansas City Royals missed the postseason for the 7th year in a row. The last time they earned a playoff spot was in 2015 when they won the World Series. They decided after another mediocre 65-97 season, to part ways with manager Mike Matheny.
Matheny took over the ball club in 2020. He replaced Ned Yost who was there from 2010 to 2019. In that time Yost took the Royals to the postseason twice, 2014 and 2015. Both times they reached the World Series. In 2014 they lost to the San Francisco Giants in 7 games. In 2015, they knocked off the New York Mets in 5 games as they became World Series champions. Yost was fired after a disappointing 2019 campaign when they finished 59-103, the 2nd consecutive year with 100+ losses.
Matheny brought in 7 years of MLB managerial experience to Kansas City. He was the manager of the St. Louis Cardinals from 2012 to 2018. St. Louis went to the postseason 4 times while advancing to the World Series in 2013. They were beaten by the Boston Red Sox in 6 games. His overall record with the Cardinals was 591-474, a winning percentage of .555. Kansas City expected to be a winner once again with Matheny.
It never happened. Matheny ended his tenure at 165-219, a winning percentage of .430. With the poor results, it was time to let him go. According to ESPN.com, Executive Vice President of Baseball Operations for the Royals’, J.J. Picollo said, “We are grateful to Mike for leading us through some unusual times these last three seasons. He met those challenges head on and helped us move forward in a positive manner. We thank him for his leadership and know his influence will have a positive impact moving forward.”
The Royals will start a managerial search. There are a few names they might be interested in who have been managers in this league before, Joe Girardi, Joe Maddon, Charlie Montoyo , and Chris Woodward. All these managers were fired during the year. Girardi and Maddon have the experience to turn a baseball team into a World Series winner. The Royals will take their time as they look to improve the ball club once again to be a postseason team.
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