Cardinals' Mike Shildt Wins NL Manager of the Year Over Brewers' Craig Counsell

Faced with several moving parts before the beginning of the 2019 MLB season, including a new superstar in Paul Goldschmidt and an unproven pitching staff, Mike Shildt managed to paste together a division-winning squad, over the likes of his competition for NL Manager of the Year in Craig Counsell.

This, among other things, is why Shildt was voted NL MOY over Counsell and Atlanta's Brian Snitker. While Counsell received more first-place votes, it was Shildt whose overall score (including a multitude of second-place votes) which gifted him the accolade.

“It’s not about me, it’s about this group.”

-NL Manager of the Year pic.twitter.com/ObI6rpSSSf
— St. Louis Cardinals (@Cardinals) November 12, 2019

Counsell had his interim tag removed after taking over for Mike Matheny, who was fired in July of 2018.

Shildt's latest honor comes with a heavy heart, however, as his mother passed away on Monday at the age of 85.

As a kid, Mike Shildt used to take the city bus every day to go to work with his mom, Lib, at the Double-A Charlotte O’s. Lib died last week at 85 after a long battle with a lung illness. Read more about Shildt’s baseball upbringing here if you like: https://t.co/by1QskMOGt
— Mark Saxon (@markasaxon) November 11, 2019

The Cardinals were just 44-44 at the All-Star Break, and went on a memorable run to win the NL Central over Counsell's Brewers towards the end of the year. He became just the third manager to reach the playoffs despite never having played or managed in MLB previously.

While their postseason run was shorter than Shildt would have liked, the Cardinals have a foundation built by their 51-year-old manager.