The Kansas City Royals hired former St. Louis Cardinals manager Mike 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.”
After 13 seasons as a major league catcher with Milwaukee, Toronto, the Cardinals and San Francisco, Matheny was a Special Assistant in Player Development for the Cardinals before being named manager on November 14, 2011 after the club won it’s 11th World Series title. During six-plus seasons, Matheny became the first manager to reach the postseason in each of his first four years. Matheny had a winning record in every season, finishing with a 591-474 career mark for a .555 winning percentage.
Matheny was fired in July one game prior to the All-Star break. At the time, the Cardinals were 47-46.
“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.”