The Miami Marlins hire Skip Schumaker as their new manager. Was it the right decision for their long-term future?
Jared Michael “Skip” Schumaker already has a nickname that was born to manage a Major League Baseball team. The 11-year-old MLB utility officially retired from playing in 2016 and landed his first coaching job with the Padres in 2018.
After the Cardinals let Mike Shildt go last year, Oli Marmol was promoted and Schumaker returned to the organization where he played the first eight seasons of his big league career, this time as coach of bench.
The Miami Marlins recently announced that Don Mattingly will be leaving the organization at the end of the year. The final four candidates to replace him were Rays bench coach Matt Quatraro, Astros bench coach Joe Espada, Yankees third base coach Luis Rojas, and Schumaker.
According to numerous reports, including that of Craig Mish of the American weekly Miami Heraldthe Marlins fill their managerial vacancy with Schumaker, who is now manager for the first time in his career after the game.
Marlins: Skip Schumaker is the new skipper. Is this the right choice?
The short answer is, yes, and not just because Skip is the skipper.
Schumaker’s ability to fill multiple roles within the Padres’ front office speaks volumes about his coaching talent. In recent years, he has been able to competently fill roles in baseball operations, player development, associate manager and bench coach.
All that without mentioning that he brings to the table the tools of a recent MLB player who is familiar with the Stacast era, instead of a member of the older generation of players.
Matt Holliday, a former teammate of Schumaker with the Cardinals, loves the change, saying the Marlins’ new leader demands excellence and knows how to have fun.
Even before Schumaker began his coaching tenure on the Cardinals bench, manager Oli Marmol had high praise for the former World Series champion:
“He is the ideal candidate. He brings a high level of credibility, just playing in the organization and playing in the big leagues for a long time. He’s a teacher, he understands and appreciates the fundamentals of the game, which we appreciate here. He is very detailed and very organized, which is essential in this role.
Of course, the arrival of a young manager (Schumaker is 43) comes with positives and negatives. Some positives have been mentioned above. If he succeeds in the role, his young age will allow him to stay in the job longer than an older manager, a bet that Kim Ng and company are clearly ready to take.
The negative points ? Well, there aren’t many. His lack of experience as a manager could worry more than one. Other than that, there’s more optimism to be felt here than anything else, because there… do has experience on the biggest stage in the game, as evidenced by his two World Series rings.
In summary, Schumaker will inherit one hell of a baseball club to run. The Marlins are packed with talent on the offensive and pitching side, as well as in the breeding system.
Miami’s new manager is already receiving a few votes of approval from players on Twitter, continuing the general positive industry reaction surrounding Miami’s new skipper.
Welcome to South Beach, Skip.
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