St. Louis Cardinals president confident in new bench coach
ST. LOUIS (AP) — The resignation of Matt Holliday as the St. Louis Cardinals bench coach caught team President of Baseball Operations John Mozeliak by surprise, but he’s happy with the hiring of Joe McEwing.
Mozeliak spoke Saturday morning to media at Busch Stadium during Cardinals Winter Up weekend. Mozeliak said that he learned from Holliday that he would be stepping down January 7.
“I’ve known Matt a long time and have the utmost respect for him,” Mozeliak said. “When you find out someone is stepping down from your coaching staff in the second week of January, candidly, it’s not ideal. But, I came in my office last Sunday, and for lack of a modern phrase, I looked at my rolodex to try and figure out what could we do.”
Mozeliak stated that he researched internal moves and promotions for the position, and considered the effects on the organization. Mozeliak also considered what other options he could use to fill the position.
Mozeliak chose McEwing as his replacement. Holliday, a member of the Cardinals Hall of Fame, was announced as the team’s new bench coach Nov. 6. Now, manager Oliver Marmol’s new bench coach is McEwing, a former Cardinal player.
“Beggars can’t be choosers but I can tell you as far as coming out on the positive side of this, I think we did,” Mozeliak said.
McEwing, 50 years old, was a Chicago White Sox player for 16 seasons. McEwing rose from minor league coach to third base coach in the big league (2012-16, 2012-222, 2021-22) and then as a bench coach (2017-20). McEwing was terminated in November when the White Sox appointed Pedro Grifol as their manager.
McEwing was a major league player for nine seasons and hit.251 with 25 homers for the Cardinals.
McEwing also was one of five candidates to receive interviews for the Cardinals’ managerial position following Tony LaRussa’s retirement in 2011. Mike Matheny took the job.
“We’re very fortunate to end up where we did,” Mozeliak said. “Joe McEwing is someone with experience. He has a long history with St. Louis Cardinals. Anyone who has ever met him or been around him knows that he truly embodies everything the Cardinals stand behind. We’re really thrilled that we could end up with Joe given the short notice and the fact that look, in 3 1/2 weeks we’re down in Jupiter.”
Holliday’s departure was the fifth major change in the St. Louis league staff during this offseason. Skip Schumaker, bench coach, resigned to become manager of the Miami Marlins. Mike Maddux decided not to stay and was hired by the Texas Rangers as their pitching coach. Jeff Albert, the hitting coach, has now been promoted to the coordinator position with New York Mets. Bryan Eversgerd was promoted to the position of special assistant.
The Cardinals filled these openings internally, naming Turner Ward hitting coach and Dusty Blake pitching coach. Daniel Nicolaisen was previously a minor-league hitting coordinator and has been promoted to major league hitting as a third hitting coach.
Holliday (42), last played in major league baseball in 2018, and then retired. Before joining the Cardinals this offseason, he had no prior coaching or managerial experience. From 2019-22, he had been the outfield and hitting coach at Oklahoma State where his brother Josh is head coach.
Holliday has four kids, three of which are high school students or younger. Jackson, Jackson’s oldest child, was the first overall pick of the 2022 MLB draft. He signed this past summer with Baltimore Orioles. Ethan, the second-oldest son, is rated among the best high school athletes in the country. He has already committed to Oklahoma State.
In 2022, the Cardinals won NL Central with a record of 93-69. They were defeated in the best-of-3 Wild Card Series by eventual National League pennant winner Philadelphia Phillies.
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