Amid America’s sports betting boom, San Diego Padres manager Mike Shildt blamed deteriorating health and death threats as causes for his unexpected retirement, announced on Monday.
Shildt said he experienced physical and mental health-related effects from the stress presented by his job and angry fans.
Key Takeaways
- Shildt had been successful during his tenure and still stood to gain several million dollars.
- Angry sports bettors have sent death threats to multiple members of the Padres organization.
- A Padres official said that Shildt appeared “worn out” before his retirement.
Shildt, 57, still had two years remaining on a contract reportedly worth at least $2 million annually. He’d just become the first Padres manager to lead his team to consecutive 90-win seasons before falling to the Chicago Cubs in the NL Wild Card, 2-1.
In a phone interview conducted on Monday night, Shildt divulged that he’d begun thinking about retirement in August, per The Athletic. He claimed to have experienced poor sleep, chest pains, and hair loss, all while dealing with death threats from sports bettors.
“You know, people are going to say whatever they want,” Shildt said. “There’s always going to be some kind of speculation. I’m just tired and want to go home, dude. I’m at super peace with it.”
Shildt informed Padres president of baseball operations, A.J. Preller, that he wanted to head home for a week after the Padres’ season-ending loss to the Cubs. He returned to San Diego and, soon after, told leadership that he would no longer serve as manager moving forward.
According to The Athletic, Preller was unsurprised. He even told Shildt that he seemed “worn down.”
“I don’t want people to think I checked out or wasn’t engaged or wasn’t doing my job,” Shildt said. “No, that’s not the case. I tell myself, and I have done it since day one of this job, regardless of level … I’m going bell to bell. I’m going to give it everything I got. Because I owe it to the team and the players. So, I did that.”
MLB players, coaches deal with online abuse
Although Shildt never specifically cited sports bettors as the cause of his waning health or the death threats that he received, many other coaches and players have spoken on the pervasiveness of the industry and its harmful effects.
Padres right fielder Fernando Tatis Jr. said that he is flooded with threats of violence and abuse every time he opens his social media accounts.
“You really don’t try to pay attention to it,” Tatis said, per The San Diego Tribune. “But at the same time, in the back of your head, you’re like, ‘Wow. People are really wishing death to yourself and to your family.’ And it’s pretty (messed) up. It’s not fun. It’s not fun at all.”
Reliever Jason Adam also said that online abuse is “the norm” for professional athletes, who can expect to receive harmful messages any time they have a bad game.
Shildt said that he wouldn’t rule out returning to baseball in the future, but that he looks forward to enjoying a newfound quality of life.
“My only regret is that I wasn’t able to help fulfill the vision of Mr. (Peter) Seidler and A.J. (Preller) and this organization’s passionate fan base to win a World Series,” Shildt said. “That’s my only regret.”
Who will be the next Padres manager?
Former Padres offensive coordinator Ryan Flaherty, now the Cubs’ bench coach, has been rumored as a potential replacement for the empty managerial role.
Special assistants Scott Servais and A.J. Ellis have also found their names in the mix, along with pitching coach Ruben Niebla and bench coach Brian Esposito, among others, per The Athletic.
