Royals name Mike Matheny as Yost’s successor

Mike Matheny, who never had a losing season in 6 1/2 years as manager of the St. Louis Cardinals, has been named the new manager of the Kansas City Royals.

Matheny had spent one season in the Royals organization as a special advisor with an emphasis on scouting and player development.

“Our entire organization is delighted to announce and celebrate the hiring of Mike Matheny,” Royals general manager Dayton Moore said. “Every department has had the pleasure to work and interact with him this past season. Through this interaction, it became very clear to our leadership team that Mike is the obvious person to lead our baseball team. Mike Matheny is a passionate leader with strong virtues, intelligence and a relentless commitment to help players reach their full potential.”

Matheny replaces Ned Yost, who retired after last season. The Royals went to two World Series, winning one, in Yost’s 10 seasons as Royals manager.

Matheny, 49, replaced another World Series-winning manager, Tony La Russa, when he was hired in St. Louis after the 2011 season. His first four teams made the postseason — a first in major league history — but he was fired midway through the 2018 season, which would become the club’s third straight non-playoff campaign.

After making it to the NL Championship Series in Matheny’s first season, the Cardinals advanced the next year to the World Series, where they lost to the Boston Red Sox in six games. An NLCS defeat in 2014 and an NL Division Series loss in 2015 followed.

Matheny was replaced by Mike Shildt on July 15, 2018, with the Cardinals in third place in the NL Central at 47-46. His overall record with the Cardinals was 591-474 (.555 winning percentage).

As a major league catcher from 1994 through 2006, Matheny was known for his toughness and durability and won four Gold Gloves. He played for the Brewers, Blue Jays, Cardinals and Giants.