Mike Shildt was let go as manager on Thursday, after leading the St. Louis Cardinals to an MLB wild-card berth with a team-record 17-game winning streak.

John Mozeliak, president of baseball operations for the Cardinals, used the excuse “philosophical differences” for why Shildt was fired. Refusing to go into detail, he described the move as “something that popped up recently.”

Although Mozeliak pointed out that Shildt was approaching the end of his contract, he stated there were other factors at play when they decided to split ways. Following the 2019 season, Shildt agreed to a three-year contract extension.

“All I can say is where we felt the team was going, we were struggling to get on the same page,” Mozeliak stated. “With him having one year remaining on his contract, we could have gone into 2022 having that over him, and we just decided that internally it would be best to separate now and take a fresh look as we head into a new season.”

Although Mozeliak stated there are many inside contenders, he declined to address potential alternatives. According to him, the coaches who have contracts in place should be back for the upcoming campaign.

“As I said before, 2021 was a real success and something that, for all of us that were part of the organization, we take tremendous pride in,” Mozeliak stated. “You take great satisfaction in yourself once you go on a 17-game winning streak and truly make history for your team. These choices are frequently made for reasons other than the season. More importantly, it’s where we want to go in terms of direction.”

“As I said before, 2021 was a real success and something that, for all of us that were part of the organization, we take tremendous pride in,” Mozeliak stated. “You take great satisfaction in yourself once you go on a 17-game winning streak and truly make history for your team. These choices are frequently made for reasons other than the season. More importantly, it’s where we want to go in terms of direction.”