"Tired of seeing Manny Machado and Fernando Tatis Jr. choke" - Fans blame Padres superstars for Mike Shildt's sudden retirement

Having finished the regular season strong, the San Diego Padres entered October hoping to finally win their first World Series title. However, another postseason ended in heartbreak for the Friars, as they were eliminated by the Chicago Cubs in the wild-card series.

Nine days after San Diego's season came to an end, manager Mike Shildt shockingly announced his decision to retire, despite having two years remaining on his contract.

Insider Alden Gonzalez took to X to inform fans of the "shocking" development.

"After completing his second season, Mike Shildt is indeed retiring as the Padres’ manager, as @sdutKevinAcee first reported. A shocking development, to say the least." Gonzalez posted

Reacting to the news, several fans left comments calling out superstars Manny Machado and Fernando Tatis Jr. for letting their skipper down in the biggest moments of the season, which indirectly increased the pressure on Mike Shildt.

"Bros tired of seeing Machado and Tatis choke in the playoffs 😭" a fan commented

"Shildt basically telling everyone that the Padres are a sh*t organization and dealing with Tatis and Machado was just too much for him" another fan wrote

"Anyone else find it odd the Padres haven’t been able to keep a manager for more than 2 years since Manny and Fernando have been there?" another fan replied

"see what happens when you spend too much time with Tatis & Macahdo" another fan responded

"The Machado and Tatis experience. Gave him nothing but cancers in the locker room and poor guy is burnt out" another fan shared

"Managing all of the problem personalities in San Diego must have just worn him away to nothing, that has been a team chemistry dumpster fire for years" another fan posted

"The grind of the baseball season has taken a severe toll on me" says ex-Padres skipper Mike Shildt, after announcing retirement

Speaking to insider Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune on Sunday, Mike Shildt cited the "severe toll" baseball has taken on him as the biggest reason for his retirement.

"The grind of the baseball season has taken "a severe toll on me mentally, physically and emotionally. While it has always been about serving others, it's time I take care of myself and exit on my terms."

"I gave every fiber of my being to help achieve Peter Seidler's vision of bringing a World Series Championship to San Diego. We fell short of the ultimate goal, but I am proud of what the players, staff and organization were able to accomplish the last two seasons," Shildt said

Wild Card Series - San Diego Padres v Chicago Cubs - Game Two - Source: Getty

After Shildt's exit, the Padres will be one of eight MLB teams looking for a new manager ahead of the 2026 season.

About the author

Raghav Mehta is a baseball journalist at Sportskeeda awaiting results for a Bachelor's in Journalism from Delhi University. He enjoys highlighting the key battles between players at different stages of the game and analyzing the decisive moments upon which they hinge.

One of Raghav's favorite moments, which underscores this, was the Shohei Ohtani vs. Mike Trout clash in the 2023 WBC, where two of baseball's best players faced off against each other in the 9th inning. With the score 3-2 to Japan, Shohei eventually got the strikeout, which was absolute cinema.

Raghav is a Baltimore Orioles fan and is enjoying watching such an exciting young team compete at the top in a very competitive division.

Raghav has loved watching sports for as long as he can remember and realized he was pretty decent at writing his thoughts down at around the age of 14. Combining the two meant he had something he would enjoy doing every day, and he had identified that well before going to college.

Aside from work, Raghav enjoys playing sports, working out and watching movies.

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Edited by Raghav Mehta