How Marlins trio was impacted by time in St. Louis

This story was excerpted from Christina De Nicola’s Marlins Beat e-newsletter. To learn the total e-newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it frequently in your inbox.

This week’s collection in St. Louis was a baseball homecoming for Marlins coaches Skip Schumaker, John Mabry and Jon Jay.

That trio was chosen by the Cardinals within the MLB Draft. Every participant made his Main League debut with the group, and each Schumaker and Jay have been members of the 2011 World Collection championship membership. Schumaker served because the bench coach for first-year supervisor Oliver Marmol in ’22, whereas Mabry was an analyst for Cardinals video games in ’11, then a hitting coach throughout Mike Matheny’s tenure.

“I believe that was a little bit bit weirder, particularly once I was a Cub,” first-time coach Jay mentioned of returning because the opposition. “A whole lot of good recollections right here, plenty of playoff video games. A whole lot of enjoyable.”

Although this wasn’t the primary time Schumaker got here again to Busch Stadium as an opposing staff’s coach, having achieved so with the Padres, spending time within the visiting clubhouse and dugout will all the time really feel completely different. The primary-year skipper credits his experience with the Cardinals for giving him the chance to grow to be an MLB supervisor.

Schumaker nonetheless retains in contact with Marmol a few occasions every week. Schumaker realized rather a lot from him, specifically his sport preparation and relationship constructing.

“It would not get misplaced on me that the explanation why I am right here is plenty of what they did for me,” Schumaker mentioned. “They guess on me, and that by no means will get misplaced. It’s unusual being on this aspect. It is all the time going to be, spending a lot time over there.

“You be taught from in all places you have been, and you then attempt to make it your individual. I’ve had plenty of rookie managers that I sat subsequent to both taking part in for or being subsequent to as a coach. I’ll say that I’ve realized probably the most from Oli in that group. A whole lot of the stuff that we attempt to implement here’s what the Cardinals have achieved and what I’ve realized from them. Clearly, I’ve plenty of coaches which were in several organizations, and so we attempt to implement plenty of stuff that they’ve achieved as properly, after which attempt to make it our personal.”

The downtown St. Louis ballpark means rather a lot to Jay, who performed six of his 12 MLB seasons for the Cardinals. He made his debut at Busch Stadium on April 26, 2010, and reached the top of the game a 12 months later within the Fall Basic.

“I bear in mind once I received signed, I did not know a lot in regards to the historical past of the sport, actually,” Jay mentioned. “Spring Coaching was superior attending to know Bob Gibson, Lou Brock, all these Corridor of Famers. I bear in mind going house and Googling them and simply doing my analysis on them and having friendships with them. Simply studying the historical past of baseball. You take a look at the banners, championships because the Thirties, ’40s, and so forth. It was actually cool.”

“My children grew up right here,” Schumaker mentioned. “My son’s right here proper now. He is 15. He was working round with the Holliday children, [Adam] Wainwright’s children. I believe greater than something of like particular locations to go or to see it is similar to seeing the those who meant rather a lot to me rising up and changing into a person and a husband and a father. This place molded me into sort of who I’m right now.”