Current Position: San Diego Padres first base coach
Age: 39
Managerial Experience: none
Over his 11-year career (2005 through 2015), the Aliso Viejo, California product hit .278/.337/.364 with 28 home runs, 169 doubles, 284 RBIs, 280 walks, a 93 wRC+, and 26 stolen bases with a collective -8.5 baserunning runs above average (BsR).
In the field, Schumaker logged -12 defensive runs saved and a -8.7 ultimate zone rating per 150 games over 3,166 career outfield innings and -45 DRS and -12 UZR/150 through 3,664.2 innings at second base.
After retiring from the majors as a player in March 2016, Schumaker, then 36, moved into A.J. Preller’s front office later that season, taking on the role of special assistant to player development.
With such a high level of talent bubbling through the Padres’ system and a fresh-off-the-basepaths Schumaker needing to gain familiarity with these players, Preller clearly saw the opportunity to mold an eager, potential future MLB coach; show him the ropes from a different perspective.
In October 2017, following manager Andy Green‘s second season at the helm of the Friars, Schumaker was added to his staff as the team’s first-base coach, with additional focus on the team’s baserunning and outfield defense.
After Schumaker’s promotion, Green praised his presence as a resource during his time in the front office.
“I always knew [Schumaker] was wired to be impactful. Over the last two years, he was a guy I called on all the time,” Green told the San Diego Union-Tribune in March 2018. “I’d listen to his takes and realize how great his baseball insight and knowledge was and, honestly, his edge was. I pursued him for the better part of [2017].”
During his time on the Padres’ bench, Schumaker was tasked with keeping San Diego well-prepared on the basepaths and improving the team’s outfield defense.
The season before he was added to Green’s staff (2017), the Friars had the seventh-best BsR in the majors (6.7, after posting a league-best 24.8 BsR in 2016). The Padres dropped to 21st (-5.7) in 2018 and 27th (-11.1) in 2019 in that metric.
In 2017, San Diego’s outfield’s 14 DRS and 0.9 UZR/150 ranked eighth and 12th in the majors, respectively. Since Schumaker took over, the group’s -0.6 UZR/150 ranks 16th and their 26 DRS ranks eighth.
To his credit, Hunter Renfroe (22 DRS, 13.1 UZR/150 over 998 outfield innings last season) and Manuel Margot (6 DRS, 7.5 UZR/150, 943.1 innings) made considerable strides under Schumaker’s watch.
And for all we know, the organization may have asked Schumaker to focus his energies on two of the more important cogs in their lineup. If that was the case, in that sense, mission accomplished.
Recommendation
The experience gained over a decade-plus of playing this game at its highest level, plus two more on a major league bench, certainly loans credibility to Skip Schumaker eventually making the jump to the manager’s chair.
Though, at this point in time, Schumaker seems more on-track for another staff role. Perhaps as a bench coach, where his experiences as a player could be better utilized.
Plus, he’d be gaining valuable experience if he does indeed wish to become a major league skipper in the future but has no takers at the current juncture.
As Dennis Lin of The Athletic reported on Friday, Schumaker has already interviewed with the New York Mets. By all accounts, he has not been linked to the Padres’ current managerial search.
Whether his addition to the list of the Mets’ interviewees — which includes Joe Girardi, Carlos Beltran, Mike Bell, Luis Rojas, Tim Bogar, and Eduardo Perez — has an impact on the team’s decision-making process remains to be seen.
The New York Mets are casting a wide net in their search for their next skipper. Having a multi-layered backup plan to rely on once dominoes begin to fall — likely coming soon — is a prudent course of action.
Let’s hope this meticulous process pays off.
