Orioles’ latest hire has Padres fans already rolling their eyes

Mike Shildt’s retirement lasted about as long as a Padres lead in the ninth inning during the dark years, brief, chaotic, and over before anyone had time to process it. Barely two months removed from saying he wanted to “spend more time with family,” Shildt has officially accepted a job… on the exact opposite side of the country.

The Baltimore Orioles have hired the former Padres skipper as their new upper-level coordinator of instruction, according to Roch Kubatko, with Samuel Vega joining the staff as the lower-level coordinator. And while Baltimore fans are simply digesting another quiet-but-savvy organizational hire, Padres fans are — probably and understandably — rolling their eyes into another dimension.

Orioles’ Mike Shildt hire adds a new twist to strange Padres offseason

Because this very offseason has already tied the Orioles and Padres together with a bizarre bit of managerial musical chairs.

And because Shildt claiming he wanted to unplug, relax, and spend time with his family… only to re-plug, re-relocate, and re-enter baseball on the other side of the map immediately invites a barrage of easy one-liners. A simple and instant classic will do: 

“Sorry, just to clarify, I want to spend time with my family anywhere other than San Diego.”

Let’s leave that source unnamed. Baltimore entered this winter with one of the more intriguing managerial vacancies in baseball, poking around names ranging from Ryan Flaherty, Scott Servais, to Albert Pujols. Meanwhile, the Padres conducted their own managerial search that ended in its own version of a plot twist, handing the job to former pitcher Craig Stammen, who has… let’s call it limited managerial experience.

Orioles fans got a surprise hire. Padres fans got a total curveball. And now, both fanbases have somehow ended up looking at the same set of names in different contexts.

To be clear, no one in San Diego begrudges Shildt for getting another job. But Padres fans lived through a strange two-year arc with him.

So when a guy who said he needed a break from baseball immediately emerges in Baltimore of all places?

Yeah, let the internet have its fun. 

Jokes aside, this is a smart, stable organizational hire for Baltimore. He’s a natural fit… even if his “retirement” speech probably didn’t come with a map pointing to Camden Yards.

And what it means for Padres fans?

Mostly? Content.

Mostly? A chance to laugh through an offseason that has already been dramatic enough.

Padres fans know this isn’t actually a big deal. But they also know a perfectly good eye-roll headline when they see one.