If he is not fired, I will leave the Kansas City Royals head coach, as he has a misunderstanding with his player.

If he is not fired, I will leave the Kansas City Royals head coach, as he has a misunderstanding with his player.

He miscommunicates with his player; hence, if he is not sacked, I will quit as head coach of the Kansas City Royals.

The Kansas City Royals dismissed manager Mike Matheny and pitching coach Cal Eldred on Wednesday night, not long after the faltering team completed the season 65-97 with a dreadful 9-2 defeat to the Cleveland Guardians.

In the spring of 2023, the Royals exercised their option on Matheny’s contract, believing that the team was moving from being an also-ran to a contender. By midsummer, though, the Royals were mostly out of playoff contention due to subpar pitching, issues from inexperienced position players, and a mediocre collection of veterans.

Owner John Sherman fired longtime front office leader Dayton Moore, who designed the 2015 World Series-winning club and back-to-back American League champions, last month because of the underwhelming on-field product. One of his longstanding understudies, J.J. Picollo, took his place hours after the season concluded.

Matheny stated, “Managing the Royals has been a true privilege,” in a statement. “I have so many people to thank, but Dayton Moore and the coaches and players I’ve worked with are top among them. Thank you to everyone at this wonderful company and to Mr. John Sherman and the ownership group for the chance to supervise their team.

“I knew going into the Royals that it was a top-notch, caring organization, and I was treated with that every day. Fans of the Royals ought to be thrilled about this collection of guys, and I’m looking forward to seeing them develop even further.”

Managing the St. Louis Cardinals for portions of seven seasons, Matheny led the team to a winning record in each and the 2013 National League pennant. He was, however, brought on as an advisor by the Royals midway through 2018, and he was later selected to take over as manager after veteran boss Ned Yost retired prior to the 2020 campaign.

This season was supposed to be even better, but the Royals ended up spending September fending off 100 defeats.

Though the number of players that made their Major League debuts during Matheny’s stay with the Royals—29—may be more significant to the team’s future, he finished 165-219.

“We are grateful to Mike for leading us through some unusual times these last three seasons,” Picollo stated in a release. He faced those obstacles head-on and guided us toward a constructive future. We value his leadership and are sure that his influence will be beneficial going ahead.”

This season has seen the firing of five major league managers, including Matheny.

On June 3, Rob Thomson took over for Joe Girardi in Philadelphia, and he orchestrated an incredible comeback that sent the Phillies to the postseason. Four days later, the Angels brought in Phil Nevin in lieu of Joe Maddon, while John Schneider took over for Charlie Montoyo in Toronto on July 13 and Tony Beasley took over for Chris Woodward in the Rangers on August 15.

After leaving the team on August 30 for medical examinations, Chicago White Sox manager Tony La Russa announced on Monday that he would not be returning in 2023.

Don Mattingly of Miami also declared late last month that he would not be back the following season.

Though he was popular in the Kansas City locker room, Matheny’s chances of being given another season appeared slim when Moore was let go last month. Sherman said at the time that the baseball operations department leadership transition was just the beginning of what was anticipated to be a broad organizational restructuring.

The Royals have battled for years to produce pitchers; this season, they posted the worst WHIP and the fourth-worst ERA of any big league staff. And a significant factor in their decision to fire Eldred, the pitching coach since 2018, was the ongoing difficulties of their most recent crop of young guns.

Sherman declared, “The bottom line here is that it’s time for change,” last month. “Where we are and where we anticipate to be are not the same. We made progress in 2021, I thought, but not in 2022. Though there have been some encouraging signs—I really enjoy watching the younger players—we are not where we had hoped to be in 2022.”