Only July 14, 2018, the Cardinals had lost two games in a row to the Cincinnati Reds and looked lifeless. The St. Louis Cardinals have always thrived on continuity. Bill DeWitt Jr. has owned the team since March 1996, and he has had two managers in that span: Tony La Russa, and then Mike Matheny replaced him in 2012. Under DeWitt, the Cardinals have won 10 division titles and made the postseason 13 times, winning the World Series in 2006 and 2011.
But on July 14th the Cardinals had a 47-46 record and the team was underacheiving, so on that day, the Cardinals fired Mike Mathenay as manager.