Holliday Resigns as Bench Coach, Replaced by McEwing

photo: Joe McEwing (USA Today Sports)

St. Louis Cardinals press release

The St. Louis Cardinals have hired Joe McEwing as their bench coach after Matt Holliday resigned the position.

McEwing, 50, a native of the Philadelphia metro area, comes to St. Louis after spending 15 years coaching with the White Sox organization, most recently as the third base coach from 2021-22, also serving as the bench coach from 2017-20 under manager Rick Renteria.

Originally selected by the St. Louis Cardinals in the 28th round of the 1992 First-Year Player Draft, McEwing made his Major League debut with the Cardinals in 1998 and played two seasons before a Spring Training trade in 2000 sent him to the New York Mets for pitcher Jesse Orosco. He placed fifth in the National League Rookie of the Year voting in 1999.

McEwing finished his nine-year playing career with the Mets, Kansas City Royals and Houston Astros compiling a career batting average of .251 with 25 home runs, 158 RBI, while playing every position on the field except catcher and pitcher. Following his official retirement from playing professional baseball in 2008, he was hired as the hitting coach for the Charlotte Knights, Triple-A affiliate of the White Sox.

In 2009, McEwing was selected as manager of Winston-Salem (A), the White Sox South Atlantic League affiliate and was named Manager of the Year in his first two seasons (2009-10). After a season managing Charlotte (AAA) in 2011 and s afll with the Mesa Solar Sox in the Arizona Fall League, McEwing was promoted to the White Sox Major League coaching staff as the third base coach, where he served from 2012-16.

During his term as bench coach McEwing filled in as manager for 11 games and was 6-5 in those contests.

Matt Holliday (USA TODAY Sports Images)

Off the field, McEwing was inducted into the Irish American Baseball Hall of Fame in New York City in 2013 along with former major league outfielder Rusty Staub, Dodgers owner Peter O’Malley and Boston sportswriter Dan O’Shaughnessy.

Holliday, 42, who was hired by the Cardinals as the bench coach on November 6, 2022, after serving as the volunteer coach for Oklahoma State University, has resigned from his post. Daniel Nicolaisen will be added to the Major League staff as the third hitting coach. Patrick “Packy” Elkins will be responsible for gameday duties, planning for both hitting and pitching.

Brian Walton’s take

This is quite a surprise, coming just two months after Holliday accepted the position amid considerable fanfare. He replaced former Cardinals player and bench coach Skip Schumaker, who became the new manager of the the Miami Marlins.

Apparently, Holliday, a Cardinals Hall of Famer, had second thoughts about the time commitment required.

Considering everything, the very experienced and one-time Cardinals fan favorite McEwing is a nice get as Holliday’s replacement. When Pedro Grifol was hired as the new manager of the Pale Hose for 2023, replacing Tony LaRussa, McEwing was let go.

Packy Elkins (St. Louis Cardinals)

Elkins, a former minor league infielder and scout, joined the staff prior to the 2020 season and has been the team’s Run Production Coach. His 2022 duties involved splitting time as a uniformed coach pregame, working with hitters alongside the two hitting coaches, while also developing advanced scouting.

Elkins’ role has now been expanded from offense only to both offense and pitching preparation. Last season, Dusty Blake was the team’s Pitching Strategist. It does not appear that Blake was directly replaced when named the new pitching coach, replacing Mike Maddux.

With the addition of Nicolaisen as the third hitting coach, a new standalone position, he picks up that part of Elkins’ former role. In 2022, Nicolaisen was the assistant minor league hitting coordinator, serving under minor league hitting coordinator Russ Steinhorn.

The bench coach (again) is not the only major change to the Cardinals coaching staff for 2023. Pitching coach Blake and hitting coach Turner Ward were both internal promotions.

What is next

Cardinals President of Baseball Operations John Mozeliak and McEwing will meet with the media this weekend at Winter Warm-Up and we will be there to share with you their insight.


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Brian Walton can be reached via email at brian@thecardinalnation.com. Follow Brian on Twitter.

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