Maybe it reflects the man, maybe it reflects the world he’s found himself in, and probably both, but Mike Shildt arranged to be the last St. Louis Cardinal out of town on Friday afternoon.
He buckled into the last rental car available and steered toward Chicago, where, in a day, the Cardinals would resume a season that had twice appeared to succumb to the coronavirus. Eighteen of them had become infected.
Shildt, in his third season as manager of the Cardinals, 52 years old, and about as real as they come, had shagged for batting practice, gotten his things together for the three-hour drive and five-day trip, and intentionally allowed dozens of other cars — carrying his players and staff — their head starts.