Former Cardinals manager shares details regarding near-fatal brain hemorrhage

As a professional baseball player, former St. Louis Cardinals catcher and manager Mike Matheny already knew what it was like to beat the odds. Approximately .5% of high school baseball players are eventually drafted by a major league team, and Matheny, originally drafted in the 31st round of the 1988 draft before going on to college and being picked in the eighth round, was one of the lucky handful of those players to make it to the highest level.

In January 2024, while in Florida, Matheny once again faced long odds — but this time, conquering them was a matter of life and death.

A year after nearly dying from a subarachnoid hemorrhage, Matheny appeared on The Kilcoyne Conversation and spoke about that fateful day and the tumultuous weeks following it.

Matheny's condition was described as bleeding on the brain that occurs at random in an estimated 6 out of 100,000 people. According to Matheny, 3 of those 6 will die before reaching the hospital, 1 of the remaining 3 will die in the hospital, and 1 of the 2 left will have permanent brain damage. During the operation, doctors drilled a hole into his skull to relieve pressure on the brain.

Matheny, a man who has long put his faith front and center, said he has lived has charmed life but that this experience was a test of what he believes and feels. He credited his beliefs as a gift for his lack of fear during his 20 days in the intensive care unit and used his sense of inner peace to console his family members and have heart-to-heart discussions with his wife and grown children.

A week after Matheny and his family returned to Arkansas, where he now lives, a tornado ripped through his neighborhood and took the roof off of his house. During the whirlwind of events, Matheny relied on his support network of family and friends to help him through the adversity.

Matheny also discussed his time as the Cardinals' manager, saying his proudest moments came behind the scenes, when he helped staff and the team hold everything together. Although his time with the team ended unceremoniously, Matheny holds no ill will toward the front office. He recalled former Cardinals manager Whitey Herzog telling him when he was hired that he would either be fired or die on the job.

As one of the few who leave the harrowing medical experience with their life and full cognition intact, Matheny is embracing his second opportunity with a renewed outlook on life. He is currently working with coaches and people in leadership positions, some of whom are around St. Louis, and he is committed to leaving a lasting impact on others within baseball and outside of it.