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Former Cardinals manager and catcher Mike Matheny, a man of strong Christian faith, is grateful for his many blessings.

“For the most part, I’ve lived a pretty charmed life,� he says.

That assessment certainly is understandable. Matheny has a close family relationship and made millions of dollars as a player in a career that included winning four Gold Gloves, then leading the Cardinals from the dugout for more than 6½ seasons in a run that began in 2012 and included four playoff appearances and a National League championship. That was followed by three seasons as the Kansas City Royals’ manager.

But that “charmed life� was on the brink of ending last winter, he says in on this week’s edition of his podcast on the Scoops Sports Network.

Matheny said he was exercising while wintering in Florida a year ago last week and suddenly “realized something wasn’t right, I was feeling some pain I hadn’t felt before.�

Matheny, who noted he had not discussed this publicly before, called his wife and asked her take him home from the gym to lay down. But it was off to a hospital instead.

It was a lifesaving decision.

“What I found out was that if I hadn’t done so, I would have never woken up,� he says in the podcast interview.

Matheny, now 54, ended up hospitalized and spent 20 days in the intensive care unit without getting out of bed. He was diagnosed with a subarachnoid hemorrhage, which he says “is basically bleeding on the brain.�

Rare ailment

Matheny was told that the ailment impacts 6 out of every 100,000 people, that three of those six will die before reaching a hospital, another will die at the hospital and one more will have permanent brain damage.

Matheny’s family was told by doctors that “we’re going to do everything we can so that Mike will be the one� of those six who recovers.

That was far from a given, though.

“They had to drill into the brain, (through) the skull, to relieve some of the pressure,� Matheny says. “They were a little worried about how things would go with that. They don’t know exactly where it came from.�

Times were tough.

“How many people also are able to have their grown kids be able to come in and say some things not knowing if they are telling you goodbye?� he asks.

But things began looking up about two weeks after he was stricken, and his situation gradually improved.

“Needless to say, (I’m) very fortunate, very blessed, very grateful,� he told Kilcoyne, who also is the sports director at KTVI (Channel 2) and is a co-host of “The Morning After� show on WXOS (101.1 FM). “What a ride it was for those 20 days not knowing which category I was going to fall into.�

Matheny said he now is doing follow-up treatment at the Mayo Clinic and is “getting good reports to move forward in life. But it certainly could have gone in a different direction.�

His faith has played a key role in his recovery, he tells Kilcoyne in the interview that begins with Matheny discussing legendary Milwaukee Brewers and nationally renowned broadcaster Bob Uecker, who died last week at age 90. Matheny’s MLB career began with the Brewers.

But the most poignant moments of the podcast deal with Matheny’s health situation.

“It’s impossible to properly explain the peace that I had (during the difficult times), that’s a gift, that’s a God thing that I can’t take any credit for toughness,� Matheny says. “... I know what I know, and I know whose I am and I’m grateful I have that faith in place.�

More trouble lurks

Matheny’s tribulations in 2024 extended beyond his health problems. After he was released from the hospital, he and his wife returned to their home in Arkansas. Another kind of trouble was about to strike.

“A week later, we got our roof taken off by a tornado,� he says. “It was a year. Through it all, man did we get surrounded by the love of our really close friends and family.�

The family was jolted again but not to the extent of his brain hemorrhage.

“I’ve been fired before, I’ve had stuff happen,� he said. “... That was one that tests truly what you believe, what you feel, and at that point (I had) a lot of gratitude for the fact I was able to get through it but also knowing, ‘You know what? I’ve lived a really good life. I’d say I’ve lived enough life for 10 men.’�

The ordeal gives him a renewed outlook on life.

“There’s an urgency to it,� he said. “I want there to be an impact as I move forward. We’ll see what that means. Right now, I’m just trying to serve some people and trying to help people inside the game (of baseball) and out in leadership positions and see exactly why I’m supposed to stick around a little while longer.

“I’m trying to shut my mouth and listen. ... It’s a period of life that I’m supposed to be serving. Less about me, more about other people. I’m doing some executive coaching with people in ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½, some guys in leadership positions. ... Inside the game I’ve got a couple coaches that I’m trying to be an ear for,â€� serving as a sounding board.

Matheny sounds content.

“That’s a good place for me to be right now until God makes it really clear where else I’m supposed to be,� Matheny said. “... I’m doing great.�