ST. LOUIS – Oliver Marmol is the new manager of the St. Louis Cardinals. The announcement was officially made during a press conference via zoom Monday morning.
Marmol is the youngest manager in the MLB at 35, and he is the first Cardinals manager of color since Mike González in 1940.
“I’m honored to sit here and just hear you guys speak and present this opportunity to me and my family,” Marmol said.
Marmol has been on the big-league staff since 2017 and has been the bench coach since 2019. He’s also a former Cardinals minor league manager in Palm Beach and Johnson City, where he coached Alex Reyes, Junior Fernandez, and Edmundo Sosa. He was a former Cardinals draft pick who played four seasons in the minors for the organization.
Mike Shildt was dismissed on October 14, with the team citing philosophical differences which came to a head shortly after the team was eliminated from the postseason in the National League Wild Card game.
Cardinals’ Chairman & Chief Executive Officer chairman Bill DeWitt Jr. made the initial announcement.
“I’m pleased to announce that Oli Marmol will be the 51st Cardinals manager,” DeWitt Jr. said. “He has excellent working relationships with players coaches and staff at all levels of the organization. We believe Oli possesses strong managerial skills that will allow for the Cardinals’ success to continue well into the future.”
Cardinals’ president of baseball operations John Mozeliak spoke next and congratulated Marmol.
“Oli understands what we’ve been trying to do, what we need to do, and what we want to do in the future,” Mozeliak said. “He is interested in both traditional baseball values as well as the modern tools that are available today.”
Marmol then acknowledged the news and thanked all of the people who had a hand in the decision and he also thanked his family.
“Not many people get to manage. Definitely not for an organization like this,” Marmol said. “It’s one thing to manage, it’s another thing to manage for one of the most historic organizations not only in all of baseball but in all of sports.”
He also thanked Shildt for being a mentor to him, and Marmol said he’ll bring some aspects of Shildt’s managerial style with him into the clubhouse.
“His attention to detail. It’s evident. I think we’ve all noticed the improvements in certain areas of how we play the game,” Marmol said.
Now he is looking forward to the 2022 season.
“The expectations for the organization has always been the same, to win a world series. Losing in the wild card game or losing in the NLCS was no different, sure you have a little bit more pride and you made it further but at the end of the day, a championship is the goal and anything less than that is a disappointment,” Marmol said. “This year in 2022 is no different. We will prepare in a way to take our shot at a championship, and anything less than that will be a disappointment.”
He was born in New Jersey and is of Dominican descent.
“These opportunities don’t come across the table to the majority of people that grew up like that, and for them to be able to identify and see someone of color in a position of leadership, especially for a franchise, a winning franchise one with the history that the St. Louis Cardinals have,” Marmol said.
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