Cardinals manager Oli Marmol drops nuke regarding players' stolen base habits

It's a common refrain nowadays that "the nerds have ruined baseball." What was once a sport that focused on moving runners and getting timely hits has turned into a "three true outcomes" game where home runs are king and teams don't tend to mind if strikeouts are prevalent. To that end, baseball has attempted to bring more action on the basepaths by increasing the sizes of the bases, thus incentivizing more stolen base attempts. But according to host A.J. Pierzynski on the "Foul Territory" podcast, St. Louis Cardinals manager Oli Marmol dropped a harsh truth about modern players' supposed reluctance to steal bases in the modern era.

Marmol said players' agents are instructing them not to steal bases.

On the podcast, Pierzynski said that Marmol had told him that the Cardinals often tell players to attempt to swipe a bag, but the players don't always oblige because if they are thrown out, their lower stolen base percentage could be used against them in salary negotiations and future arbitration cases.

Marmol's quip raised eyebrows on X, with several fans pointing out that stolen bases around the league have increased dramatically since the bases were enlarged prior to the 2023 season. In 2022, there were 2,486 steals; the following season, that jumped up to 3,503. In 2024, that increased even more, to 3,617. So far in 2025, there have been 2,803 steals. The stolen base has clearly returned with a vengeance.

There's plenty of reason to quibble with Marmol's words, but it would be foolish to believe that he would be straight-up lying about it. The Cardinals are currently tied for 20th in the league in stolen bases, with 77. Victor Scott is the team leader in that stat by leaps and bounds, with 31 steals, which ties him for eighth in the major leagues, followed by Masyn Winn, who has nine. In stolen base attempts, the Cardinals rank 22nd.

Clearly, Scott has no qualms about utilizing his speed, nor should he — he's only been caught twice in 33 attempts. However, other players may be hesitant to run based on the fear of their failure being used against them. If Marmol's comments are true, it's a shame that agents are meddling in players' affairs to the point where many on the Cardinals are hesitant to try and pilfer a base.

Marmol also reportedly spoke of how difficult it is to build a team that focuses on the three true outcomes because most clubs don't have nine players who can all hit home runs at a level where one can score enough runs with just that strategy. Therefore, steals remain an important weapon that should be in the back pocket of every team. For the sake of Cardinals fans, we can only hope that more players will obey the green light in an era where steals are successful more often than ever.