New stat quantifies Cardinals manager Oli Marmol as bottom-tier in MLB

Since taking over as the St. Louis Cardinals’ active manager, Oliver Marmol has heard unrelenting slander from the fanbase–and this new stat may have finally vindicated his poor standing. 

Be it a questionable bullpen decision, a pinch-hitter, or a lineup that makes you squint funny, Marmol has made plenty of interesting choices. 

Still, his overall record of 396-395 has been largely attributed to a lack of talent in the organization. Following his takeover, the “Cardinal way” fell apart and saw off multiple team legends. 

Marmol acted as a guiding light for an aimless organization, but has worn it a few times throughout the process. Nevertheless, fans want wins—and deservedly so. 

Unfortunately for Marmol, one stat paints him in a very bleak light as the Cardinal decision-maker. 

Cardinals manager Oli Marmol has very poor manager-adjusted wins

In a recent X post, Tiger Data showed off a new stat that measures a manager's impact on their squad. 

In his words, the stat “estimates manager impact using situation-adjusted pinch-hit WPA, bullpen-change WPA, ‘leave the pitcher in’ danger-spot WPA, late-game conversion, challenge success, lineup adjustments, & defensive adjustments.”

So where did Marmol rank? Well, he parked at 24th overall, with a mark of -6.20. 

In all fairness, the gap between Marmol and the managers behind him is rather demonstrative, with the Angels’ Kurt Suzuki bringing up the rear at a dismal -24.16 rating. 

Even so, with the seemingly endless scrutiny that Marmol has faced over the years, any new measurement of consistency or effectiveness is worth looking into. 

The statistic is still fairly new, and has yet to be widely accepted by fans.

Marmol may not be Tony La Russa, Whitey Herzog, or any other Hall of Fame manager, but if you tried the eye test, it’d rival these supposed analytics. 

Recently, rookie hurler Hancel Rincon made his MLB debut against the Colorado Rockies. In the midst of his dream-come-true moment, umpire Doug Eddings bounced from behind home plate to make his disapproval of Rincon’s sideways cap known. 

Rookie catcher Leo Bernal physically laughed when Eddings told the right-hander to fix his hat in the middle of the inning—the Cardinal skipper didn’t find it quite as funny. 

Marmol pounced from the dugout later on, beelining toward the fashionista Eddings. 

Lots of harsh words were exchanged, which eventually led to the ejection of Marmol—which is exactly what should’ve happened. 

The Cardinals are a young team, full of grit and determination and so tightly knit that sometimes you think they might be a sitcom. Where does that example come from? The top step of the dugout, in Marmol. 

The Cardinal skipper’s club came out the next game, all donning slanted caps, in support of their teammate whose Major League debut had been nearly ripped out of his hands. 

A moment Rincon may have regretted for years became a fairy tale of brotherhood. And it’s a trickle-down effect, cultivated by a manager whom the fanbase holds in low regard. 

The stat says one thing; the clubhouse says another. Trust your eyes, or crunch the numbers—it’s all an opinion game. But as long as Marmol manages the Redbirds, he’ll need all the pull he can get from baseball's best fans. 

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