Oli Marmol: the National League's third-best manager in 2024?

The Manager of the Year voting was revealed on Tuesday night, and Pat Murphy received 27 first-place votes to take the award home. Former Cardinal manager Mike Shildt placed second, and first-year manager Carlos Mendoza of the New York Mets finished third in voting.

However, there was a surprising manager who received a singular third-place vote this year. That nomination goes to Oliver Marmol of the St. Louis Cardinals.

Yes, Oliver Marmol was considered the third-best manager in the entire National League this year by a voter. Upon closer examination, you'll find that the voter who chose Marmol would be Keith Law of The Athletic. Law, a member of the Philadelphia chapter for voting, also chose Rob Thomson of the Philadelphia Phillies as the first-place manager of the year. In fact, Law didn't give a first, second, or third-place vote to any of the managers that actually placed in those positions.

The Cardinals didn't make the playoffs, they were a whopping six games behind the New York Mets for the final Wild Card spot, and they had a -47 run differential last year. For a team that was once the class of the National League, the output these past two years was lackluster, and that's at least partially on the team's clubhouse leader.

However, there is a small case for Marmol's nomination. The Cardinals had a 12-win improvement from 2023. Additionally, Marmol had to balance a roster that was less than ideal. Rather than signing and trading for starting top-of-the-rotation starters in the 2023-2024 offseason, president of baseball operations John Mozeliak signed Sonny Gray, Lance Lynn, and Kyle Gibson.

The roster was heavily left-handed and left vulnerable to left-handed pitchers. Marmol's bench featured primarily Matt Carpenter, Pedro Pages, and Brandon Crawford for the bulk of the season. The Cardinals were also abysmal when it came to hitting with runners in scoring position, a trait that shouldn't be blamed on the manager.

One other feather in Marmol's cap was his ability to work with the players this year compared to 2023. There were very few stories about clubhouse disarray and a lack of trust in Marmol in 2024 compared to the year prior.

Oliver Marmol realistically didn't deserve recognition for his job in 2024. He was unable to lead the Cardinals to the postseason despite an attempted winning push by management, and St. Louis was barely able to finish above .500 when it was all said and done.

At least we as Cardinal fans can rest easy knowing Keith Law supports Oli Marmol.