Oliver Marmol's interaction with obnoxious Cardinals fan sheds light on his persona

Multiple members of the St. Louis Cardinals have been under fire by the fanbase over the last three years, and outside of John Mozeliak, there is probably no individual who has received more criticism than manager Oliver Marmol.

While that has been warranted at times, I've been of the opinion over the last few years that Marmol has gotten a bad rap among the fanbase and that the current Cardinals manager is probably the right guy to lead this team both now and into the future. That seems to be a hot take if you look at social media, but it is one I'll stand by.

I often noticed fans begin to shift their tone toward Marmol and their opinion of him when they listen to him speak in more than just little sound bites. Whenever Marmol has a sit-down conversation with someone, his personality really shines through, and it is easy to see why the Cardinals have backed him as their manager since prior to the 2022 season.

All last week, 101 ESPN's "The Morning After" show was at Cardinals camp and was able to have a variety of guests on. Marmol sat down with the crew for over 30 minutes on Thursday, and frankly, it was one of the best interviews I've heard him do. Marmol spoke on a variety of topics that are well worth listening to, but I really wanted to highlight this story he shared on the radio that I found to be profound.

When Marmol was asked if he ever interacts with fans at the ballpark who yell at him or berate him, he said he typically avoids it but sometimes does respond to those fans. I sure hope none of you read that and take it as license to go and bother Marmol at games, but I do find a story he told about a specific fan interaction especially telling about the kind of manager and man he is.

Marmol told a story of a fan who was yelling all types of names at Marmol and questioning his ability as a manager, more than the average fan does. So on Marmol's way back from the mound after talking to a pitcher during the game, Marmol looked around to see what that fan looked like and made a mental note of that.

Later in the game, Marmol made a pitching change, and as the fan was yelling at him and questioning his move, he said he was "praying the whole time, 'Please God, let this work,' and it works." They went on to come back and win the game, and after the game was over, the fan was still yelling. I'll directly quote Marmol for the rest of his story.

"I turn to him and I call him down to the dugout, and he looks over in a little bit of a panic, he like "Me?" and I was like "Yeah, you [expletive]." So he comes down, and I say "Oli, nice to meet you," and I shake his hand, and he tries to back up, and I bring him in real tight and I said "I want you to repeat everything you just said." He said "No no no no no no no, I am so sorry. I thought we were going to lose, I was in a bad mood," and I was like "Let's talk about it. Like what don't you like?" And I sat there for 10 minutes, 12 minutes with him and just kind of did a little bit of this (in reference to his conversation about moves he regrets or stands by as a manager). And at the end of it, you can tell there's a change in "Wow, you're a normal dude who's making decisions, and sometimes they work but there's a reason behind what you do, and it was good."

Marmol went on to say that he probably had three or four conversations like that during the year, and he enjoys them. He said he loves being questioned and listening to why people disagree with him and what they would have done differently. He said there are times when he hears someone, and upon hearing their take, admits he is wrong. He doesn't mind saying "You know what, I think I jacked that up. I see your point. And if I had to do it again, I'd do it differently," or sometimes he'll double down after hearing the opposing take because he still believes in the process behind the decision he made.

I have really grown to respect Marmol's ability to own mistakes and invite other opinions into the room. Don't get me wrong, he's a guy who is going to dig his heels in and stand on what he believes to be right, but he's also reasonable and willing to listen to other opinions. It's why he has constantly looked to hire strong individuals for his coaching staff, and I believe it is why he was able to overachieve with the club in what should have been another sub-.500 year in 2024.

The pressue is on Marmol this year, as it has been every season. In 2025, the Cardinals' success on the field will be directly tied to the development of their young talent. If the young bats and pitchers perform, the club will likely outperform low expectations and Marmol should feel secure in his role as the manager for 2026. But if the club does fall flat on its face, especially due to a lack of production from young talent, then Marmol may not be the guy that Chaim Bloom deems fit to lead the club moving forward.

Marmol is clearly fired up about the situation he's in this year, though, so the proof will be in the pudding soon enough.