This story proves how much Cardinals have bought into manager Oli Marmol's leadership

Ever since the St. Louis Cardinals shocked the baseball world by firing National League Manager of the Year Mike Shildt, Oliver Marmol has been fighting an uphill battle to gain the respect of the Cardinals' fan base. Well, even if there are fans that will never believe in Marmol, a recent story seems to suggest the players are fully bought into the manager's leadership.

Marmol appeared on KMOX Tuesday (as he does every week) to field questions from Bernie Miklasz, Chris Rongey, and fans tuning in, and while sharing the excitement he has with the level of dedication he's seen from their players this year, he shared this story of how the team continue to go above and beyond to get better.

"The last day in Kansas City, day game, getaway day, and we were going to give the guys a little bit of a blow, stay off the field, and just get ready for the game," Marmol stated about the club's final day of a grueling nine-game road trip this past Sunday. "And we had the guys wanting to take an infield. And they took an energetic, I mean like lively infield, got after it, and it just speaks to where we are as a club mentally, physically, emotionally, like all of it. These guys are, they want more, they are hungry, and they know that the better they get, that they can build toward something that can be a lot of fun to watch for a lot of years to come."

Oliver Marmol has the Cardinals players hungry to win and get better each and every day

As fans, we want and expect players to have this mentality as professionals, but if you've followed this game long enough, you'll know that teams can quickly lose that fire, passion, and desire to grow both individually and as a team. The kind of atmosphere being cultivated in St. Louis right now is a strong reflection of Marmol's leadership, the staff he has surrounded himself with, and the kind of players they have in that clubhouse.

We heard most of the offseason and during spring training about how hungry this team was, and it has shown to be the case thus far. We've heard and read stories about the impact that Marmol, Brant Brown, Dusty Blake, Daniel Descalso, Jon Jay, and Stubby Clapp have had on the players in the clubhouse. We've seen selflessness from veterans on the club, as both Willson Contreras and Sonny Gray chose to stay in St. Louis (and Contreras even changed positions to help with that) while Nolan Arenado has shown a team-first approach despite his early-season struggles.

And of course, we know about these young Cardinals who have worked tirelessly to earn their opportunities and run with them. Brendan Donovan, Lars Nootbaar, Ivan Herrera, Matthew Liberatore, Victor Scott II, Masyn Winn, Kyle Leahy, and Alec Burleson are having great campaigns to start the year, and even with his struggles at the plate, we have seen Jordan Walker's defense take a massive step forward as well.

As of May 22nd, the Cardinals as a team are top ten in wRC+, runs scored, position player fWAR, batting average, on-base percentage, K%, RISP rate stats, FIP, pitcher fWAR, WHIP, and, of course, by far the best in baseball in outs above average as a team defensively. This team is firing on all cylinders as a collective unit, and considering the expectations placed on them going into the season, it takes strong leadership to foster that kind of environment.

Despite winning 93 games in 2022 and winning the National League Central and leading the club to 83 wins in 2024, in what seemed to be an overachieving record, there is a portion of the fan base that paints Marmol as the culprit of the organization's issues. Carrying a .511 win% for his young managerial career thus far, I tend to find it rather impressive that the Cardinals have kept their head above the water in both 2024 and 2025, despite the mess that the 2023 season was.

Any time a team with real expectations falls apart and wins just 71 games like 2023, the manager has to have some of the blame placed on him. Marmol did not handle things perfectly that season by any means, but let's not overstate his issues either. The club's pitching was horrendous, and I really don't know how any manager was supposed to magically make that better.

Yet, as the same time, Marmol is the same manager that, as a rookie skipper, led a veteran team to the playoffs while navigating their own pitching woes in the first half and the terrible first half that Albert Pujols had the plate, sticking with him long enough that Pujols opted not to retire midseason and went on to mash in the second half. This is the same Marmol that helped the Cardinals win 83 games in 2024 with great bullpen management when their expected record based on performance was just 76-86. And this is the same Marmol that has the Cardinals currently on pace for 88 wins, coming off a stagnant offseason where the front office and ownership slashed spending, let all of their free agents walk, and only brought in Phil Maton on a $2 million deal.

We'll see if the Cardinals can keep up the good vibes in 2025, but at least 31% of the way through the season, the club seems to be buying what Marmol is selling in that clubhouse. And some national writers even think he's an early favorite for NL Manager of the Year.