As Oliver Marmol transitioned into a coaching career with the St. Louis Cardinals, it became clear he had the potential to become a big league manager one day.
That day has arrived — a little earlier than expected.
The 35-year-old Marmol was promoted from bench coach to the majors’ youngest manager on Monday, taking over the Cardinals almost two weeks after Mike Shildt was fired in a surprise move by one of baseball’s most stable franchises.
“I really felt like Oli was going to be a major league manager at some point. I did not think it was necessarily going to be 2022,” said John Mozeliak, the president of baseball operations for the Cardinals.
Marmol is the team’s youngest manager since Marty Marion at age 34 in 1951. Marmol, a New Jersey native who traces his lineage to the Dominican Republic, also becomes the franchise’s second minority manager. Cuban-born Mike González managed the team for parts of the 1938 and 1940 seasons.
