The Cardinals have been in unfamiliar territory the past few seasons. Last year they finished 71-91, the first time they were under .500 since 2007. It was such a bad season that the Cardinals were sellers at the deadline, something unheard of in St.Louis. So far in 2024, things haven’t gone much better. They are currently seven games under .500 and are sitting in dead last in the NL Central. It seems like it’s going to be a repeat of 2023.
This has led many to question what the future of the Cardinals is going to be. There needs to be some sort of change otherwise these struggles will continue. However, over the past few days, a rumor has spread that should make Cardinals fans very happy. Former catcher Yadier Molina has expressed interest in managing a major league team. Molina would be the perfect guy to steer the Cardinals back on track
Oliver Marmol is Not A Good Manager
The baseball world was shocked when after the 2021 season it was announced that Mike Shildt would not return as manager. Both sides cited philosophical differences between the front office and Shildt as the reason he was not returning. This caused the Cardinals to promote bench coach Oliver Marmol to the manager position.
After a strong 2022 campaign which saw the club win the NL Central, things haven’t gone the way anyone hoped. As stated before, the Cardinals massively underperformed in 2023 and these struggles have continued into 2024. Marmol looks completely overwhelmed and has no idea how to lead a big-league club.
His bigger issue however is how he carries himself. He has a massive ego and takes no responsibility. Instead, he openly rips his players to the media. Last season, he went on a rant during a press conference about how Tyler O’Neil doesn’t hustle, so it’s like he’s not trying. Or, this season when he called out Paul Goldschmidt and Nolan Gorman for struggling. This is not how an MLB manager acts. They don’t openly throw their players under the bus. They don’t call out specific players for the reason the team is struggling. That’s a bad leader.
Molina Understands How to Manage and The Cardinals’ Way
So what qualifies Molina to be a manager? Well, he was the manager for Team Puerto Rico in the 2023 World Baseball Classic. Now, that doesn’t exactly translate to being a big-league manager. However, he was able to guide Team Puerto Rico to the quarter-finals. Not the result everyone wanted but still very impressive nonetheless. If he can do this when going up against essentially all-star teams, it’s safe to assume that could translate to the MLB. He has also managed the Navegantes del Magallanes of the Venezuela Professional Baseball League. So he won’t be coming in with no experience.
Molina is also one of the best players the Cardinals have ever had. Now, that doesn’t translate to success as a manager. However while in St.Louis, Molina was one of the biggest leaders in the clubhouse. He understood what the Cardinal way is, which is something that management and ownership put a lot of stock into when looking for a manager. That was a big reason why they hired Shildt. Being a leader for the Cardinals while being a player and having some professionalism makes him the ideal candidate to be the next manager of the Cardinals. He can be the first step in bringing the Cardinals back to their former glory.
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