The St. Louis Cardinals Are Set To Hire 35-Year-Old Oli Marmol To Be Their Next Manager

After letting Mike Shildt, a manager who led the Cardinals to three straight postseason appearances, go, the St. Louis Cardinals have gone in the complete opposite direction in hiring a 35-year-old Oli Marmol to manage their team starting next season. He will inherit a very good situation, though I feel like I could say that about any Cardinals manager over the last 25-30 years. I mean, when you think about it, when was the last time the St. Louis Cardinals were terrible? They might not be winning 100 games a year, but they seem to be about as stable as it gets, and it's been that way for a long time. Marmol will officially be the youngest manager in baseball when he takes the position as Cardinal's skipper next season. Last year's Cardinal's roster featured seven players who are older than their soon-to-be skipper, including organizational legends Yadier Molina and Adam Wainwright. While Marmol's youth will be the talking point, it is characteristic of the Cardinals to hire from within. This is the third consecutive manager they've hired who has had a connection to the organization before becoming a manager, whether as a player or as a coach. 

The Cardinals are close to being a team that's contending for pennant again. As I said, they've been good for a long time, but they haven't made it to the World Series since 2013. Last year they had a historic 17 game winning streak that propelled them into October, where they would eventually lose heartbreakingly in the Wildcard game to the Dodgers. They hope to send Yadi and Waino out on top. Hopefully, their new manager can get them there.