Former CofC Standout Named New Manager of the St. Louis Cardinals

Press Release

Former College of Charleston baseball standout Oliver ‘Oli’ Marmol (right, with family) has been named the 51^st manager of the St. Louis Cardinals after serving as the team’s bench coach for the past two seasons announced club officials at an introductory press conference on Monday morning.

Marmol becomes the youngest manager in Major League Baseball beating out current Minnesota Twins skipper Rocco Baldelli by nearly five years. He is also several years younger than two of the franchise’s cornerstone players – starting pitcher Adam Wainwright (40) and catcher Yadier Molina (39).

“This is an exciting day,” Marmol said. “I am honored to sit here and be presented with this opportunity. The DeWitt family have built a winning tradition and a rich history here that is absolutely remarkable. For them to trust me as a caretaker of that legacy is incredibly humbling.”

A native of Orlando, Fla., Marmol arrived at the College prior to the 2005 campaign and quickly put his stamp on the program batting .327 with 11 home runs, 49 doubles, eight triples and 102 RBI in three seasons with the Cougars. The speedy shortstop put together easily his best season at CofC in 2007 batting .345 with 20 doubles, seven home runs, 45 RBI and 28 stolen bases to earn a spot on the All-SoCon First Team. His 84 runs scored that spring rank third on the program’s single-season list. He ranks eighth all-time in doubles, triples and stolen bases, and is ninth in runs scored (171).

“Everyone here at the College is ecstatic for Oli,” head coach Chad Holbrook said. “When a former player and representative of our baseball program becomes a manager in the Major Leagues, all you can say is wow! It just goes to show you that character, work ethic and persistence often get rewarded. Everyone associated with our program could not be happier for him and we know he will do an incredible job.”

Marmol was drafted by the Cardinals in the sixth round of the 2007 draft and spent three years in the Red Birds’ minor league system before making the transition into coaching as the hitting coach for the Gulf Coast League Cardinals in 2011. The very next season, Marmol landed his first managerial role with the Johnson City Cardinals, St. Louis’ rookie-level affiliate, and led the team to a 39-28 mark.

He spent the next four seasons as the manager for two of the Cardinals’ Single-A affiliates before receiving his call-up to the majors as the club’s first base coach in 2017. In five seasons as a minor league manager, Marmol compiled a 268-225 overall record. Following two seasons as the team’s first base coach he was promoted to bench coach, a position he held until being named the club’s manager on Monday.

He will take over a team that won a club-record 17 straight games in September – a streak capped by a 6-2 win over Milwaukee on September 28 to clinch the second and final National League Wild Card spot.

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