MLB’s youngest manager, Oliver Marmol, recently joined the Cardinals.

Oliver Marmol’s transition to coaching with the St. Louis Cardinals made it evident that he had the ability to manage a major league team at some point.

That day has come, albeit a little sooner than anticipated.

On Monday, Marmol, 35, was elevated from bench coach to the position of youngest manager in the major leagues. He assumed control of the Cardinals nearly two weeks after Mike Shildt was unexpectedly fired by one of baseball’s most reliable teams.

“I had a strong sense that Oli would eventually manage a major league team. The Cardinals’ president of baseball operations, John Mozeliak, stated, “I did not think it was going to be 2022.”

Since Marty Marion in 1951, at the age of 34, Marmol is the youngest manager for the team. Marmol becomes the team’s second minority manager. He is a native of New Jersey and has Dominican Republic ancestry. Mike Gonzalez, a Cuban-born man, was the team’s manager for a portion of the 1938 and 1940 campaigns.

“Most people who grew up like that don’t have access to these opportunities,” Marmol remarked, referring to some of the early neighborhoods we lived in. It is especially significant for them to be able to recognize and see a person of color in a leadership role, particularly for a successful team like the St. Louis Cardinals.