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sports Diamars 26 OctOber 2021

Oliver Marmol takes over as St. Louis Cardinals manager

(AP) - As Oliver Mar- managed the team for parts of
mol transitioned into a the 1938 and 1940 seasons. As late as the flight back from
coaching career with the Los Angeles, Mozeliak didn’t
St. Louis Cardinals, it “Some of the neighborhoods think the Cardinals would be
became clear he had the we lived in early on ... these making a change at manager.
potential to become a big opportunities don’t come But Shildt, 53, was fired Oct.
league manager one day. across the table to the major- 14 over what Mozeliak de-
ity of the people that grew scribed as “philosophical dif-
That day has arrived — a lit- up like that,” Marmol said. ferences” between Shildt, the
tle earlier than expected. “For them to be able to iden- coaching staff and the front
tify and see someone of color office.
The 35-year-old Marmol was in a position of leadership,
promoted from bench coach especially for a franchise, a “We had internal issues we
to the majors’ youngest man- winning franchise, one with felt we could not resolve,”
ager on Monday, taking over a history that the St. Louis Mozeliak said. “We felt the
the Cardinals almost two Cardinals has, is extremely best path forward was to
weeks after Mike Shildt was meaningful.” make a change for the orga- he has a lot of confidence in.” have that conversation with
fired in a surprise move by nization, regardless if it was Mike and receive his support
one of baseball’s most stable Marmol was picked by St. not a popular one. We did not Marmol said he had conver- for moving this organization
franchises. Louis in the sixth round of take this lightly.” sations with Cardinals owner forward,” he said.
the 2007 amateur draft out Bill DeWitt Jr., Mozeliak
“I really felt like Oli was go- of the College of Charleston, After Shildt was dismissed, and general manager Mike Marmol takes over a club that
ing to be a major league man- but his playing career stalled Mozeliak mulled over go- Girsch that produced “com- expects to contend again after
ager at some point. I did not at Class A Palm Beach. Af- ing outside the organization plete clarity” when it comes finishing second in the NL
think it was necessarily going ter coaching and managing versus staying internally. He to their expectations for the Central behind Milwaukee.
to be 2022,” said John Moze- in the minors, he joined the settled on Marmol, looking position. Adam Wainwright and Yadier
liak, the president of baseball Cardinals’ major league staff for continuity and counting Molina, both older than their
operations for the Cardinals. in 2017 as the first base coach. on him to build on what he When Marmol got the job, he new manager, are signed for
He spent the past three years learned from mentors like talked it over with his wife, next season, and key sluggers
Marmol is the team’s young- as the bench coach under Shildt. Amber, and they were excit- Paul Goldschmidt and Nolan
est manager since Marty Shildt, helping St. Louis to ed about the opportunity. But Arenado are expected to help
Marion at age 34 in 1951. three consecutive postseason “Oli’s going to have his own Marmol said he had some anchor the lineup.
Marmol, a New Jersey na- appearances. The Cardinals voice. He’s going to be able mixed emotions because of
tive who traces his lineage used a 17-game win streak to put his own fingerprints his relationship with Shildt. “A championship is the goal,
to the Dominican Republic, in September to move into on this,” Mozeliak said. “Ul- and anything less than that,
also becomes the franchise’s playoff position, but they lost timately you hope and expect “It was good to be able to, it is a disappointment,” Mar-
second minority manager. 3-1 to the Dodgers in the NL that he learned to do things once everything got cleared mol said. “This year, in 2022,
Cuban-born Mike González wild-card game. in his own way, and one that up and we came to terms, to is no different.

Fab Four of July acquisitions lead Braves to World Series

(AP) — Atlanta had just er Joc Pederson two weeks Glavine, John Smoltz and returned. Star right fielder Whatever you need. And we
stumbled again, losing its earlier. Chipper Jones club of 1995, Ronald Acuña Jr. tore his went full-speed ahead,” An-
seventh straight attempt he became known for per- right anterior cruciate liga- thopoulous said.
to reach .500. Rosario, Duvall and Ped- haps the most-seen strand of ment on July 10, an injury
erson combined to drive in pearls since Jackie O’s. sidelining him until next Atlanta lost at Milwaukee
“This isn’t going to de- 17 of Atlanta’s 28 runs in its “I just saw the pearls and I year. hours after the trade dead-
fine our season, this series,” six-game NL Championship was, like, you know what? line, dropping to 51-54. The
Braves manager Brian Snit- Series win over the defend- That looks cool,” Pederson Many GMs make midsea- Braves were third in the NL
ker said that night at New ing champion Los Angeles said. “I’ve done the black son additions. Seldom do so East, five games back of the
York’s Citi Field. Dodgers. Rosario was se- chain and the gold chain and many jell. New York Mets, one game
lected MVP as the Braves all those different ones and behind Philadelphia and two
Little did he know. advanced to a World Series — I think a lot of other play- With the deal for Pederson, games in front of Washing-
matchup against the Hous- ers have. But I don’t know, Anthopoulos sent the club- ton.
Two days later, general man- ton Astros starting Tuesday kind of caught my eye. I was, house a message “that we
ager Alex Anthopoulos ob- night. like, you know, those look believe in you,” recalled star “The one thing that’s fortu-
tained outfielders Eddie Ro- good.” first baseman Freddie Free- nate for us is we’re playing in
sario, Adam Duvall and Jorge Pederson especially has been man, the reigning NL MVP. the NL East in 2021,” Antho-
Soler along with reliever a pearl of an addition. Even Anthopoulos, a 44-year-old polous said after the trades.
Richard Rodríguez in four before the Braves tried to Canadian hired as general Anthopoulos had gone to “We’re all in it.”
swaps in the hours before the earn the team’s first World manager in November 2017 his boss, chairman Terry
July 30 trade deadline, adding Series championship rings and promoted to president of McGuirk, for permission to Atlanta won five of its next
to the acquisition of outfield- since the Greg Maddux, Tom baseball operations last year, spend and lifted payroll from six games to move above .500
had to remake his outfield in $136 million on opening for the first time all season on
midseason. day to $149 million on Aug. Aug. 8. A nine-game winning
31, still 14th among the 30 streak lifted the Braves into
Opening day center fielder teams. The four outfield ac- first place on Aug. 15.
Cristian Pache injured his quisitions added $7,743,280, “It’s two different teams, re-
right hamstring on May 13 factoring in $500,000 that At- ally, from the first half to the
and didn’t have another big lanta is receiving from Cleve- second half, if you really look
league at-bat until October. land this year as part of the at it,” the reigning NL MVP
Left fielder Marcell Ozuna Rosario trade. said. “So we just had little
broke his left middle and ring weapons waiting in the wings
fingers with a headfirst slide “Terry McGuirk came to me all over the place and then we
on May 25, then was arrested at the All-Star break and said unleashed them and here we
four days later on charges of you got whatever you need are sitting in the World Se-
aggravated assault and hasn’t to go make this club better. ries.”