This season Major League Baseball has learned what a huge role Yadier Molina played for the St. Louis Cardinals.
While many St. Louis Cardinals fans would love to see Yadier Molina become the team's next manager, many would hate to see him take on the role and be devasted if anything were to sour the love and devotion the fan base has for him.
Molina does seem to be content doing a variety of projects in Puerto Rico, but it is fun to play a game of what-ifs regarding Molina taking on the manager role for the Cardinals. It's also fun to think about how much better Molina would be at the job than current manager Oli Marmol.
Here are some thoughts on why Molina would be better than Marmol.
Why Yadier Molina would be a better manager than Oli Marmol: He knows public criticism doesn't work
Marmol seems to do whatever John Mozeliak, Cardinals president of baseball operations, wants him to do. Mozeliak tells Marmol what to do, whether it is the line-up or a perceived lack of doing things the Cardinals' Way.
And lately, you can tell it's not communicated well. Fans will remember Marmol ripping Tyler O'Neill earlier this season for a perceived lack of hustle. This was not communicated behind closed doors. It was presented to the media leading to questions about what was happening in those closed conversations.
O'Neill was frustrated with Marmol's statements as he would have appreciated it being discussed in private. O'Neill had also just spent the entire offseason retooling his workouts, allowing him to stay healthier and in more games. Marmol didn't think O'Neill hustled around third base, seemingly not considering that it had been raining.
Mozeliak was then asked about the situation and doubled down on Marmol's statements.
O'Neill has dealt with lower back issues this season and is on the injured list. He's completing a rehabilitation assignment at AAA Memphis, so hopefully, he will return soon.
There were also a communications issue with Willson Contreras which led to him being publicly removed from the starting catcher's duties and to the team's everyday designated hitter. This only lasted a week, but instead of making this a substantial public issue to the media, communication was all that was needed. Contreras met with the pitching staff, learned the staff's needs, and stayed in touch. Again it didn't need to be the issue, but it was made public.
The team demoting Jordan Walker to AAA Memphis for not getting the ball in the air enough was another puzzler on the communications front. He was brought back to St. Louis a few weeks later and has said he's not changed much to his approach but is trying to get the ball up more.
And then Adam Wainwright was put on the injured list with shoulder issues. Marmol had previously said Wainwright was fine, but after his last start in Miami, he noted that Wainwright was dealing with lingering problems. It makes you wonder what else they aren't being honest about.
Molina would have pushed back and handled each of these issues differently. With O'Neill, he likely would have had a closed-door meeting with him to find out what was happening and see what they could do to make him feel more comfortable. It would never have been a public issue.
With Contreras, Molina and the pitching staff would have multiple meetings with Contreras to make sure they are all on the same page with the game plan for each hitter and each team. It never would have become such a public fiasco.
As for Jordan Walker, Molina would likely have Walker do what he had been doing and work on the little things with the hitting staff before the games in the hitting cages.
Molina and Wainwright have the closest relationship, meaning this would have been handled differently. Molina likely could have spotted the issues that caused the shoulder problem and could have worked with him on it or gotten the needed help beforehand.
Molina has never been a puppet and would have handled these issues much differently, with results likely being better for the player and team.
Why Yadier Molina would be a better manager than Oli Marmol: He would challenge management.
While Molina has always been quiet, fans know there was strength behind that easygoing attitude. It's a strength that would challenge management in many ways.
Molina would not conduct business in the same way as Marmol has through prompting from Mozeliak. Molina wouldn't allow for public criticism of the players, he would handle things behind closed doors. If Molina were to share externally, it would be in expressing the things he needs, especially if those needs were not being met. It would seem that if a move needed to be made, Molina would be straightforward.
Molina came up when Tony LaRussa was manager of the Cardinals and likely learned a lot about management and how to get things done from him. It's not to say Molina would be a return of LaRussa, but like LaRussa, Molina wouldn't be afraid to speak out about needs.
Why Yadier Molina would be a better manager than Oli Marmol: He knows the Cardinal Way
Marmol relies a lot on the spreadsheets printed up for him by the analytics department. Whatever the situation, numbers on the spreadsheet correspond with a decision Mozeliak wants them to make.
Marmol seems to rely more on the numbers than the human aspect of the game. Molina has played baseball long enough to realize there is a natural human element to the game that no spreadsheet can calculate a result on.
It's essential to have a person making decisions that do indeed realize that human beings are the ones playing the game. It's a game that has to be played. Statistics aren't always exact predictors or explainers of what happens. Sadly, despite their current circumstance, Mozeliak and the analytics staff are still pressing the spreadsheets.
Molina seems content with his current situation, but it is fun to consider how much different the Cardinals would be under his leadership.
