Oli Marmol's Comments Will Resonate With Cardinals Fans

Apr 11, 2026; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; St. Louis Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol (37) talks with umpire Bill Miller (26) and umpire Chad Fairchild (4) about challenging a catchers interference call during the seventh inning at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-Imagn Images Jeff Curry-Imagn Images

Oli Marmol's Comments Will Resonate With Cardinals Fans

Originally posted on St. Louis Cardinals on SI
By Curt Bishop | Last updated May 4, 2026 10:00 AM ET

Add us as a preferred source on Google

The St. Louis Cardinals had their six-game winning streak snapped on Sunday when they lost 4-1 to the Los Angeles Dodgers. However, they still are 20-14 on the season and sit just two games back of the first place Chicago Cubs in the National League Central.

The offense has been clicking for the most part and supporting the pitching staff, which granted has been their weakness. Another problem for St. Louis over the past several years has been their decline in attendance.

The Cardinals are aware of this and know what they have to do to get fans back in the stands. After Sunday's loss, manager Oli Marmol showed some appreciation for the fanbase, but also made some comments that show he is in touch with how they are feeling.

"I appreciate it. The players appreciate it because they feed off of it and it was a really good environment," Marmol said in his postgame press conference. "We've said it before man, you can't just ask them to come out. You have to play a certain way where you earn it. You earn them coming back into the stadium, and I think our style of play has been consistent. This city is used to seeing a certain style of baseball, and you've got to be clean defensively, you've got to run the bases hard, you've got to play the game all nine (innings)."

If you build it, they will come

Joe Puetz-Imagn Images

As the old saying goes from the famous movie "Field of Dreams," if you build it, they will come. If the Cardinals continue to play well and do all the things that Marmol is talking about, fans will show up to ballgames.

There's still a lot of time left in the season, but as long as the Cardinals continue to show fight and bounce back from struggles, fans will notice that and appreciate just how hard the team is playing.

The vibes are certainly different this season than they were over the past several years. Marmol is saying all the right things about how to win fans back, and they will certainly appreciate his perspective, knowing that he and the Cardinals are well aware of what they have to do to fill the stands again.

Marmol is showing that he is very much in touch with how the fanbase is feeling, understanding their frustration and why they haven't shown up as much over the past few years, but also knowing what it's going to take in order to win them back.

This article first appeared on St. Louis Cardinals on SI and was syndicated with permission.

More must-reads: