Cardinals: Oli Marmol flexed his power with Harrison Bader benching

While Oli Marmol is known as a players’ manager, the Cardinals skipper did the right thing by benching Harrison Bader.

Sometimes, actions need to have consequences.

With Marmol having spoken to Bader about running out every ball in play already, the outfielder needed a reminder. Marmol controls Bader’s playing time, and despite the young outfielder being a Gold Glove-caliber player, there are no guarantees in baseball.

While Marmol did bench Bader, the two apparently had a conversation about the matter and came to a resolution.

Essentially, this went about as well as one could expect. With Bader slashing .264/.305/.376, and his strikeout rate decreasing to just over 16 percent this season, it’s clear he’s putting in the work to improve at the plate, as well. Marmol wants to see that same effort implemented to running the basepaths.

Cardinals: Oli Marmol implementing a system of mutual respect

While this is Marmol’s first year as a manager, it’s important for the young skipper to enforce the same rules as his predecessor, Mike Shildt, and veteran managers around baseball. Running out sure outs is a key part of the game. Truly, you never know what can happen when a ball is put in play. Marmol wants to ensure that his team, at the very least, will not be caught off-guard by anything.

Considering the veteran influences this team has — such as Albert Pujols, Yadier Molina and Adam Wainwright — Bader’s youthful mistake is unlikely to happen again.

FanSided MLB insider Robert Murray had a similar take on the matter:

"“But good for Marmol for holding his players accountable. Some may not like it, but it’s Marmol trying to establish his footprint on the team as he works to make the Cardinals a World Series caliber team – and considering that they now have a 1.5 game lead in the National League Central, he appears to be pressing the right buttons.”"

With everything clicking for the Cards, Marmol can’t do anything wrong.