Major League Baseball managers always like to preach about effort and expectations. But at the same time, it usually takes something blatant for a manager to specifically call out a player to the media.
So, with that in mind, St. Louis Cardinals outfielder Tyler O’Neill probably has reason to be frustrated with manager Oliver Marmol.
After Tuesday’s loss to the Atlanta Braves, Marmol explicitly blasted O’Neill’s effort on the base paths when the Cardinals outfielder was thrown out at home to end a possible rally in the seventh inning. Marmol followed up the strong words by benching O’Neill for Wednesday’s game.
But was the play really due to O’Neill’s hustle — or lack thereof? That’s debatable.
Tyler O’Neill has been benched today due to his lack of effort on this play
“There’s a standard… You don’t meet it, you don’t play.” -Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol told @JohnDenton555 pic.twitter.com/MnBfpQN0AJ
— Talkin’ Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) April 5, 2023
On that seventh-inning play, O’Neill was just rounding third when the Braves’ Ronald Acuña Jr. got ready to throw the ball from right field. Now, Acuña has one of the strongest outfield arms in baseball, and O’Neill ranks in the 97th percentile of sprint speed, according to Statcast. So, he’s extremely fast. But it was a risky send by third base coach Ron Warner — to say the least.
O’Neill did appear to kick it into an extra gear when he saw Acuña preparing to throw, but it wasn’t like he was jogging on the base path. O’Neill himself didn’t agree with Marmol’s assessment, via stltoday.com:
“He was pretty blunt about it. He didn’t think I gave the best effort. I’m out here every day grinding my (butt) off, giving it my all and trying to stay on the field for 160 games. Like I said, I’ve just got to get a better jump next time and get around the base a little quicker and be in there next time.”
But again, that out at home falls on the third base coach more than it should on O’Neill. You have to be aware of who is out there in the outfield, and sending O’Neill there was only going to work if the throw was off.
MLB fans also thought it was odd to see Marmol place the blame publicly on O’Neill.