Home Runs Fill the Seats, not Stolen Bases
Baseball has changed. Small ball has been replaced by the long ball and the accompanying strikeouts and walks. But St. Louis Cardinals manager Oli Marmol says there’s another reason steals aren’t as common as they should be: player agents.
On A.J. Pierzynski’s Foul Territory podcast, Marmol revealed that agents are advising players not to run. Not just Cardinals Players. All Players. Why? Because getting caught stealing hurts their numbers — and those numbers get thrown right back at them during arbitration or contract talks.
That revelation raised some eyebrows, particularly because the stolen base is back in a big way since MLB enlarged the bases in 2023. League-wide totals have skyrocketed: 2,486 steals in 2022 to 3,617 in 2024. Even in 2025, with a month and a half left, the number is already at 2,803. Clearly, teams are running more, but could they be running even more if agents weren’t running their mouths against the stolen base?
So where do the Cardinals stand? Not exactly leading the pack. They’re tied for 20th in MLB with 77 steals, and they’re 22nd in attempts. Speedster Victor Scott II has almost all of them himself, swiping 31 bags and getting caught just twice — good for a top-10 mark in the majors. Masyn Winn is a distant second with nine steals. Beyond that, there’s not much activity.
Frustrating for the Manager
That’s where Marmol’s frustration comes in. He knows his team has the green light. He knows stolen bases can change games. But if players are listening to agents more than their manager, you get a conservative, station-to-station approach. And that can be dangerous in a league where not every lineup can live on home runs alone.
Marmol also made it clear that stolen bases are still an essential weapon, especially for teams like the Cardinals that can’t field nine sluggers. A timely steal puts pressure on pitchers, forces defenses into mistakes, and creates scoring opportunities without waiting for the long ball.
For now, fans can count on Victor Scott II to keep running wild. But if Marmol’s “truth bomb” holds water, it might take more than bigger bases to convince some players — and their agents — that speed is still part of winning baseball.
