ST. LOUIS — St. Louis Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol believes in the “no shirt, no problem,” mantra.
His club was boosted to a win Friday night by a group of college ball players in the right-field seats who took off and waved their shirts as they sang, chanted and drew others into the fray.
Marmol wants the good times to continue.
“Last night’s atmosphere was electric. Let’s run it back this weekend,” Marmol said in a social media post. “I’ll buy tickets for fans who want to sit in the right field Loge and bring the energy.”
The fans brought an organic energy to the ballpark. It began when the Stephen F. Austin club baseball team called the Lumberjacks were in nearby Alton, Illinois, for the National Club Baseball Division II World Series. The Cardinals offered tickets to the team, and 17 players attended.
By the time Yohel Pozo drove in the game-winning run with a walk-off single in the 11th inning, the Lumberjacks had other fans — and even the mascot Fredbird — joining in on the shirtless ruckus.
“Whoever started that in right field, I’ll do whatever I need to do to make sure they come every game,” Marmol said Friday night. “Because that was awesome. Not only them, but everybody that showed up today. That was a fun environment.”
The “tarps off” trend — celebrating by taking your shirt off and waving it — is not new to sports, but it was to Busch Stadium.
Who knows, Friday night’s fans may have accidentally created a new tradition.
The players sang soccer chants and shouted players’ names. The stadium organist, Dwayne Hilton, played accompanying music and got everyone involved in the spirit.
“It creates an environment where, it’s not only filling this place up, it’s making it a tough place for other teams to come in and play,” Marmol said Friday. “That was pretty damn cool. I’ll sign up for that, any day.”
The start of Game 2 of the three-game series against the Kansas City Royals was delayed by rain on Saturday.
