# DUGOUT WAR ENDS IN DOUBLE BEHEADING: CONTRERAS & MARMOL FIRED FOR FIST-FIGHT FRENZY—$41.5M TORCHED IN ST. LOUIS PURGE!
ST. LOUIS, MO — The Cardinals’ 2025 season imploded in a single, blood-curdling moment beneath Busch Stadium’s third-base dugout. What began as a routine ejection spiraled into a full-scale brawl between All-Star catcher **Willson Contreras** and manager **Oliver Marmol**, ending with both men terminated in a midnight purge that shocked the baseball world.
It was the bottom of the 7th, bases loaded, two outs, Cardinals trailing the Cubs 5-2. Contreras, already ejected for arguing a called third strike, stormed back into the dugout still screaming. Marmol, attempting to restrain his $87.5 million volcano, grabbed Contreras by the chest protector. That’s when the catcher snapped.
Security footage shows Contreras shoving Marmol into the bat rack. Marmol retaliated with a wild hook that grazed Contreras’ jaw. A flying Hi-Chew pack exploded across the tunnel. Bench coach **Stubby Clapp** took an elbow to the nose (blood streaking his red pullover). The melee spilled onto the field as umpires and players sprinted to separate the two.
“Willson was raging,” said third baseman **Nolan Arenado**, who helped drag Contreras away. “Oli was just trying to protect the team. Then it got ugly.”
By dawn, Cardinals GM **Chaim Bloom** delivered the guillotine. Both men were fired effective immediately. Contreras’ contract (three years, $54 million remaining) was terminated for cause, with the team eating **$41.5 million** in dead money to fuel a youth-driven rebuild. Marmol, in his fourth season, was axed for “conduct detrimental to the organization.”
The fallout was brutal. Local radio exploded: *“$41.5 million for a tantrum? We could’ve signed two aces!”* Social media branded it **#DugoutDecapitation**. A leaked clubhouse photo showed Contreras’ locker already stripped bare, his nameplate dangling by one screw.
Contreras, reached at his Miami home, refused comment. Marmol posted a cryptic Instagram: *“Sometimes the fire burns the village.”*
The Cardinals promoted interim manager **Daniel Descalso** and called up 22-year-old catcher **Ivan Herrera**. Season ticket holders received a voucher for free therapy.
In St. Louis, the volcano finally erupted—and took two heads with it.
