The Reason Fans Should Pay Attention To The St. Louis Cardinals

I understand why Cardinal fans are not packing Busch Stadium this season as they have for decades. The owners smartly alerted the fan base that this was a reset year. So fans made other plans; maybe they’d go to fewer games, if any at all.

The trend is for Busch Stadium to seat 2,333,200 in 2025. Which is down from 2,377,270 when last checked on July 28.

If 2021 is dismissed as a season, some might still have been fearful of Covid, this season’s attendance would be the lowest since 1995. I’ve noticed a bit less fan social media interaction this season as well.

It is past time for the fans to course correct.

Sure, the 26 players St. Louis is putting on the field are not the star-studded teams of yesteryear,

Still playing with passion, Nolan Arenado's batting average and OPS+ have trended down three straight years. While his Outs above Average an all-time low.

and the one Hall of Famer that they have, Nolan Arenado, is less the player he was as he fades through his age-34 season.

However, those not paying attention, as they have in the past, are missing something. The St. Louis Cardinals are an intense baseball team.

Rare is the game this season that they didn't play with a ferocity denoting a team belief that they can win any game, no matter the score.

This observation might sound like favoritism, but it is not. I have two sides to my Cardinal fandom. There is the heart that never gives up and the intellectual who can discern when the team is playing well and when they are done.

For instance, in 2018, I pronounced the team dead in May. Two months later, Manager Mike Matheny was out of a job.

Manager Oliver Marmol won't be fired during this season because their intense style of play starts with him. The four-year leader is oft seen jawing at an ump from the dugout.

Manager Oliver Marmol informs home plate umpire Vic Carapazza his ability to call balls and strikes is less than adequate during a Cardinal 8-5 win on June 14, 2025, in Milwaukee.

This intense demeanor can also be seen in first baseman Willson Contreras, a player frequently described as one you don’t like unless he is on your team.

Willson Contreras stares into Milwaukee's dugout after going yard. Earlier, Contreras was most definitely out of position fielding a ball at first, Brewer Caleb Durbin tripped because of it; neither team was too happy after that. Beanballs and words ensued. Played in Milwaukee. Stl. 8 - Mil. 5 June 14, 2025

It would take a miracle run to make the playoffs and an epic collapse by either the Cubs or Mets to make that happen. Based on recent play, it seems Chicago and New York are doing their best to make that happen.

Seriously, because of the reset, St. Louis is a young team. Their inexperience makes it hard to tell if the Cardinals are closer to the team that had the best record in baseball for May or the one that limped into the All-Star break, then lost five of six when play resumed, which makes their gravitational pull to a game or so around .500 for three plus weeks fit them just right.

Natch, winning is more fun than losing. But losing while still playing a hard nine, is worth watching.

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Photo Credit: mlb.tv, Stl. Post-Disptach

See ya soon!

~30~