In all sports…and in life… we have our “ups & downs”. But right now, the CARDINALS ARE ON THE WAY BACK!

…Clearly the Cardinals are ON THE WAY BACK.  The gigantic drop off from 2022 to 2023 as the Cards went from 93 wins in 2022 to 74 wins in 2023 caught most, if not all, the fans by surprise. I think that the Cards management & staff were surprised also.  In 2022, the St. Louis Cardinals had a team payroll of $155,378,325. In 2023, their payroll was $153,793,028. So, it was basically the same.

…Cardinals fans have become totally accustomed to winning. They are spoiled by the success. And.. yes the fans have rewarded the management by attending the games in good numbers. From the year 2000 to present, the Cards have won 90 (or more games) in 13 different years.

…The Cardinals have brought in 3+ million fans in attendance for 18 consecutive seasons excluding the pandemic-restricted seasons of 2020 and 2021. That means they met this attendance goal every year from 2003 to 2023. In 2024, they did not reach the 3 million mark for the first time in 18 years.  Cardinal fans are SPOILED.  The Cards were in the playoffs 5 straight years-2011-2015. Then the Cards were in the playoffs for 4 straight seasons—2019-2022. In 2013, the Cards reached the World Series.

… Some fans, probably many, seemed to grow tired of the ownership that seemingly wasn’t willing to go “all in” to compete. Meaning, the Cards weren’t hunting for the super-stars with the enormous salaries in free agency. Fans seemed to arrive to a conclusion the DeWitt family wasn’t willing to go “all in” on players, coaching staff (staff was cut in 2021). Then the comments by Bill DeWitt surrounding ownership not being profitable coupled with a 2023 season that saw only 71 Cardinal wins added fuel to the fire. Currently in 2025, the Cardinals are 19^th of the 30 MLB teams in payroll @ $141+m. We are 2^nd in the NL Central is payroll. The Cubs (currently in 1^st place) who have a payroll of $196+m are 10^th in the MLB team payroll. They are the highest paid team in the NL Central. Are we surprised that the Cubs are in 1^st place?

…Cuts to the Coaching staff in 2020 & 2021 were missed or ignored by most fans. But, you don’t lose experienced, winning coaches like Mike Maddux, Jeff Albert, and Matt Holliday and pay a price. They departed after the 2022 season. It should have been a warning flag to the fans of what was to come for the St. Louis Cardinals. The future looked bleak as many Fans didn’t want to sit though the “ON THE WAY BACK” years.

…All along John Mozeliak indicated that the team realized that they had to “reset”. So, in 2023, when StL landed in the basement of the NL Central for the 1^st time since 1990!! (That’s a long, long time ago) The Cardinals insisted that young players were being developed in the Cardinals Minor league system. Many fans seemed to ignore those words and ignore the “ON THE WAY BACK plan” of turning the roster over to a younger, yes-cheaper, talent of players.

..But, in 2025, the atmosphere looks different. No….we aren’t going to win the World Series this year, but there have been positive changes as the Cards seem to be moving forward  ON THE WAY BACK. Young players are being given lots of playing time. Some are adjusting to different positions as they attempt to find the “right spot” for each of them. These young players are “testing the waters” of the MLB. Many are raising our hopes that we really are on the WAY BACK.

…There are still factors that the Card management must sort out as they take steps ON THE WAY BACK. There already have a couple “locked down” spots.  Maysn Wynn is the everyday SS. He was missed badly while he was injured earlier in 2025. CF Victor Scott II, will use his tremendous speed (13 stolen bases) as a sharp CF and hopefully as a lead-off man daily. He covers lots of ground out there in CF. Alec Burlison holds a .291 average as the club can’t seem to find a way to get him into the daily starting lineup. Where will he play? OF Jordan Walker still struggles at the plate. From a non-professional coach, his swing looks too “long” (way too long) to me. Further, he should practice batting against outside breaking balls (primarily the slider). Just take them to RF.

…The experienced players seem to be playing with higher expectations than their career numbers indicate. Lars Nootbaar, in his 5^th MLB year, is a daily regular (for now). His lifetime record (based on 4+ years in MLB) is .246 average, 10 HR, 34 RBI’s. The 27 year old brings 4 years of experience to share with these young players. Experienced players are required to help the younger players find the WAY BACK from a slump, a serious miscue, etc. The other “veteran” is Brendan Donovan. A very versatile player defensively, his flexibility makes it easier to “work in” different young players into the lineup. He is in his 5^th year in the MLB. His lifetime batting average of .287 is impressive. He’s a good lead-off batter and is durable. In 2024, he played in 153 games! That’s almost unheard of these days. These 2 men, like it or not, are the leaders of the club.

….There is a mess in another part of the team. The Cards have 4 catchers on the roster! The Cardinals traded for catcher Willson Contreras in 2022. At that time one writer wrote “Contreras is perfectly average at the things a catcher can be judged by statistically with the exception of framing. The Cards signed Contreras to a 5-year, $87.5 million contract as a free agent after the 2022 season, coming from the Chicago Cubs. Contreras was obtained by the Card to bring the Cards BACK to playoff baseball. The irony is that he isn’t a catcher any longer for the Cardinals!

…With the Cards, Contreras kept getting hit by the batter’s swing when he was catching. Sooo.. he was moved to 1b for his bat. Remember the Cards let 1b Paul Goldschmidt “go” in free agency.  Btw…last year Goldschmidt batted .245 with 173 strikeouts for the Cardinals. This year, Goldschmidt who’s wearing the NYY uniform, on May 21, he holds a .339 batting average with 32 strikeouts.

…the best hitting catcher on the roster is Ivan Herrera. As I write this he holds a.417 average with 5 HR in 60 at-bats. But…when he’s behind the plate, it’s a different issue. According to Viva El Birdos, Herrara has thrown out only 3 of 48 attempted base stealers in his career. That’s around 7% of the attempts.  Sooo…he’s been relegated to being a DH of late. 

…the other 2 catchers have roles that are hazy at the moment. Pedro Pag’es & Yohel Pozo  are trying to work themselves into a “regular” playing time. Pag’es is the best defensively. Pozo seems to get more AB’s than innings behind the plate. That tells us something. The Catching spot has an abundant number of candidates currently…but not 1 of them is the CLEAR STARTER!

…Staying with the Cardinals, I must confess that Ollie Marmol is doing a wonderful job this season. Naturally, I don’t agree with him on everything…but which 2 individuals agree on EVERYTHING?   But…for the most part he’s turned this team around by using the speed of the team. In fact, the early success of the Cards has put them into a conundrum.  Do they trade or keep their closer, Ryan Helsley? 2/3 months ago it was a “given” that he was a going in a trade. But…with the Cards holding a 27-23 record currently and only 3 games behind the 1^st place Cubs (boy…it’s been awhile since I wrote that!!). We’re not even into June yet so it’s still a long, long road ahead of us!

…An MLB team on the way back is the Detroit Tigers. With the expansion, the reaching the playoffs is much, much easier than it was for decades. Currently, 12 teams (6 from each league). So, 40% of teams reach the playoffs currently. Detroit has not won a playoff game since 2013. Their basically “no name” team is in 1^st place currently. Detroit is “doing it” with their pitching. In the entire MLB, The Tigers are 6^th in team ERA (2.27) in the MLB, 6^th in WHIP (walks+ hits per inning pitched) & 7^th in strikeouts.

…Another team that a took a long, long time in recent MLB history to FIND THEIR WAY BACK  is the Washington Nationals (formerly the Montreal Expos). They had the longest postseason drought in MLB history. They went 30 years without making the playoffs before breaking their drought in 2012. Since their inception in 1969, their drought lasted from 1982-2011.

…Ultimately, COMING ALL THE WAY BACK from last place in one season to the playoffs the next season is a very difficult feat. Yet, it’s been done 3 times!  The 1974 Pirates, the 1995 Reds, and the 2011 Rays all achieved this feat.

…The Cardinals have found THEIR WAY BACK from 1 season to the next often. The largest increase in wins between consecutive seasons for the St. Louis Cardinals is 25 wins. That took place from the 1931 to 1932 seasons.

…Thanks for taking your time to read ON THE WAY BACK. YOUR thoughts are ALWAYS enjoyable to read.(either send to me or post on my Facebook page). Everyone is entitled to their own thoughts & feelings.  Bob