The St. Louis Cardinals have been in a tough spot in the league for the last two years. While they made the postseason from 2019 to 2022, they fell off a cliff in 2023. St. Louis went from 93 wins in 2022 to 71 wins in 2023. The Cardinals did this with a veteran roster and a payroll near $200 million, so fans had every right to be disappointed with the fact that the Cardinals finished below the Cincinnati Reds and Pittsburgh Pirates in 2023.
The 2024 season was much better than the 2023 season, but the Cardinals faithful should still be disappointed. Again, St. Louis had a payroll near $200 million while being buyers at the trade deadline, but they fell short of the postseason and lost Tommy Edman in a trade with the Los Angeles Dodgers.
But after seemingly kickstarting a rebuild this offseason, the Cardinals are off to a shockingly good start this season, yet fans still can't forgive John Mozeliak for the struggles of the last few years.
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St. Louis Cardinals post embarrassing stadium attendance record amid hot start
While the Cardinals are off to a quick start, led by their star third baseman Nolan Arenado, the fan base is hardly supporting the team, especially when compared to years before.
St. Louis swept the Minnesota Twins to open the season, but the seats were half empty for the series finale on Sunday. On Monday, the attendance took an even bigger hit as the Cardinals hosted the Los Angeles Angels.
Katie Woo of The Athletic reported the Cardinals announced attendance for the Monday night game, 21,206, was the lowest announced attendance in Busch Stadium history. If this isn't the Cardinals' fan base sending a message to ownership, then I don't know what is.
St. Louis is seemingly rebuilding this season with Paul Goldschmidt among others walking away in free agency. They're also reportedly shopping Nolan Arenado, though no trade has come to fruition just yet. After being buyers for the last two years, the Cardinals are finally entering a rebuild and it doesn't seem like the fans are very happy about it.
Hopefully this trend doesn't continue in the wrong direction because the Cardinals' roster deserves more from the fanbase regardless of what the front office and Mozeliak are doing.