The St. Louis Cardinals are one of the most iconic franchises in baseball. “The Cardinal Way” was one of the first phrases I learned growing up around the game.
And yet, with the Cardinals’ attendance dwindling by the day, it appears the franchise has lost its way.
The official attendance for the team's three-game weekend series against the New York Yankees, as outlined by Katie Woo of The Athletic: 31,169 on Friday, 33,800 on Saturday and 25,365 on Sunday. Yes, the weather was not good. But that hasn't stopped these fans from packing out Busch Stadium for a marquee matchup in the past. At 61-64, and with the team not having made the postseason since 2022, the fan base is making its voices heard. Loudly.
The best way to get fans back in the seats is to get back to The Cardinal Way. That means investing meaningful resources back into the team. That means getting back to the postseason. That means doing anything necessary to win. And for Chaim Bloom, who will be replacing John Mozeliak in the Cardinals’ front office, that will be no easy task.
For more news and rumors, check out MLB Insider Robert Murray’s work on The Baseball Insiders podcast, subscribe to The Moonshot, our weekly MLB newsletter, and join the discord to get the inside scoop during the MLB season.
Chaim Bloom risks alienating Cardinals fans with lengthy rebuild
The first order of business should be moving Nolan Arenado and the remaining two years and $31 million of his contract. Mozeliak said in the offseason that it was the organization’s Plan A, B and C to move Arenado. They were unsuccessful in doing so, and with Arenado now 34 and declining offensively, that task is now even more difficult for Bloom.
But beyond the Arenado saga, it also means investing in the right players externally and developing players inside your organization.
In recent external acquisitions, Mozeliak has had his hits and misses. Sonny Gray and Willson Contreras have been successes. The Arenado trade was a bust. The Erick Fedde and Tommy Pham trade was a flop with both now no longer with the organization. Steven Matz had mixed results on a four-year, $44 million contract. The list goes on and on.
Mozeliak has assembled a core group of players that Bloom can build around that includes Brendan Donovan, Masyn Winn and Lars Nootbaar. Jordan Walker and Nolan Gorman are two talented young players who have not lived up to their potential, but still have promise.
Where Mozeliak and the Cardinals have failed is not surrounding those players with enough talent or developing them into the players many believed they could be. So it’s not just on Mozeliak: It’s an organizational issue. And it’s up to Bloom to surround himself with the right people to make the right decisions and to get the organization trending in a positive direction.
Given his reputation, Bloom has a very good chance of doing so. He was once the most well-regarded executive in baseball when he was with the Tampa Bay Rays. His time with the Boston Red Sox was short lived, but he built that farm system to be among the best in baseball. His tenure in Boston will always be defined by the Mookie Betts trade and he understands that.
His second chance is coming in St. Louis. Many believe he’ll succeed. And if he does, he’ll get the organization back to The Cardinal Way and into the postseason.