Cardinals attendance has taken a major hit, and it could impact winter spending

It's tough to blame Cardinals fans are not remaining optimistic about the baseball team in St. Louis, especially as they fall further back in the NL Wild Card race. The NL Central is all but out of reach, regardless of how the final game of the Cards series against the Milwaukee Brewers goes.

St. Louis spent on pitching last winter, with John Mozeliak selling to fans that the team was just a few dependable veteran arms away from making it back to the postseason. While the Cards peaked around the trade deadline, which convinced them to acquired Chicago White Sox starting pitcher Erick Fedde and old friend Tommy Pham, they haven't improved much since.

The Cardinals are five games back of the final NL Wild Card spot, behind the San Francisco Giants and New York Mets, all of whom are chasing the suddenly-hot Atlanta Braves. With this in mind, the club could use all the support they can get, but even compared to last year's lowly display, Cardinals fans have had enough.

Cardinals fans aren't flocking to the ballpark these days

Tuesday's loss to the Milwaukee Brewers may have been a low point of the season. Not only did St. Louis lose, but just over 30,000 fans were in attendance, a surprisingly-limited number for a divisional rivalry. The Cardinals have only reached the 40,000 attendance plateau in 16 of 62 home games so far this season. For some teams, that'd be fine and expected, but the Cards are not one of those teams.

Cardinals fans are among the most passionate in baseball. For better or worse, they always make their voices heard, even when they're not at the ballpark. St. Louis ranks seventh in overall attendance this season -- nothing to be ashamed of for most organizations -- but it's a steep fall from fourth in 2023. St. Louis is averaging 4,000 less paid fans per game this season. All of that has an impact on the books.

It's tough to blame Cardinals fans for their support level, or lack thereof. Oli Marmol and John Mozeliak aren't the most exciting pairing and often provide more reasons for angst than enthusiasm for supporters. St. Louis made some high-priced additions, but then got off to another subpar start, thus taking the wind out of their sails in April. Sure, the Cards bounced back, and for a brief while there all was right for the Redbirds...until it wasn't.

While I'm sure ownership will make changes, if they fail to add the necessary pieces to make the Cardinals an NL Central frontrunner in 2025, fans can look no further than the attendance numbers as one of many reasons why. Investment goes both ways, fair or not.