Cardinals fans show John Mozeliak they’re fed up in one way he’ll feel it

Amid a slide out of postseason contention, the St. Louis Cardinals are setting records this week, but not the kind they'd like to celebrate.

Tuesday at Busch Stadium III saw the lowest attendance since the ballpark opened in 2006 in a non-pandemic setting — 30,022.

Then on Wednesday, in a game in which Nolan Arenado launched a walk-off grand slam, the team managed to break even that dubious mark, as fan turnout hit a new all-time non-pandemic low of 29,580 fans.

The drop is completely understandable as the hopes for playoff baseball for Oliver Marmol's men continue to dimmish by the day. Only the Pittsburgh Pirates and rival Chicago Cubs have a lower team OPS in the National League since the All-Star break than the Cardinals.

Per Baseball Reference, St. Louis has brought in the seventh-highest fan attendance in MLB during 2024 — 36,431. It has drawn above its average just once so far this month, a 2-1 defeat to the Los Angeles Dodgers.

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Cardinals Nation is speaking volumes through its absence, as fans express their discontent

The Cardinals' attendance woes aren't limited to these two games. Compared to 2023, when the franchise boasted the fourth-highest attendance in baseball, this season has seen an average decline of 3,582 fans per game. 2024 is the first year St. Louis hasn't been among MLB's top-five in attendance numbers on average since 2012.

After buying at the trade deadline, not much has gone according to plan for the Missouri outfit.

“I just don’t think we’ve played up to our expectations, as far as how we plan. We’re trying to mix and match and figure out how we can get someone hot," said John Mozeliak, the President of Baseball Operations for St. Louis, per MLB.com. "Ultimately, that’s all we can do at this point. But it’s definitely not what we’ve envisioned."

Arenado's heroics can't mask the harsh truth. The statistics tell a sobering story. Since shifting to a "buyer" strategy at the deadline, the team's performance has plummeted. What was once a manageable five-game deficit behind the division leader has ballooned to a daunting 11-game gap since July 31.

For the second year running, it's looking more and more likely that the city of St. Louis won't witness postseason baseball.