Cardinals president threatens fans over calls for boycott

The St. Louis Cardinals are in unprecedented territory. The team went 71-91 last season to finish below .500 for the first time in a full season since 2007. It was their worst record in a 162-game season since 1990.

They had hoped to rebound from that miserable season in 2024, but have gotten off to a brutal 15-23 start. Their rotation remains abysmal, and their lineup has been among the league's worst which is not what anyone expected when looking at the talent.

Cardinals fans are fed up, and rightfully so. They expect better. Some fans have gone as far as to suggest boycotting the team until changes are made. If indeed some sort of boycott does take place, that won't sit well with team president Bill DeWitt III.

Cardinals boycott won't bring changes fans are hoping for

Some Cardinals fans have come up with the idea of not showing up to try and show ownership that their recent stretch of losing is unacceptable. DeWitt laughs at that "illogical" idea.

"We just turn this revenue machine into a payroll machine. I mean, that's what this is in this business. We try and drive as much revenue as we can and then it gets put onto the field for the most part."

DeWitt is essentially saying that their payroll all depends on revenue. The more that they make, the more they can invest in payroll. If fans stop showing up, they won't make as much in revenue. If they don't make as much in revenue, they're going to make cuts.

"If you look at the revenue rankings in MLB, for the most part, with a few rare exceptions, your ranking in revenue, translates into your ranking in payroll. That's been true for the Cardinals for many, many years. We have been around 10th out of 30, and that's where our payroll has been. We try and drive as much additional revenue as we can so we can drive up the rankings because we know there's a correlation between payroll and winning. We don't want to have to tank for five years to get good draft picks."

First, let's discuss DeWitt's payroll claims. While the Cardinals have been around the top ten in payroll, they haven't been within the top 10 since 2021 when they were ninth in the luxury tax payroll according to Spotrac. They're 14th this season. That, when the Cardinals are consistently among the league-leaders in attendance, feels low.

Another issue with what DeWitt had to say is he doesn't seem to understand why Cardinals fans are upset. While there's reason to believe that the team can spend more, the fanbase is more upset about how the funds are being spent.

The Cardinals had a major need in their rotation. The Cardinals signed Sonny Gray. Good. They also signed Lance Lynn and Kyle Gibson. Less good. Yes, Lynn and Gibson have pitched better than expected so far this season, but will that really last? The Cardinals gave them a combined $22 million. They could've spent that money and thrown in a bit more to get a frontline starter to pair with Gray at the top of their rotation.

Cardinals fans are more upset with the organization's lack of accountability with people like John Mozeliak and Oli Marmol, who continue to prove they should not be in their respective positions more than they're upset at the payroll situation.

It's a tough spot to be in for fans who know that they need to go to the ballpark for ownership to show willingness when it comes to spending money, but they have no reason to trust that the money will go to anything useful.

Refusing to show up and having the organization tank might be the only way changes will actually be made in this organization that is trending in the wrong direction.