The presence of the Cardinals has had a major impact and could affect winter spending

It’s hard to blame Cardinals fans for not staying optimistic about the St. Louis baseball team. Louis, especially as they move further back in the NL Wild Card race. The NL Central is almost within reach regardless of how the final game of the Cards’ series against the Milwaukee Brewers goes.

St. Louis spent last winter on the loose, and John Mozeliak sold fans that the team was just a few reliable veteran weapons away from returning to the postseason. While the Cards peaked around the trade deadline, which convinced them to acquire starting pitcher Erick Fedde and old friend Tommy Pham from the Chicago White Sox, they haven’t gotten much better since then.

The Cardinals are five games out of the final NL Wild Card spot behind the San Francisco Giants and New York Mets, all of whom are trailing the Atlanta Braves. With that in mind, the club could use all the support it can get, but even compared to last year’s modest showing, Cardinals fans are fed up.

Tuesday’s loss to the Milwaukee Brewers might have been a low point of the season. Not only that St. Louis lost, but just over 30,000 fans were in attendance, a surprisingly small 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 would be fine and to be expected, but the Cards are not one of those teams.

Cardinals fans are among the most passionate in baseball. For better or for worse, they always make their voices heard, even when they’re not in the stadium. St. Louis ranks seventh overall this season — nothing to be ashamed of for most organizations — but that’s a steep drop from fourth in 2023.St. Louis is averaging 4,000 fewer paying fans per game this season. All of these have an impact on the books.

It’s hard to fault Cardinals fans for their level of support, or lack thereof. Oli Marmol and John Mozeliak are not the most exciting pairing and often provide more cause for concern than excitement for supporters. St. Louis made some high-priced additions, but then got off to another poor start, taking the wind out of his sails in April. Sure enough, the cards came back and for a short while all was well for the Redbirds…until it wasn’t.

While I’m sure ownership will make changes, if they can’t add the pieces needed to make the Cardinals an NL Central leader in 2025, fans can look no further than attendance numbers as one of the many reasons. Investments go both ways, fair or not.