Bernie’s Redbird Review: Remember When Busch Stadium Used To Be The Happiest Ballpark On Earth? It’s A Sad Place Now.

THE REDBIRD REVIEW

This made the rounds on social media, and there were many tweets and retweets. The words caused quite a stir among the locals. But in case you didn’t hear or see it, here’s the deal …

Two terrific San Diego team broadcasters were stunned by the sparse gathering at Busch Stadium on Monday night for the opener of the Padres-Cards series.

Analyst Mark Grant: “I’ll be honest with you. I want to get this right out of the way. We are in St. Louis, Busch Stadium. This is not the Busch Stadium I am used to. Late August, early September, usually it’s packed, the Redbirds are in the race. It’s a different vibe here.”

Play-by-play man Don Orsillo: “It’s shocking.”

Grant: “It is shocking.”

Orsillo: “Not used to this (here), not ever.”

After an on-field report about how well the Padres have played on the road this season under Mike Shildt, Orsillo went back to what broadcasters were seeing – and not quite believing – at Busch Stadium.

“A lot of those road games were played in hostile settings,” Orsillo said. “And this used to be one, heading into it.  It was a tough place to play, certainly. It’s not the case right now, and I’m not sure why that is. The Cards are not out of it (the playoff race) by any means, either, at this stage of the year. But the fans have just not been coming out.”

The Cardinals are mathematically conscious in the wild-card race, sure. But any remaining optimism is expiring quickly. The reality is stark and dark.

FanGraphs gives St. Louis a 1.9 percent chance of qualifying for the postseason.

I appreciated what Orsillo and Grant had to say. They’ve been around for a long time. They’ve done games in every MLB baseball venue. And like virtually all visiting-team broadcasters, they are accustomed to seeing Busch filled with the roiling red sea of animated and boisterous fans. It was quite the spectacle. Colorful and cheerful and loud. The enthusiasm level seldom waned.

For decades, the St. Louis baseball setting has received a constant flow of admiration and praise from every broadcaster that has spent time here. Busch Stadium is one of the most celebrated places in the majors.

What I’m seeing now makes me sad. Depressed.

I covered the Cardinals up close for many years as a columnist at the Post-Dispatch and STLtoday. I have so many electric memories, I can’t recite them all.

Think about the greatness we’ve witnessed. Think about the extraordinary experiences at both Busch Stadiums, the latter ballpark opening in 2006. The first memorable adventure was the Mark McGwire show in 1998 and 1999. He hit 135 home runs over two seasons including his then-record 70 bombs in ‘98. The fans returned to the nest to root for the big man and the home team.

From 2000 through 2015, the Cardinals led the National League and were second overall to the Yankees in regular-season winning percentage.

The Cardinals qualified for the postseason 11 times, competed in the most postseason games (125) and won the most postseason games (65.) From 2000 through 2014, the Cardinals won four NL pennants, two World Series and reached the NLCS nine times.

Both Busch Stadium models were October hubs for postseason ball. From 2000 through 2015, St. Louis hosted more postseason games than any National League team. And the two Busch Stadiums were the locations for just as many home postseason games (60) as the two Yankee Stadiums.

Over those 16 seasons, no MLB franchise won more postseason home games than the St. Louis Cardinals. The Redbirds went 38-22 in postseason games at the two Busch Stadiums for a phenomenal .633 winning percentage. And the fans loved all of it.

Think about the Hall of Famers on display for the home team at both Busch Stadiums. Cooperstown Hall of Famers, franchise Hall of Famers, future Hall of Famers and a legendary Hall of Fame manager.

Albert Pujols, Yadier Molina, Tony La Russa, Adam Wainwright, Chris Carpenter, Jim Edmonds, Scott Rolen, Matt Holliday, Matt Morris, Jason Isringhausen, David Freese, Edgar Renteria, Larry Walker, Carlos Beltran, Matt Carpenter, Lance Berkman. And there are others I want to mention: Jason Motte, David Eckstein,, Michael Wacha, Darryl Kile, Woody Williams, Jeff Suppan, Trevor Rosenthal. On and on and on …

And now all we have left are the echoes. The spirits of what used to be. The scenes at Busch Stadium in 2024 are unfathomable. Empty red seats all over the place. Fans that buy tickets and don’t use them. For a lot of home games in recent weeks, the Cardinals had several record-low “announced” crowds for the newer Busch Stadium … but according to people in the know at Busch Stadium, the count of folks who were actually in the ballpark was more like 15,000 to 17,000 to 20,000.

Not counting the pandemic-disrupted seasons of 2020 and 2021, the Cardinals have drawn at least 3 million in annual home attendance in 23 of the previous 24 years. (The exception: 2.9 million in 2003.)

Going back to 2000, the Cardinals have been first or second in NL home attendance 11 times, third eight times, and fourth three times.

This season the Redbirds are sixth among 15 National League teams in total home-game attendance, based on tickets sold. And they’re unlikely to hit 3 million in home attendance for the first time since ‘03.

Why?

Many reasons.

Here’s my list:

1) Losing is a drag. The Cardinals had only one postseason-series triumph over the past nine seasons. And after the 2024 season that almost certainly will be updated to one postseason-series victory in 10 seasons. The Cardinals are 5-14 in the playoffs since 2015. St. Louis had a woeful 71-91 record last season, and could end 2024 with a second straight losing record in a full schedule-year since 1958-1959.

2) Fans are fed up over ownership’s commitment to winning, based on payroll size. That’s a hot-button issue. In my opinion the Cardinals spend enough money to have an outstanding ballclub, but make too many mistakes to pull it off. Their payroll ranking this year (12th) is just about the same as 2006 and 2011, when the Cardinals won the World Series, both times, with the No. 11 payroll.

3) Fans are disillusioned with chairman Bill DeWitt Jr.’s loyalty to president of baseball operations John Mozelak and the owner’s seeming reluctance to make major changes in the baseball sector of the franchise. This leads to familiar accusations of complacency.

With Mozeliak in charge of the baseball department, the Cardinals won 31 postseason games over four seasons, 2011 through 2014. But as I mentioned earlier in this piece, the Cards had five postseason wins over the past nine years. In that vein, the decline is staggering.

4) Mozeliak Fatigue: I’m not trying to pile on “Mo” here, but the situation is blatantly obvious; Mozeliak himself has acknowledged this. The fan base is burned out on Mozeliak. Mozeliak is responsible for every aspect of the team’s performance, and the Cardinals have slipped terribly in many areas. There are too many payroll mistakes, wasted money, and half-measure steps that don’t really solve the problem. Drafting and developing pitching has been a failure, but that seems to be improving. Overly hyped young hitters continue to flop. The trends aren’t good, and the slip-sliding trends in performance confirm that. Mozeliak has hired three managers since La Russa retired after winning the 2011 World Series. Depending on several factors, the Cardinals may be searching for a fourth manager after the season. And fans remained steamed over Moeliak’s decision to fire Mike Shildt.

5) Manager Oli Marmol is unpopular. I think more discerning fans understand that the organization’s issues are more serious and consequential than anything that has to do with the manager – but this is a guilt-by-association thing. Marmol is attached to Mozeliak for a simple reason: because the president of baseball ops hired Marmol after sacking an award-winning manager (Shildt) who led the Cardinals to the playoffs in his three consecutive years as the manager from the start to the finish of a season: 2019, 2020, 2021. (I have empathy for Marmol, but I don’t think many of you care about that. I understand.) Adding to the fan base anger and frustration was Mozeliak’s curious decision to give Marmol a two-year contract extension in spring training after saying he wouldn’t do that – preferring to wait and see how the 2024 season played out.

6) The messaging is poor. From Bill DeWitt Jr., to Bill DeWitt III, to Mozeliak … I’m sorry, but these gentlemen say too many things that aggravate fans who already are annoyed enough to stay away from Busch Stadium. This franchise needs a public-relations specialist to improve the message. The Cardinals have to stop alienating fans with terrible messaging. Give them more of a reason to give you another chance — more of a reason to like you. Don’t keep making a bad situation worse.

7) The 2024 Cardinals are a boring team without a true, radiant star. I’m not trying to sideswipe Nolan Arenado or Paul Goldschmidt here, but their best years are in the past, and Goldy probably won’t be back in 2025. Jordan Walker and Nolan Gorman were supposed to develop into the next-generation stars, but … never mind. Masyn Winn is an emerging star but he has a way to go. Bottom line: the Cardinals don’t have players that motivate ambivalent or casual fans to buy tickets.

Other than wanting to enjoy a sociable day or night at the ballpark, what’s the attraction? Among the 15 NL teams, the Cardinals rank 14th in runs per game, 12th in home runs and have left the third-highest number of runners on base. And only four NL teams are allowing more runs per game than St. Louis. Sorry to mix my sports, but this isn’t exactly run-run-run Whiteyball or the Greatest Show On (Real) Turf.

8) The home-field advantage is gone. Part of the appeal of coming to the home ballpark is having the chance to cheer for a team that regularly piles up wins and sends the customers home happy. The Cardinals were able to do that for a long time – which created a standard of high expectations – so when the home-field dominance ends, it’s a bummer for fans. The St. Louis Cardinals aren’t supposed to be an easy mark for visiting teams.

And then this happened:

– STL home win percentage, 2011-2022:  .590, second in the NL and third in the majors:

– STL home win percentage, 2023-2024:  .473, tied for 11th in the NL and 21st overall. Cardinal fans can’t leave the ballpark feeling happy after every home game, but … this? The Cardinals no longer intimidate visitors. Hell, the Chicago White Sox (record: 31-101) won two out of three games at Busch Stadium earlier this season.

9) Uneasiness over coming to downtown St. Louis to see the Cardinals play. Exaggerated or not, the fear of crime is real, and that isn’t good for the baseball business. Or the Cardinals’ Ballpark Village business. Or other businesses near Busch Stadium. Why venture downtown to see a boring team lose so many games?

10) The cost of attending baseball isn’t cheap. The Cardinals do a good job of offering discounted ticket prices, coming up with special promotions, and providing other incentives. And even though the U.S. economy is doing well in a broader sense, that doesn’t mean it’s an easy time for those who have less discretionary income, and are paying higher prices for essentials including groceries. And when a team is bad, and consumers are making more cautious, discretionary decisions, the Cardinals will feel the impact.

I’m sure I left some things out that you may have put on the list. Unfortunately, I think we’ll have multiple opportunities to talk about this subject again.

Hey, I want to see Busch Stadium filled again. Baseball in this town is supposed to be fun and familial and an ongoing celebration of the game and the team we love. But the relationship is damaged, and it’s up to the Cardinals to repair it and motivate the fans to come back to Busch Stadium. It’s a shame the Cardinals let such a strong and beautiful thing fade. This franchise has a lot of hard work to do.

Thanks for reading …

–Bernie

A 2023 inductee into the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame, Bernie has provided informed opinions and perspective on St. Louis sports through his columns, radio shows and podcasts since 1985.

Please check out the new Bernie Miklasz Show channel on YouTube. Please subscribe.

Here’s the link: @TheBernieShow

Please follow Bernie on X @b_miklasz and Threads @miklaszb

For weekly Cards talk, listen to the “Seeing Red” podcast with Will Leitch and Miklasz. It’s available on Apple, Spotify, or where you get your podcasts. Follow @seeingredpod on X for a direct link.

Stats used in my baseball columns are sourced from FanGraphs, Baseball Reference, Statcast, StatHead, Baseball Savant, Baseball Prospectus, Brooks Baseball Net, and Sports Info Solutions unless otherwise noted.