All in all, the Cardinals had a fine spring. Energy, sunshine, youth, the gorgeous facility, quality instruction, a chance to bond, a chance to dream, a sense of adventure, no catastrophic injuries, plenty of good food, lots of good company and a stack of 17 wins in the rehearsal games.
The rebuild is underway, and here comes the regular season. As I typed this on Monday, the first pitch of the Cardinals’ 2026 opener was 3 days, 2 hours, and 45 minutes from now.
By comparison, I’m a helluva lot more interested in the 2026 season compared to the 2025 season, or the 2024 campaign.
As a friend put it: “I don't mind ‘rebuilding years.’ They're intellectually interesting.”
Yes. Many plotlines will take root, and change, and move in various directions. The interweaving through 162 games will offer an early view of what’s up ahead, what’s to come, be it good or bad – or not entirely clear at times.
Except for this: the present will link to the future. And for the first time in a long time in this fabled baseball precinct, the past doesn’t matter … doesn’t matter at all … except for the blessed memories, of course.
I’m referring to the wins and the losses. But there is a way to hook up past and present in a beneficial way. Which I will explain later.
On the field, the 2026 season is all about going forward – even if it’s a struggle – instead of being trapped and immobilized by a history that cannot be matched – not now, not in a few years … or maybe ever.
Cardinals’ ownership has learned a few things during the past several years. It was, as they say, a hard lesson.
It’s risky business to lower the standards. Mythology can sell tickets and merch in large numbers for many years, and a legacy can maintain the healthy revenue level with reassuring consistency. But at some point the rust of mediocrity and failure will set in. That’s when the trouble begins. That’s when it starts to get real hazy and tricky.
And if your team’s marketing pitch is to constantly entice the fans to look back – look to the past, over and over again … to the great stars colorful personalities and extraordinary achievement during a magnificent era of baseball …
Well, what do you think is going to happen? By revisiting the past because current conditions are so dissatisfying, and even disturbing, fans will be reminded of that extraordinary time in a Baseball Camelot.
Which in turn makes them realize the current product stinks and isn’t worthy of their time, or spending, or emotional commitment. And that’s how you lose one million tickets sold to home games over the past two seasons.
I mean, you can only go with so many Aaron Miles or Dennis Reyes Bobblehead Nights … or those meet-and-great autograph sessions with Tyler Lyons and Johnny “Load” Rodriguez – before an increasingly large percentage of the consumers decide to save up for the next Savannah Bananas Tour.
And the customers won’t be lured back to the ballpark by trinkets. They’ll come back – perhaps slowly at first – when the Cardinals begin to create an appealing future instead of clinging to the fading lanterns from the past.
Besides, it will be satisfying to embrace the past when the Cardinals have a team on the field that can proudly stand in the present – and win and win and win – in a way that takes everybody back in time, but for the right reason: St. Louis baseball is alive and strong again.
And we love that. It’s fun to cross the bridge – back and forth – that links the generations. It gives us a chance to celebrate the past and the present. It’s double the pleasure, double the pride, that’s part of being a Cardinals fan.
I was a really young kid when my grandfather took me to a Sunday afternoon game at Sportsman’s Park, and I saw Stan Musial get two hits. And now I’m taking my granddaughter down to Busch Stadium, because we both want to see JJ Wetherholt swing the bat.
That’s St. Louis baseball.
You see, in this baseball market you want the present to be an extension of the past instead of becoming a slap in the face. The reality. The golden days are gone forever … including a team capable of winning another National League pennant.
This is why, at age 67, I am genuinely looking forward to the 2026 season of Cardinals baseball. This franchise can always lean on its remarkable past … but it’s best to cultivate the kind of team that will honor that past. Restore the pride. Restore the passion. And begin to restore the tradition.
As a term, the world “rebuild” isn’t inspiring. But I’m thinking about this in another way:
The Cardinals – finally – have gotten on with the business of moving from curation to creation.
It’s a process, it won’t be easy, and it will take some time. But chairman Bill DeWitt Jr. had a choice to make here:
1. Hire some more museum tour guides and show off and dust off the old trophies …
2. Recruit a talented and innovative architect who will remodel this team with the purposeful design of winning new trophies. The DeWitts went with Chaim Bloom and his Bloomprint.
Excellent decision. Appropriate decision. By hiring Bloom, DeWitt made the first move to return the Cardinals to their esteemed player-development lineage that goes back to Branch Rickey.
That philosophy has always been their North Star. And the past should be used as a navigational tool to guide future decisions. Chaim Bloom frequently hits on that theme, that message. And that’s good. Bloom has discussed his many reflections on Cardinals history and how it motivated him to come to St. Louis. He understands the value of the old world. He operates in the new world.
This is a valuable combination. Instead of viewing the franchise only through the lens of history, Bloom has the other eye focused on modernization. By pairing those two views, he sees the true depth of what the Cardinals must become to win again.
This will be a special opening day because of what it represents in so many ways. It’s the beginning of time for a new generation of Cardinals.
SPRING-TRAINING RECAP
Best Cardinal In Camp: Starting pitcher Matthew Liberatore. He was in command from start to finish. Excellent pitching. So confident and in charge. Libby had an aura that I hadn’t observed before. Here’s how I would describe it: After all of the learning, the ups and downs, this is my time. This is where I’m supposed to be, and I know what to do. Let’s go. And get out the way.
Most Disappointing Cardinal: Jordan Walker, but that’s all I have to say. there’s no reason to pile on. I sincerely hope he figures it out, and puts together a good season.
Best Camp Surprise: Nelson Velazquez. I assumed Chaim Bloom and his staff saw something in this outfielder, still only 27, that motivated them to sign him to a minor-league contract. At Tampa Bay, Bloom was part of a savvy baseball operation that specialized in finding players that had been overlooked, players they could fix. Velazquez fits the profile. He had to fix some really terrible plate discipline to get his career back to solid ground he’s made huge progress in that area. Spring training or not, it’s damn impressive when a dude (with real power) comes into camp on a minor-league contract and does this among Cardinals that had 25 plate appearances down in Florida: lead the team in homers, RBIs, hits, total bases, slugging percentage, OPS, and walk rate. And he reached base more than any Cardinal. With a sharpened eye for the strike zone, Velasquez struck out in only 8 percent of his plate appearances and had an awesome 14% walk rate.
Second Biggest Camp Surprise: Bloom sent Velazquez packing. He’ll open the season in Memphis. So much for “competing” for a job. As it turns out there was no competition, despite what Bloom and Marmol might say. Defense first? Yes. Except in right field.
Best Source Of Optimism: Nolan Gorman looked like a different kind of hitter this spring. Calm, confident, poised at the plate, more selective. Gorman struck out only 17 percent of the time in spring games, and conjured a 15 percent walk rate for a .370 on-base percentage. The smack was there; while cranking a .564 slugging percentage Gorman hit three homers and tied Velazquez for the team lead with five extra-base hits. Can the “new” Gorman keep it up? Well, the season starts Thursday. Answers will come.
Best 1st impression: Starting pitcher Dustin May. This right-hander looked righteous. He looked strong. He had presence. His body and psyche were healed. A positive spring-training showing was a plus for a guy who endured so much breakage and disappointment as a top prospect that crashed.
Best Confirmation Of What We Already Knew: JJ Wetherholt is very talented and charismatic, has the ability to become a leader of men, showed off an advanced hitting approach, and on Monday was officially placed on the 26-man MLB roster to open the season. Cardinals fans will love him. I hope Wetherholt bats leadoff Thursday in what would be a symbolic moment: the first plate appearance of the 2026 season … which means leading off the next generation of Cardinals baseball.
Best Coming Attraction: Joshua Baez. The 22-year old outfielder, certainly made a lasting impression. In the Grapefruit League setting, Baez pummeled pitchers for a .333 average, .417 OBP and .762 slug. He whomped three homers and added a fourth in the separate “2026 Spring Breakout” game against the Nationals prospects. His 112.7 mph homer carried the Cardinals to a 9-8 win. I’ll stick with my prediction, made before camp, that Baez would be in the Cardinals’ starting outfield combing out of the annual All-Star Break. Shoot, he may crack the St. Louis lineup before that. The reviews were glowing about his professionalism and maturity and enthusiasm for coaching to make himself better. Great draft pick in 2021 by Randy Flores.
Most Underrated Player: Outfielder Nathan Church. He’s a lot better than you probably assume and fits into Bloom’s plan to cultivate a roster of hitters that possess high contact rates and are well versed in situational hitting. The situational hitting will be a big priority for manager Oli Marmol in 2026, and Church is a match for the assignment. Playing at Double A and Triple A combined last season, Church had a 94.3 percent contact rate on strikes, an overall contact rate of 90%, and struck out only 9.6% percent of the time. I mean, who does that? In 164 total outfield innings for the Cardinals last summer, Church had five defensive runs saved and a Fielding Run Value of 4. Those are exceptional marks for such limited playing time. He plays all three outfield spots with skill and grace. Church did his thing in spring-training games, batting .289 with an elevated .413 OBP and .447 slug. He generated a level of offense that was 44 percent above league average – and was the exact same rate that he put up at Triple A last season.
Extra point: Church absolutely deserved to make the opening-day roster, but this also reaffirms how much the president of baseball ops and manager love the dude. And clearly the Cardinals are 100 percent committed to a defense-first policy again in 2026. Unless, of course, it applies to Herrera at catcher.
Worst Media-Concocted Narrative: The Cardinals need veteran leaders! The Cards need to bring in an old guy to teach the children! OH MY GOSH what are they gonna do with all of these kid ballplayers running around in that clubhouse! Need a leader!!!
Chaim Bloom and Marmol reacted to this bizarre media obsession in the same way:
No, we do not need to bring in a leader. We want our young guys to develop as leaders and take ownership of this club, and run with it. We believe in them. We do not need babysitters. Please shut up now, media. Thank you.
(I’m paraphrasing.)
Most overblown: leadership
Biggest Overreaction: This was another forced episode of peculiar media hysteria. When Bloom traded rookie reliever Andre Granillo to the Nationals for the young veteran reliever George Soriano, my peoples had a fit. Granillo has minor-league options left! Soriano doesn’t have any options remaining so the Cardinals could lose him on waivers if they try to send him to the minors! Chaim Bloom screwed up!
Bloom didn’t make a mistake. Bloom and associates have been monitoring Soriano for a while now, and even tried (and failed) to claim him on waivers. They had a pitch-mix change and were confident it would work. It definitely worked during exhibition games; Soriano didn’t allow an earned run and blasted hitters for a strikeout rate of 37 percent. Bloom got his guy.
Trust the process? Yes, unless you’re Nelson Velazquez.
Best Troll Job: That would be Chaim Bloom, who extended Oli Marmol’s contract on March 1. This 100 percent expected announcement set off a crazed feeding frenzy among the Marmol haters who desperately held out hope for the manager’s sacking. Though this wasn’t his intention, Bloom ignited a fake-outrage convention on “X” and it was highly entertaining.
Thanks for reading …
–Bernie
Bernie was inducted into the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame in 2023. During a St. Louis sports-media career that goes back to 1985, he’s won multiple national awards for column writing and sports-talk hosting – and was the lead sports columnist at the Post-Dispatch from 1989 through 2015. Before that Bernie spent a year at the Dallas Morning News, covering the Dallas Cowboys during Tom Landry’s final season (1988) plus the sale of the team to Jerry Jones and the hiring of Jimmy Johnson as coach. Bernie has covered several Baseball Hall of Fame managers during his media career including Tony La Russa, Whitey Herzog, Earl Weaver, Joe Torre and (as an interim) Red Schoendienst. In his career as a beatwriter and columnist, Bernie covered Pro Football Hall of Fame coaches Joe Gibbs, Tom Landry, Jimmy Johnson and Dick Vermeil on a daily basis.
Bernie has covered and written about many great St. Louis sports team athletes including Albert Pujols, Kurt Warner, Brett Hull, Yadier Molina, Adam Wainwright, Jim Edmonds, Marshall Faulk, Scott Rolen, Mark McGwire, Orlando Pace, Isaac Bruce, Torry Holt, Adam Wainwright, Chris Carpenter, Al MacInnis, Brian Sutter, Bernie Federko, Chris Pronger, Dan Dierdorf, Jackie Smith and Aeneas Williams. Bernie covered every baseball Cardinals’ postseason game from 1996 through 2014 and was there to chronicle teams that won four NL pennants and two World Series. He provided extensive coverage on the “Greatest Show” St. Louis Rams and has written extensively on the St. Louis Blues, Saint Louis U, and Mizzou football and basketball. Bernie was/is a longtime voter for the Baseball Hall of Fame, Pro Football Hall of Fame, Heisman Trophy and the St. Louis Cardinals Hall of Fame.
You can access his columns, videos and the podcast version of the videos here on STL Sports Central, catch him regularly on KMOX (AM or FM) as part of the Gashouse Gang, Sports Rush Hour, Sports Open Line or Sports On a Sunday Morning shows. And you can catch weekly “reunion” segments here at STL Sports Central featuring Bernie and his longtime friend Randy Karraker.