The St. Louis Cardinals Have a Serious Marketing Problem

You don’t need me to tell you that the St. Louis Cardinals have a lot of roster issues to figure out. That’s been well documented, but there’s also a mammoth problem that the team has with marketing. How do you sell this team to the fans moving forward?

According to Baseball Reference, here’s the St. Louis Cardinals home attendance for the past 4 seasons:

2022 – 3,320,551

2023 – 3,241,091

2024 – 2,878,115

2025 – 2,250,007

Any guesses on what 2026 attendance will be like for the Cardinals? Based on the current trajectory, it’s possible we could see less than 2 million fans in Busch Stadium for the first time in its existence not including the pandemic season. With all of the uncertainty about the 2026 roster, how would you like to be in the St. Louis Cardinals marketing department? The Cardinals lack star power and that situation doesn’t look to improve for the 2026 season. It’s almost a foregone conclusion that the team’s only all-star Brendan Donovan will be traded before Spring Training and Nolan Arenado is still expected to be moved.

I think that President of Baseball Operations Chaim Bloom is doing a fine job with the trades he’s made so far and the restructuring and modernization of the minor league system. Frankly, I wish he had taken over a year earlier instead of the treading water approach of the final John Mozeliak year. The problem is that a lot of what Chaim has accomplished is hard to explain to the casual baseball fan and, like it or not, that’s a crowd that the Cardinals need to get the right messaging to also. The fact that you’re here likely means you fully understand what Bloom and team are trying to do. The less hardcore baseball crowd doesn’t get it and that’s an attendance problem. I knew the Cardinals had an issue when I noticed many on social media reacting to the Gray and Contreras trades with sadness and many commented on the “salary dump” the team was executing without any acknowledgement of the long-term good the incoming prospects could mean for the team.

Let me answer a question or a thought you’re probably having. Why do we care about the casual fan? We are the community of Viva El Birdos. Let me share something for your consideration. In my other life, I have worked in the radio industry for nearly 43 years. I learned from one of my early mentors that only 7% of the audience will ever directly interact with you. Only that small fraction of the total audience will ever call the radio station or enter a contest. To truly win as a radio station, you have to win over the 93% while also taking care of the 7% that are active with your station. I believe the same applies to baseball organizations like the St. Louis Cardinals. Yes, we the Viva El Birdos community are the 7% that completely understands why the moves made by Chaim Bloom are positive, but it’s the 93% that also have to be won over to this rebuild process. The Cardinals need the revenue from that majority to succeed.

How can the Cardinals market the 2026 season to the fanbase now that the word “rebuild” has been uttered by management? There are two options. The easiest in-house possibility is to have breakout seasons from up and coming talent like JJ Wetherholt assuming he makes the major league roster this year. Could it be that Masyn Wynn could become the face of the franchise? Alec Burleson having another Silver Slugger year would help. The addition of Dustin May could put some fans in seats if he has a rebound season, too. I would bring up the possibility that Jordan Walker and/or Nolan Gorman figure out their problems and catch fire and have impressive years, but that’s both unlikely and a highly unpopular opinion.

I think the most intriguing thing that I’ve heard Chaim Bloom talk about is the desire to bring in a veteran presence if he finds the right fit especially right-handed outfield and/or infield bats. There’s been much discussion about high-profile free agents like Bo Bichette. I still find it hard to believe that the Cardinals are looking to offer a 5 or 6-year deal at this point, but there’s no doubt that a player like Bichette would give the team the star power it so badly needs. The type of veteran presence I expect the Cardinals to sign is of the 1 or 2-year variety. Those are normally not the type of players that put fans in the stands. I don’t see any free agents that fit that mold that will really make the 2026 season compelling. My hope is that Team Bloom understands the marketing challenge they face as much as they get the importance of rebuilding the farm system. Could they be silently going after a significant free agent that the team can build around? I’m not convinced the Cardinals will be a bad team in 2026 and could easily overachieve if enough young players have a solid season. But, I do think the fanbase really does need a name to rally around. I hope the new management team can convince a star to embrace their vision. Otherwise, there will be even more empty seats in Busch Stadium in 2026 than there were in 2025.