Recapturing their historic culture is part of Cardinals’ strategy for a 2024 rebound
Depending on the viewpoint of the person you engage with in the winding hallways of the Opryland Convention Center, the well-worn myths around the “Cardinal Way” is either a punchline or an object of reverence.
For all of their attempts to consciously distance themselves from a stodgy image that may have quietly limited their appeal to some players, the decision makers in St. Louis found themselves reflecting on the 2023 season with a realization that they’d gotten away from many of the things which had underlaid their prior successes.
Some of those issues are not correctable, relics of time and people gone by. Some, the Cardinals believe, can be reclaimed, and the shape of their offseason to date highlights their desire to lean back in that direction.
“That’s been something that we’ve been conscious of, yeah, for sure,” President of Baseball Operations John Mozeliak said from the team’s working suite on Monday evening. “A big part of that roster churn is [to] go out, new voices, new opportunities, and we’ll see how that plays out. But I think from a just overall cultural point of view, I do feel like these three guys have a chance to really help shape where we are.”
The three guys in question are starters Sonny Gray, Kyle Gibson and Lance Lynn, added in the preceding weeks in an attempt to make and remake a starting rotation which bottomed the club out to its worst record since 1990. Lynn, drafted and developed through the system and dyed in the red wool with some of its foremost backers, will provide an instant boost of connectivity.
So too will Gray and Gibson, pursued for their skill sets but also for what they bring from their own connections, which have long orbited if not intersected directly with the Cardinals.
“I believe in the culture,” Gray said last week during his introductory press conference. “I believe in the fans, I believe in the city. I believe in the traditions that have been created here.
“You’ve got a strong culture. You’ve got an incredibly strong foundation. You’ve got good people. I believe the winning culture is still here. It just didn’t happen last year, but I believe that it’s still here and it’s been here for a long time.”
Perhaps the most tangible way in which the Cardinals are attempting to reach back into that bag is through bringing on Yadier Molina in an as-yet-undefined role with the organization. Mozeliak confirmed Monday what Molina told media outlets in Puerto Rico last week – the soon-to-be Hall of Fame catcher won’t have an everyday role on the staff owing to family obligations, but will be an official advisor who spends time in various capacities and at various levels, with specific details soon to be ironed out.
Even in its nascency, it’s a delicate balance to strike.
With Oliver Marmol entering the final year of his contract and the team coming off a disaster, finding a way to get the most from Molina without allowing his considerable shadow to loom over the coming season will be a priority. Last season’s calamitous handling of Willson Contreras is evidence both that the Cardinals didn’t fully understand themselves the scope of Molina’s contributions, and that they were rudderless in attempting to course correct in the wake of his departure.
“I think we were a little bit naive,” Mozeliak said, “meaning management, in terms of, like, you had Yadi for 19 years and we kind of…sort of…we just…did it, right? Now we realize there’s other things we need to be investing our time with, and how we prepare and how we think about things.
“We probably should have just maybe kept [Contreras’s adjustment] more in house at first, not made any rash decisions that got out publicly. I think we probably could’ve had a little smoother transition in that. Lesson learned, but now I think like, you know, everybody involved understands.”
It’s unclear whether that lesson was learned immediately after embarrassing a player in whom they had five years invested in favor of those who would be Cardinals for less than five more months or if it took more time, but it is at least an indication of moving in the right direction that team leadership is able to identify such a brightly painted and easily avoidable landmine.
To have Contreras looped back in and confident in the decision making – his preparation and engagement with new starters has already begun – is another key piece of correcting a transition which got off to an inarguably poor start. Tying back some of those threads to the past will assist as well. Mozeliak expressed a desire for significant figures like Ted Simmons and Ozzie Smith to have an increased role at the ballpark and to be proactive in making up for the losses, where they can, of significant figures who have passed away in recent years.
For some, it may read as maudlin. For the Cardinals, leadership sees importance in progress that happens on a path they have tread with more confident footing.
“All of us that have been around this organization for the last 25, 30 years, that was kind of the romantic side of being a Cardinal,” Mozeliak said. “I think that’s one of the special things about the Cardinals. Their rich history, and that guys do want to come around.”
It’s incumbent on him and his group to ensure those ties do not fray any further.
This story was originally published December 6, 2023 at 6:30 AM.
