Fans brave cold and snow for first Winter Warmup look at Cardinals rebuild
When Chaim Bloom took to the stage at Ballpark Village to answer questions from fans of the St. Louis Cardinals, he was asked about recently designated-for-assignment outfielder Matt Koperniak, before he was asked about consensus top prospect and likely Opening Day second baseman JJ Wetherholt.
It was not, Bloom admitted, a square he might have had on his bingo card, but it is one befitting the traditional energy of the weekend.
Winter Warm-Up got underway at Busch Stadium and its adjacent retail complex Saturday amid plummeting temperatures and a freak, intense snow squall, as is tradition for the event. That did not deter hordes of Cardinals fans from lining up well before the gates opened for their winter tonic—a taste of baseball—and for many around the team, it served as proof positive that a frustrated fan base is not one that will stay away from the ballpark for long.
“I actually stayed across the way here last night, and I woke up this morning, and I look outside the balcony and there’s huge lines coming out of the stadium, which was really cool,” manager Oli Marmol said. “It’s cool to see that there’s real excitement around our young group.”
As player after player stopped in the stadium’s media workroom Saturday for brief press conferences, it was striking how many were in the earliest stages of their careers. Matthew Liberatore was the only player who appeared on stage Saturday who has reached salary arbitration—and only just barely, as a rare player who will be in the system for four years rather than three.
Four players who spoke to the media have yet to make their big league debuts. Veteran Ryne Stanek bowed out of the event at the last minute due to a family obligation, leaving Riley O’Brien—who has fewer than 60 innings in the majors—as the only player older than 30 to make an appearance.
“Our young group needs that [support],” Marmol said. “I want them to experience what it’s like playing at Busch when Busch is what we know it to be. To wake up this morning and see people just lined up outside the stadium was pretty damn cool.”
Last season’s declining attendance and the current uncertainty surrounding the regional sports network that has broadcast the team’s games for the last two decades could be troublesome portents for fan interest and engagement in the near future.
Bloom referred to the franchise as “long-term oriented right now,” the latest in a series of phrases intended to acknowledge the reality of a team in the midst of a rebuild while skirting that exact terminology.
The parade of young players who took the stage Saturday have all dreamed about making debuts in a big league ballpark, but none of them imagine the park to be empty and silent when they do so. It’s a new path forward for a franchise that has been among the game’s most relevant since the turn of the century, and it will be forged by players closer to the beginnings of their careers than the ends.
“It’s pretty sweet,” said Liam Doyle, the fireballing left-hander from the University of Tennessee who was selected fourth overall in last year’s draft. “They made it pretty clear to me that I’m a big piece of that puzzle that we’re looking to build for the future and stuff like that. I’m looking forward to it. It’s too passionate of a fan base, too good of a sports city to not be good for this long. I’m looking to make a change, and hopefully this whole team will be on board with that too.”
After Ryan Helsley and Phil Maton were traded in the middle of last season, the bullpen took on some of the same inexperienced flavor that is set to dominate the larger roster group in the coming season. O’Brien acknowledged some of the lessons that came from being forced into that fire, and was hopeful that it would carry over to a young group eager to take its turn in the spotlight.
“It’s kind of on us for all these young guys,” O’Brien said. “It’s going to be on some of these guys to step up and really earn their spots, and I think it’s gonna be good for everyone.”
Even as attendance plummeted at Busch last season, the Savannah Bananas’ traveling baseball circus sold out multiple dates with the primary tenants out of town. A team that has lost in recent years and is conceding the likelihood of losing in years to come is a team that will likely struggle to draw attention and affection, but it is clear the passion remains just below the surface within the fan base.
In the short term, with an eye on development, it’s clear that both the baseball and business ends of the operation are hoping a wave of young energy can get them through the lean times. Saturday was an encouraging first sign along that path. Summer, though, is months away—and it lasts for a very long time.
