St Louis Cardinals

St. Louis Cardinals outfielder Lars Nootbaar couldn't be home for Mother's Day because of his team's Sunday Night Baseball matchup against the Boston Red Sox, but he got to experience a touching moment with his mom before the game.

Nootbaar was being interviewed by ESPN's Eduardo Perez when his mother, Kumi Enokida Nootbaar, appeared on the screen and surprised him. The 25-year-old couldn't help but get emotional:

This Mother's Day surprise 🥹

📺: ESPN pic.twitter.com/i5PTSq3Lj0

— ESPN (@espn) May 14, 2023

Nootbaar grew up in El Segundo, California, and attended USC, where he was a three-year starter. He was called up to the majors in 2021 and became a regular starter during the 2022 season.

Entering Sunday's game against Boston, Nootbaar is batting .289/.429/.422 with three home runs and 13 RBI.

The mood coming from the St. Louis Cardinals throughout 2023 has been one of dysfunction and distress, even bordering on panic.

Basically, the opposite of what you think of when you think of "The Cardinal Way."

This week's three-game win streak helped dispel some of the despair, but not to the point of inviting actual optimism. At 13-25, the Cardinals are off to their worst start in 98 years and at the very bottom of the National League standings.

According to FanGraphs, they've gone from being preseason favorites to win the NL Central to just a 22.2 percent chance of making the playoffs in any capacity. That's down from 67.4 percent on Opening Day, marking the single largest drop of any team.

Say this about the Cardinals' sudden propensity for losing after posting winning records in all but one season between 2000 and 2022: they haven't made it boring.

After picking a fight with umpire C.B. Bucknor in spring training, manager Oli Marmol picked another fight with one of his own players, outfielder Tyler O'Neill, in April. Then there was the sudden demotion of erstwhile rookie sensation Jordan Walker and, most recently, the scapegoating of $87.5 million catcher designated hitter Willson Contreras.

Never mind just operatic. This is soap-operatic stuff, and it couldn't be more out of tune with how the Cardinals usually operate.

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What Even Is the Cardinal Way?

At this point, "The Cardinal Way" is easier to understand as a meme than as an organizational philosophy. To borrow from former manager Mike Matheny, it's shorthand for the particular "holier than thou" brand that the team has cultivated for the better part of the century.

And yet "The Cardinal Way" is indeed an organizational philosophy. And one that's in writing, no less, as the organization itself has a 117-page book on what it's all about.

There's surely some overlap between what's in there and what got into Howard Megdal's 2016 book, The Cardinals Way: How One Team Embraced Tradition and Moneyball, which covered how owner Bill DeWitt Jr. and an army of modern executives evolved a player development machine whose main progenitors include Branch Rickey and George Kissell.

"The Cardinal Way" can also be understood as an attitude. General manager John Mozeliak has spoken about seeking "character" in players, who in turn are expected to go about their business in a holistic way. "Physically prepared, mentally prepared and honestly spiritually" was how former center fielder Harrison Bader put it in 2020.

If we were to venture a definition of the non-meme form of "The Cardinal Way," we'd say it's about harmony. There's always a plan and everything is always going according to it. Cool. Calm. Collected. Cardinals.

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It's Been a Slow-Moving Breakdown

And for many years, it worked.

Though the Cardinals initially had ups and downs after DeWitt bought the team in 1995, the 2000 season marked the beginning of a long reign as the envy of the National League. The Los Angeles Dodgers produced more regular-season wins between then and 2022, but the Cardinals more than made up the difference in the playoffs with two World Series championships, two league pennants and an NL-high 69 playoff games.

But even before it finally shattered, you could hear the facade cracking before this year.

It's not just the club's diminishing returns in the playoffs. Mozeliak throwing Dexter Fowler under the bus in 2018? That was weird. Shildt's unexpected and apparently heartbreaking firing in 2021? Also weird. Yadier Molina seeming to check out in 2022? Weirder still. The Cardinals replacing Molina, a nine-time Gold Glover, with Contreras, a zero-time Gold Glover? Weirdest still.

There's a pattern of escalation apparent here, so perhaps it was inevitable that the weird stuff would start happening at a fever pitch like it has this year. And in case you can't tell from the team's record, the breakdown is also happening on the field.

For starters, the player development machine has blown a gasket. Whereas the Cardinals typically got around 50 percent of their total wins above replacement between 2000 and 2022 from players 28 and under—i.e., players whose ages fall under the MLB average—that figure is down to 22.0 percent in 2023.

Middle infielders Tommy Edman and Brendan Donovan are having down years, as is every homegrown outfielder not named Lars Nootbaar. On the pitching side, one-time Cy Young Award vote-getter Jack Flaherty and fireballing reliever Jordan Hicks have ERAs in the 6.00s.

If the other consistent on-field hallmark of "The Cardinal Way" was outstanding run prevention, that, too, has gone kaput.

The Cardinals ranked in the National League top five in runs allowed per game 14 times between 2000 and 2022. This year they rank 12th, and that's as much bad defense as bad pitching.

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Is There Any Fixing This?

All this is to say that the plight of this year's Cardinals is bigger than Contreras. And they should know as much now more than ever. The club's ERA has actually risen from April to May, wherein Andrew Knizner has done most of the catching.

If it's a question of who the Cardinals should have scapegoated instead of Contreras, the obvious answer is Marmol.

Even setting aside his clashes with Bucknor and O'Neill, the Cardinals simply aren't doing as well as they should be under the second-year skipper. There's no single reason for that, though his baffling commitment to using Hicks in high-leverage spots and his suboptimal lineup construction are two big ones.

Granted, firing Marmol would not fix all of the Cardinals' problems. To pick just one out of a hat, another reason the club's run prevention has been so bad is that the starters just don't have good stuff. And that matters, despite Flaherty's recent insistence to the contrary.

Jack Flaherty: "I'm going to play with the velocity on my fastball based on what the game calls for. I can get outs at 90, I can get outs at 95. ... That's the way that you go about the game." #STLCards pic.twitter.com/J2nXVGKKtA

— FanDuel Sports Network Midwest (@FanDuelSN_MW) May 10, 2023

But if the Cardinals were to fire Marmol and promote, say, bench coach Joe McEwing or first base coach Stubby Clapp, they could hope for the same effect that propelled the Philadelphia Phillies after they switched out Joe Girardi for Rob Thomson last June. If nothing else, one can imagine the young guys benefiting from taking orders from a different voice.

Yet Marmol being shown the door feels like the kind of thing that if it was going to happen, it would have already happened by now.

It's not hard to decipher why it hasn't. Whereas Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski wasn't the one who originally hired Girardi, Marmol was hand-picked by DeWitt and Mozeliak barely more than a year ago. Given that they effectively sabotaged an $87.5 million investment in lieu of axing Marmol, they must still think they picked the right guy.

Barring any further major changes, it's hard to imagine how the Cardinals are going to improve on a course that FanGraphs plots for a 79-win season. That might even be generous, yet it would still lead to a postseason-less October while also marking the club's first losing season since 2007.

If not to abandon it all together, such an outcome would be a good excuse to do literal rewrites on "The Cardinal Way."

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Stats courtesy of Baseball Reference, FanGraphs and Baseball Savant.

The St. Louis Cardinals reportedly were exploring the possibility of using catcher Willson Contreras in the outfield, but that no longer appears to be the case.

According to The Athletic's Katie Woo and Ken Rosenthal, Cardinals president of baseball operations John Mozeliak said Contreras has been moved to the designated hitter spot and he will not be playing in the outfield.

"I don't anticipate [Contreras in the outfield] unless there's some sort of emergency reason," Mozeliak said. "Everything was moving quickly yesterday. A lot of things were getting out there. His hope is he gets a chance to get behind the plate. That's what we're going to work toward."

In the midst of an eight-game losing streak, the Cardinals (10-24) are hoping the change behind the plate allows Contreras to stay locked in offensively while trying to get more comfortable with his new pitching staff. The 30-year-old signed a five-year, $87.5 million contract with St. Louis after he spent the first seven seasons of his career with the rival Chicago Cubs.

"There are ways to make sure [Contreras'] bat is in the lineup while we execute our plan internally," Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol said, noting the outfield was considered one of those ways. "How long is that going to take? That I don't have an answer for. But there's a plan that we feel good about to make sure we get him to where he's comfortable and our pitchers are comfortable in executing."

The Cardinals pitching staff ranks 21st in MLB with a 4.70 ERA. Contreras reportedly approached the team himself after Saturday's 6-5 loss to the Detroit Tigers and "understood that his role, for now, will be as the team's primary designated hitter" while still expressing a desire to return to catching at some point.

St. Louis was fortunate to have future Hall of Famer Yadier Molina behind the plate for the last two decades, so it's understandable that it would take time for the team to adjust to a new face. The advent of the pitching clock also added a new wrinkle that Cardinals pitchers have struggled getting used to.

Still, the team isn't ready to give up on Contreras.

"With this, we've noticed a lot of puzzling trends we know we need to fix. We know we need to address it. ... We just decided to do it head on, put it out there," Mozeliak said. "Do we think we've seen Willson catch his last game? No. But this is going to take a little time to get him to where we feel he understands the expectations of what this role is for us."

St. Louis Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol confirmed Saturday that catcher Willson Contreras will not be used behind the plate in the coming weeks.

According to MLB.com's John Denton, Marmol said Contreras will be used almost exclusively as a designated hitter in the coming weeks. Katie Woo of The Athletic reported that Contreras could see some time at the corner outfield spots as well.

St. Louis signed Contreras to a five-year, $87.5 million contract during the offseason after he spent the first seven seasons of his career with the rival Chicago Cubs.

In 765 career regular-season games, Contreras has appeared at catcher 653 times, at DH 63 times, in the outfield 39 times, at first base 11 times and at third base twice.

Contreras has not played extensively in the outfield since appearing in 24 games in left field as a rookie in 2016, however.

Contreras has thrown out 29 percent of runners who have attempted to steal against him this season, which is right in line with his career average of 30 percent. He's also allowed just one passed ball.

The Cards pitching staff has struggled, however, ranking 21st in MLB in team ERA at 4.71 and tied for 23rd in walks with 117. St. Louis also owns the worst record in the National League at 10-23.

St. Louis recalled 28-year-old catcher Tres Barrera from Triple-A on Saturday, which was the first sign that the team intended to use Contreras in a different way.

Per Denton, Contreras said he had a video call with legendary Cardinals catcher and future Hall of Fame Yadier Molina this week. Regarding the call, Contreras said: "[Molina] said he was watching the games and he said that we're not executing pitches. I'm not blaming anybody. I'm not pointing fingers at my pitchers because I'm on their side. But we just need to be better executing."

Molina is not blaming Contreras for the Cardinals' shortcomings, nor is Marmol, who said, "One thing I want to make super clear: We're not losing ballgames because Willson Contreras is catching," according to Denton.

Despite that, the Cardinals are going to focus on keeping Contreras' bat in the lineup and will allow Barrera and Andrew Knizner to handle the pitching staff behind the plate.

While Contreras' defense has been called into question, he has remained productive offensively, hitting .280 with two home runs and 14 RBI this season.

The 2016 World Series champion is a three-time All-Star thanks largely to his offensive prowess, as he has hit at least 20 home runs in a season four times, including 21 in 2021 and 22 last season.

Contreras is in the lineup batting third at designated hitter for the Cardinals' home game against the Detroit Tigers on Saturday.

Mike Shannon, who won two World Series titles as a player with the St. Louis Cardinals before serving as the team's radio voice for 50 years, has died. He was 83.

The Cardinals did not share the cause of Shannon's death, though he had "long-haul" COVID-19 since 2020, reports Rick Hummel, Derrick Goold and Dan Caesar of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

"Mike's unique connection to Cardinals fans and his teammates was reflected in his unbridled passion for the game, the Cardinals and the St. Louis community," Cardinals owner Bill DeWitt Jr. said in a statement.

Shannon, who was born in St. Louis, began playing minor league baseball in 1958 and was called up to the Cardinals for the first time in 1962.

Shannon became a regular in right field and eventually shifted to third base to help the team to World Series titles in 1964 and 1967.

"All of us at Major League Baseball mourn the passing of Mike Shannon, a beloved figure in the rich history of the St. Louis Cardinals," MLB commissioner Robert Manfred Jr. said in a statement.

Shannon finished his playing career in 1970 with 710 hits and 68 home runs, including some of the most important in Cardinals history. He hit the final home run at the Cardinals' former Sportsman's Park, the first Cardinals homer at the new Busch Memorial Stadium and hit a game-tying home run off Hall of Famer Whitey Ford in Game 1 of the 1964 World Series.

"I played in the World Series in my hometown, and I hit a home run off of Ford," Shannon wrote, per St. Louis Public Radio. "I'm a dreamer, but even I can't dream that good."

Shannon's Cardinals career, cut short on the field due to kidney disease, continued in the broadcast booth. For 50 seasons, he made calls so memorable, entire websites popped up to record new "Shannonisms."

Shannon called three more St. Louis World Series victories in 1982, 2006, and 2011 and was the voice behind a number of other memorable calls, including the hit that made Mark McGwire the first player in MLB history to record 62 home runs in a single season.

"My dad's life was encapsulated by his devotion to his family, his friends, the Cardinals' organization and the St. Louis community," Shannon's son, Tim Shannon, said in a statement, via the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. "My dad lived his life to the fullest, and he squeezed every drop from it."

Shannon was inducted into the Cardinals Hall of Fame in 2014 and retired from broadcasting in 2021. On October 3, 2021, St. Louis renamed the Busch Stadium radio booth the Shannon Broadcast Booth in honor of Shannon's 59-year Cardinals career.

St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Adam Wainwright went from playing for the United States at the 2023 World Baseball Classic to belting out "The Star-Spangled Banner" ahead of Thursday's Opening Day matchup against the Toronto Blue Jays.

He's got some pretty good pipes, too.

The @Cardinals’ own Adam Wainwright (@UncleCharlie50) sings the U.S. anthem for #OpeningDay! pic.twitter.com/rZ6wtN2RRi

— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) March 30, 2023

Wainwright was supposed to start Opening Day on the mound, but he was replaced by Miles Mikolas after he landed on the 15-day injured list with a groin strain suffered during a workout while with Team USA.

The 41-year-old is likely to be sidelined "several weeks," manager Oliver Marmol told reporters last week. Having him sing the national anthem was a great way to get the veteran involved in what could be his last Opening Day.

Wainwright will become a free agent after the 2023 campaign, and his time in Major League Baseball is undoubtedly winding down.

Two-time All-Star Miles Mikolas has reportedly agreed to a two-year contract extension with the St. Louis Cardinals.

Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch first reported the two sides had an agreement. Jesse Rogers of ESPN added the deal will pay the right-hander $40 million.

Mikolas, who was set to become a free agent after the upcoming season, is now under contract with the Cardinals through 2025.

Mikolas had a long journey before finally establishing himself as a pitcher in the big leagues. He was a seventh-round draft pick by the San Diego Padres in 2009 and made his MLB debut with the club three years later.

The Padres traded Mikolas to the Pittsburgh Pirates after the 2013 season. The Pirates sent him to the Texas Rangers later in the offseason. He struggled with a 6.44 ERA in 10 starts and was released by the Rangers following the 2014 campaign.

After playing with the Yomiuri Giants in Nippon Professional Baseball for three seasons, Mikolas returned to the United States when he signed a two-year deal with the Cardinals in December 2017.

The 2018 season was an unexpected breakout for Mikolas. He was named to the National League All-Star team and finished sixth in Cy Young voting after going 18-4 with a 2.83 ERA in 200.2 innings.

St. Louis rewarded Mikolas' effort with a four-year, $68 million extension. He took a step back in 2019 with a 4.16 ERA and sat out the entire 2020 season after undergoing surgery to repair the flexor tendon in his right arm.

Mikolas didn't fully return from the forearm troubles until late in the 2021 season. The right-hander turned in a strong performance in 2022 with a 3.29 ERA in 33 appearances (32 starts) to earn his second All-Star selection.

The Cardinals are going with Mikolas as their Opening Day starter this year with Adam Wainwright unavailable because of a groin injury. He previously started the first game of the season in 2019.

St. Louis Cardinals starter Adam Wainwright will begin the 2023 season on the injured list after suffering a groin injury in the World Baseball Classic.

Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol told reporters Thursday that Wainwright will miss "several weeks" of action.

The 41-year-old was set to be the Opening Day starter for St. Louis. Wainwright was injured during a Team USA workout Tuesday.

"Typically means we'll continue to evaluate over the next few days but no timetable (for a return) at the moment," Marmol told reporters. "There is a spot in the rotation now open, and we're going to have to sit down and make sure that we're not missing anything that goes into that."

Heading into his 18th season with the Cardinals, Wainwright signed a one-year, $17.5 million contract during the offseason. He went 11-12 with a 3.71 ERA and 1.28 WHIP while striking out 143 batters across 191.2 innings.

The veteran participated in what will likely be his final WBC this month, starting and winning two games for Team USA.

Marmol did not name a replacement for Wainwright for Opening Day.

Jake Woodford, who had been primarily a reliever over his first three MLB seasons, appears to be the favorite to fill the rotation opening.

While MLB is investigating an incident between umpire C.B. Bucknor and St. Louis Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol, the two of them appear to have settled their dispute.

According to ESPN, Marmol and Bucknor shook hands when lineup cards were exchanged before Monday's spring training game in Jupiter, Florida.

"I was raised and brought up in this organization to do exactly what I did today," Marmol said. "You go to home plate. You hand the lineup card and you shake the hands of the four umpires who are running that game."

After Marmol said Bucknor had refused the gesture prior to Saturday's game, ESPN's Buster Olney reported that MLB was investigating the matter. Marmol added that the other umpires in the game, Ron Kulpa, Angel Hernandez and Carlos Torres, all shook his hand and apologized for Bucknor's actions.

Following Saturday's tense exchange, Marmol said of Bucknor, "I don't think he's good at his job, and it just shows a lack of class as a man."

The two of them have bad blood stemming from when Bucknor ejected Marmol during a game last season. The manager, who was arguing a strike call against third baseman Nolan Arenado, reportedly yelled that Bucknor's time in MLB was coming to an end, and the umpire yelled back that Marmol had just gotten to the big leagues.

Marmol, 36, was in his first season as Cardinals manager last year after serving as their first base coach from 2017-18 and bench coach from 2019-21. The 60-year-old umpire has been in the majors since 1996.

The Cardinals went on to defeat the New York Mets 12-7 in Monday's game.