The St. Louis Cardinals Made Unfortunate Team History Earlier This Week
The St. Louis Cardinals, who are out to a 7-8 start this season, made unfortunate team history earlier this week on a day that was supposed to be a joyous occasion.
After finishing last in the National League Central in 2023, the St. Louis Cardinals are out to a 7-8 start in 2024.
Earlier this week though, the Cardinals, among the most popular franchises in all of baseball, made some unfortunate team history.
Per Bob Nightengale of USA Today:
The Cardinals drew the fewest fans (31,792) for a night game in the 18-year history of Busch Stadium last week to watch Sonny Gray’s debut with St. Louis against the Philadelphia Phillies.
That's a disappointing development for a number of reasons. First off, Gray's debut should have been a celebratory occasion that brought fans together. Signed to a three-year deal this offseason, he is supposed to be the catalyst behind turning around the Cardinals' pitching woes from 2023. Furthermore, the Phillies are a popular opponent with star power like Bryce Harper - they should help bring in fans as well.
Gray dominated in his debut, tossing 5.0 scoreless innings and striking out five. Perhaps he'll be able to help fill the stands better in his next time out.
The 34-year-old Gray is in his 12th big league season with the Oakland Athletics, New York Yankees, Cincinnati Reds, Minnesota Twins and Cardinals. He's an All-Star who finished in the Top 3 of the American League Cy Young voting a season ago.
He's 99-85 overall in his career with a 3.46 ERA. He has won double-digit games in five separate seasons of his career - and he won five in the COVID 2020 season.
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