Inside The Cardinals

Cardinals Make History Vs. Diamondback, But Not In A Good Way

The Cardinals were on the wrong side of history on Monday...
Patrick McAvoy|
Jul 12, 2020; St. Louis, Missouri, United States; A view of empty seats as the St. Louis Cardinals play a simulated game at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-Imagn Images
Jul 12, 2020; St. Louis, Missouri, United States; A view of empty seats as the St. Louis Cardinals play a simulated game at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-Imagn Images | Jeff Curry-Imagn Images

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St. Louis CardinalsArizona Diamondbacks

The St. Louis Cardinals came out on top on Monday night against the Arizona Diamondbacks, but there also was a bit of negative history made at Busch Stadium.

Throughout the season so far, one of the biggest talking points when it has come to the Cardinals has been a lack of attendance at home. This conversation has been going on over the last few years in general. The Cardinals are in their third straight season of potentially missing the playoffs. The Cardinals won 93 games in 2022 and since then things haven't been the same.

St. Louis finished in last place in 2023. Last year was a bit better with the Cardinals finishing just above .500, but the club missed the playoffs. This year seems to be on a similar track. There has been an outcry among fans for the team's spending habits and decisions with the roster overall. We've seen an attendance drop over the last few years and it culminated in the lowest-attended game in Busch Stadium on Monday night, not including COVID, per The Athletic's Katie Woo.

"Tonight's official attendance at Busch Stadium: 17,675," Woo said. "That is the lowest single-game (non-COVID restriction) attendance in the history of Busch Stadium III."

How can the Cardinals fix the attendance issue?

St. Louis Cardinals logo
Feb 26, 2021; Jupiter, Florida, USA; A general view of the St. Louis Cardinals logo on the stadium at Roger Dean Stadium during spring training workouts. Mandatory Credit: Jasen Vinlove-Imagn Images | Jasen Vinlove-Imagn Images

You can see a video of the shockingly-empty crowd below.

The attendance has been a topic discussed all season. It was shared last week that the Cardinals are pace for their lowest overall attendance number since 1995. Seeing these numbers, it brings back a comment made by Cardinals president Bill DeWitt III.

"The thing I chuckle about is when I see comments (like) we gotta not show up to send a message that this (here, he laughs) isn't acceptable to the owners," DeWitt said among other comments. "I find that somewhat illogical reasoning because we turn this revenue machine into a payroll machine."

Clearly, the Cardinals' fans have been at least misjudged when it comes to attendance. The fans have sent a loud and clear message throughout the season and there's no sign of a turning point, at least right now.

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Patrick McAvoy
PATRICK MCAVOY

Patrick McAvoy's experiences include local and national sports coverage at the New England Sports Network with a focus on baseball and basketball. Outside of journalism, Patrick also is pursuing an MBA at Brandeis University. After quickly rising as one of the most productive writers on the site, he expanded his reach to write for Baseball Essential, a national baseball site in Sports Illustrated Media Group. For all business/marketing inquiries regarding Inside The Cardinals, please reach out to Scott Neville: nevilles@merrimack.edu

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