The St. Louis Cardinals are one of the most historic franchises in Major League Baseball history, but in the past nine years, they have only managed to win one playoff series in 2019.

In 2023, unfortunately, the Cardinals finished 71-91 — last place in their division. 

This year has had its ups and downs, with rookie shortstop Maysn Winn showing he has superstar potential, as well as players such as Alec Burleson showcasing his power at the plate. But last week, they were eliminated from playoff contention for the second year in a row. 

One of the main problems with the 2024 Cardinals is their two superstars Nolan Arenado and Paul Goldschmidt are having the worst seasons of their careers. 

Another disappointing fact about the season is all-star catcher Willson Contreras couldn’t escape the injury bug, fracturing his forearm in May. The player also suffered a finger fracture in August shortly after returning from his first injury. 

John Mozeliak, president of baseball operations for the Cardinals, has received a lot of backlash from fans such as myself due to his inability to build a World Series-caliber team. He does get credit for bringing in players such as Goldschmidt and Arenado, but unfortunately, two players won’t get a team very far. And when these players are underperforming, we will see seasons like 2024 happen very often. Contreras had a lot to say about the team’s front office in a post-game interview Sunday. 

“As an organization, I think the Cardinals are one of the biggest organizations in baseball, and if I was them, if I was the front office, I’d have to be hungry to own this division…We haven’t owned this division in the last two years,” Contreras said. 

In 2022, the Cardinals finished the season 93-69, winning their division. This was also one of the most historic seasons in franchise history. 

It started with longtime catcher Yadier Molina announcing his retirement at the end of the 2022 season. In late March of that year, right before the season, the Cardinals announced they were bringing back first star baseman Albert Pujols. 

Pujols started his career with the Cardinals in 2001. Little did anyone know he was about to change everything for the organization. After winning the rookie of the year award, Pujols went on to have an unbelievable career. According to Baseball Reference, Pujols tallied 2,073 hits, 445 home runs and 1,329 runs batted in his 10 years with the Cardinals. He also received three MVP awards and helped the Cardinals win two World Series — 2006 and 2011. After the 2011 season, he signed with the Los Angeles Angels on a 10-year contract, leaving Cardinal fans in tears. 

Unfortunately for the Cardinals, they were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs in 2022 by the Philadelphia Phillies. 

Just two years later, it’s 2024 and the Cardinals have not been back to the playoffs since. Manager Oliver Marmol is not liked among fans due to his poor game decisions and his crybaby attitude. 

The team needs to start over. If not, the Cardinals will continue to be a below average team, something that this historic organization does not see often.