What is The Cardinal Way and Why is it Failing?

What is The Cardinal Way and Why is it Failing?

13 May, 2023

As an organizational philosophy, “The Cardinal Way” is currently more easily understood as a meme. It’s shorthand for the distinct “holier than thou” brand that the team has developed for the better part of a century, to paraphrase former manager Mike Matheny.

However, “The Cardinal Way” is a business philosophy. A written one at that, as the organization has a 117-page book outlining its mission.

What’s there and what was included in Howard Megdal’s 2016 book, “The Cardinals Way: The Cardinals Way: How One Team Embraced Tradition and Moneyball at the Same Time“, which described how owner Bill DeWitt Jr. and a large number of contemporary executives developed a player development machine whose primary forebears include Branch Rickey and George Kissell, are likely to share some similarities.

The phrase “The Cardinal Way” can also be interpreted as a mindset. John Mozeliak, the general manager, has spoken about looking for “character” in players, who are then expected to conduct themselves in an all-encompassing manner. Harrison Bader, a former center fielder, described it as being “physically prepared, mentally prepared, and honestly spiritually prepared” in 2020.

The non-meme form of “The Cardinal Way,” if we had to define it, would be described as being about harmony. There is always a plan, and it is always carried out as intended. Cool. Calm. Collected. Cardinals.

Abysmal 2023 Campaign

The St. Louis Cardinals’ attitude throughout 2023 has been one of disarray, anguish, and even a hint of panic.

In essence, it’s the polar opposite of what you might envision when thinking of “The Cardinal Way.”

The three-game winning run this week reduced some of the gloom, but not enough to inspire genuine optimism. The Cardinals are currently in last place in the National League standings with a record of 13-25, which is their poorest start in 98 years.

They used to be the preseason favorites to win the NL Central, but FanGraphs now gives them just a 22.2 percent probability of doing so. That was the single biggest decrease of any team, falling from 67.4 percent on Opening Day.

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Say this about the Cardinals’ recent penchant for losing after they had won every season between 2000 and 2022 with the exception of one: they haven’t made it monotonous.

Manager Oli Marmol got into a physical altercation with umpire C.B. Bucknor during spring training before getting into a physical altercation with outfielder Tyler O’Neill. Next, former rookie sensation Jordan Walker was abruptly demoted, and most recently, $87.5 million catcher designated hitter Willson Contreras was used as a scapegoat.

Don’t worry, just operatic. This is soap opera material, and it couldn’t be further from the Cardinals’ typical way of doing things.