St. Louis Cardinals: Making New Year Resolutions For The Cardinals

It’s that time of year again, even for the St. Louis Cardinals.

New Year’s Resolutions are part of the holiday festivities. It’s no different for the St. Louis Cardinals.

Most of us fans make personal resolutions; I make them every year.  Some years, I declare that I’m going to work out more during the next year. I’ll decide that I’ll eat healthier and try new foods. Maybe I’ll make it to more St. Louis Cardinals games. Next year, I’m hoping to make it to a game in Peoria, Springfield, and Memphis (and of course in St. Louis).

Usually, I fail within the first week of the next year. Maybe my problems originate with setting unrealistic expectations for myself going forward.

Sometimes the goals we set seem impossible to achieve. Ideally, our goals should be tangible, measurable, achievable, and time-based. Looking at my generalized resolutions above, it’s no wonder that I fall short. I failed to define a standard to aspire to, making these goals too difficult to achieve. Without confidence that I can achieve my goals, I lack the motivation to improve.

Given the sour ending to the 2016 season, it is clear that the St. Louis Cardinals should also aspire to improve themselves in 2017. What better time to lay out goals for 2017 than at the turn of the calendar?

Following, I lay out a New Year’s Resolution for each Cardinal player who I expect to either be on the 25 man roster come Opening Day, or who I think will make an impact at some point in the season.

These goals have all the aspects required of a motivational goal. They are measurable and achievable, and their progress can be tracked throughout the season. These goals are of course time-based, as they must be completed between March and October. They are realistic for each player (unlike those I set for myself) and will improve the team in 2017 if achieved.

I have grouped players by position groups and will keep it short and sweet for each player so you can find my proposed goal for your favorite Cardinal. Hopefully, you’ll also find some tidbits to impress your friends at the lunch table or co-workers around the coffee machine.