St. Louis Cardinals: Crowd sizes won’t impart changes

The St. Louis Cardinals’ front office must know that changes are needed. Many people claim that nothing will happen until the crowds diminish. Would it even matter?

The St. Louis Cardinals are suffering through another year of Mike Matheny and John Mabry. And while many fans are calling for changes the likelihood of changes coming is honestly slim. We all know this but we will continue to honk for it.

So what will it take? Many have suggested that DeWitt and Co. are not likely to make changes to the on-field staff simply based on wins and losses. Instead, the powers that be will take interest only when the crowds dwindle.

St. Louis and her fans are some of the best and Busch Stadium is often jam packed and filled to capacity regardless of the bumbling quality of Mike Matheny. To add to this, fans continue to fill seats with the respectable Midwest hope for which the Best Fans in Baseball are known.

And don’t we? Don’t we tune the television to the St. Louis Cardinals game each time it is on? Don’t we believe that players like Dexter Fowler (okay, maybe not him) and Tommy Pham and others will find their way out of slumps? Don’t we fill our hearts with hope that young prospects tearing up the minors will get their chance to succeed?

At the same time, aren’t we stuck in a hopeful cycle that trades will occur that will bring powerhouses to the St. Louis Cardinals? Don’t we believe that sell-out crowds will be enough to attract the likes of Manny Machado?

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Right there we must slam on the brakes and be honest: fan engagement is not enough to overpower the litany of negatives that are the St. Louis Cardinals.

With that in mind, I wholeheartedly refute the idea that crowd size will, in any possible way, affect or encourage the front office to make changes. Yes, the organization is interested in making money, and- yes- crowd size makes said money, but this alone will not and does not matter.

Here’s why: all the positives that make crowds and fans in and of St. Louis who they are, will not allow them to turn into say the crowds of Miami.

The Best Fans in Baseball will continue to show up and cheer for the St. Louis Cardinals. They will continue to applaud when the opposing team makes stellar plays. They will continue to buy and wear shirseys with player names on them and they will continue to flood the gates for give-aways.

This team could lose and lose and lose and the above factors would not change. In other words, I do not believe that crowd sizes are correlated to a front office decision nor do I think that the performance- no matter how pitiful it is- of the St. Louis Cardinals will affect her fans (except to make us frustrated).

Next: Mike Moustakas?

I would never advocate for an organization’s fan base to boycott in order to force a change and I certainly would not in this case especially since the crowds in St. Louis will be faithful no matter what.