2025 St. Louis Cardinals are reminiscent of a team of old

The 2025 St. Louis Cardinals have gotten out the gate in a very interesting manner. The offense, a part of the team that probably had the most concern surrounding it following the offseason, has been on a torrid stretch through seven games. Meanwhile, the pitching staff has seen volatility across the board.

The relievers, outside of Phil Maton and Ryan Helsley, have been subpar so far. The starting rotation was decently strong the first time through, but both Sonny Gray and Erick Fedde were rocked in their latest starts for five and six runs, respectively.

Meanwhile, players like Lars Nootbaar, Victor Scott II, Ivan Herrera, Jordan Walker, and Nolan Arenado have gotten off to great starts offensively. The club's defense has also been strong thanks to efforts from Scott, Arenado, and Masyn Winn.

Wait. You're telling me that the St. Louis Cardinals have an offense that is holding up a weak pitching group? Haven't we seen this movie before?

The 2025 St. Louis Cardinals and the 2003 St. Louis Cardinals are eerily similar to each other.

Right off the bat, the two teams' starts to the year were identical. Both teams swept their first series of the year in three games followed by back-to-back losses, a win, and then a subsequent loss to make for a 4-3 record through the first seven games of the year.

The 2003 Cardinals scored 49 runs in their first seven games for an average of seven runs per game. The 2025 St. Louis Cardinals have scored 51 runs in their first seven games for an average of 7.3 runs per game.

The 2003 Cardinals allowed 42 runs for an average of six runs per game. The 2025 Cardinals have given up 38 runs in seven games for an average of 5.4 runs per game. Are you sensing a pattern here? Let's take a look at some of the deeper metrics through seven games for both teams along with their respective ranks in baseball at the time.

Note: for ERA-, 100 is average, and a lower number indicates above average. For wRC+, 100 is average, and a higher number indicates above average.

It gets even more uncanny from there, too. The 2003 St. Louis Cardinals had an average pitcher age of 31.2 years old for the 5th-oldest staff in baseball. The 2025 St. Louis Cardinals have an average pitcher age of 30.5 for the 9th-oldest staff in baseball. The 2003 Cardinals' rotation was anchored by a 36-year-old Woody Williams. The 2025 Cardinals' rotation is headed by a 35-year-old Sonny Gray.

Jason Isringhausen, who was 30 in 2003, was the team's resident closer who would log 22 saves in 2003. Ryan Helsley, who is now 30 in 2025, is the current closer for the Cardinals. Helsley surpassed both Izzy and Trevor Rosenthal last year for the most saves in a single season.

The Cardinals' best hitter in 2003 was a young left fielder by the name of Albert Pujols. This year, the Cardinals' best hitter so far is a young(ish) left fielder who goes by Lars Nootbaar.

The 2003 St. Louis Cardinals, with an offense that carried a below-average pitching staff, finished with an 85-77 record, and they placed third in a difficult National League Central. It's worth noting that the team with the fewest wins to make the postseason in 2024 was the Detroit Tigers, with 86 wins.

The 2025 St. Louis Cardinals are off to a decent start thanks to an offensive deluge. Their pitchers haven't carried their weight, though. This year's team is reminiscent of the 2003 St. Louis Cardinals for several reasons.

At least the 2004 Cardinals made it to the World Series. Perhaps 2026 really is our year.