Best wishes to John Mozeliak as Cardinals officially transition to Chaim Bloom era

Born in 1998, my very first memories of the St. Louis Cardinals are littered with championship pedigree, Hall of Fame caliber players, and sustained success. John Mozeliak was a huge reason for that.

In my earliest days of fandom, my dad introduced me to the best organization in baseball, the one that he and his father had followed for decades. My dad grew up with Ozzie Smith, Willie McGee, John Tudor, Whitey Herzog, and his all-time favorite player, Ted Simmons. I began my Cardinals' fandom with Albert Pujols, Yadier Molina, Jim Edmonds, Scott Rolen, Chris Carpenter, Adam Wainwright, and Tony La Russa.

While the 2006 World Series is more like pieced together memories to me, the magical 2011 run happened when I was 13 years old. David Freese ensured that I would never see a better baseball game in my life on October 27th, 2011. I quickly experienced the soul-crushing news of Pujols departing for Anaheim, the Cardinals kept winning, producing a new wave of Cardinals to love like Matt Carpenter, Allen Craig, Michael Wacha, Shelby Miller, and Trevor Rosenthal.

During the first 17 years of my life, I witnessed two World Series championships, four National League Pennants, nine trips to the NLCS, and enough memories to surpass what many fanbases experience in their lifetime.

While the last 10 years haven't come close to that run of success, I can't help but sit back today feeling grateful for the overall body of work that Mozeliak put together with St. Louis.

No, I'm not absolving him from the downfall. Mozeliak deserves a ton of credit for the generational run they went on with him as Jocketty's right-hand man and during his own time leading the organization, but he also deserves the flak he gets for things falling apart on his way out. He's helped create quite the mess for Chaim Bloom to clean up in the coming years, but that shouldn't take away from the memories he helped create for me and so many others.

Mo, as we affectionately call him, finished his tenure in charge of the Cardinals with a resume that very, very few baseball executives ever come close to:

- Drafted two all-time greats in Albert Pujols and Yadier Molina as the Cardinals' scouting director, just saying.
- In his roles of Director of Baseball Operations and Assistant General Manager from 2001 to 2007, the Cardinals made the playoffs five of those seven seasons, had four trips to the NLCS, two World Series appearances, and one World Championship.
- After taking over for Jocketty following the 2007 season, Mozeliak led baseball operations from 2008-2025, amassing a 1,521-1,291 record (.541 win%), 10 trips to the postseason, six division titles, five trips to the NLCS, two World Series appearances, and one title under Mozeliak's leadership.
- In total, Mozeliak clocked 30 years of work in the Cardinals front office, a rare feat in the sport.

It's truly a shame that things finished as poorly as they did. Had Mozeliak stepped away earlier, fans likely would have had a much better perception of him. But alas, here we are.

Bloom's first press conference as the Cardinals' president of baseball operations is set for tomorrow morning, which will be the dawn of a new era in St. Louis. While the change is welcomed by all, I do think that as the years pass, fans will begin to appreciate Mozeliak more than many do right now. Mozeliak is a future Cardinals Hall of Famer, and I hope by the time he puts on that red jacket, fans are ready to receive him.

Thanks, Mozeliak, for the many memories. You helped make Cardinals baseball exciting for many kids like me, and for that, I'm forever grateful.