Cardinals bringing back "Battle of the Birds" for its 25th anniversary in 2025
The St. Louis Cardinals are set to take on the Memphis Redbirds in an exhibition game in 2025.
Save the jokes for the end, but the St. Louis Cardinals will be taking on the Memphis Redbirds in a return of the "Battle of the Birds" game at AutoZone Park on March 24th, 2025.
The club announced the return of this fun event on Monday, an opportunity for fans to see the Major League club for 2025 take on the Cardinals' top farm affiliate in Memphis for an exhibition game (please, I know you've got jokes ready, but really do save them for the end).
The Cardinals have not hosted this game since 2019 but will be featuring it again now in 2025, which also happens to be the 25th anniversary of the inaugural "Battle of the Birds" game. While Spring Training offers fans opportunities to see both the Cardinals' Major League and Minor League talent on display, this is a unique opportunity to see them go head to head before some of the Memphis Redbirds become teammates of these Major Leaguers.
Knowing the direction the Cardinals are heading in for 2025, this exhibition will likely be less about "the present vs. the future" of Cardinals baseball and more about "the future at the Major League level vs. the future that will be there very soon". Names like Quinn Mathews, Tink Hence, Tekoah Roby, and Jimmy Crooks III will likely be representing the Memphis side of things while youngsters like Masyn Winn, Jordan Walker, Alec Burleson, Lars Nootbaar, and Brendan Donovan will represent the Cardinals. In the cases of guys like Victor Scott II, Pedro Pages, Thomas Saggese, and Michael McGreevy, there is a chance they represent either side of things.
Overall, this is a really fun way to highlight names like Mathews, Hence, Roby, and Crooks in a way that gives fans hope for what is to come in the future. And with trades of names like Ryan Helsley, Nolan Arenado, Willson Contreras, and Sonny Gray potentially happening this offseason, we may even get glimpses of new prospects for Memphis who are not currently with the organization.
If you're wondering, the game has been played 10 times since 2000, with the Cardinals finishing 7-2-1 in those 10 contests. I hope the Cardinals' brass knows how many memes they will be creating if the Memphis Redbirds come out on top over the Cardinals' for the first time since 2004.