Cardinals' red jacket members have been announced for Opening Day 2026

We have made it! Opening Day 2026 is here, and you can just feel spring in the air. The St. Louis Cardinals will be opening their season on Thursday at home versus the Tampa Bay Rays. We can ignore the preseason projections, lack of faith from local and national media, and fans being "patient" with a very overdue rebuild; Opening Day is like no other in St. Louis. Busch Stadium comes back to life after a long and quiet winter with ticket scanners ringing and a sea of red taking over the stadium. Ballpark Village is having pregame parties and events to bring the fan energy out before the first pitch. The Budweiser Patio is serving your favorite $5 light beers while fans prepare for the monumental pregame ceremonies.

The iconic ceremonies that almost any Cardinals fan can play in their head: Jeremy Boyer playing "Here Comes The King" on the organ, the Ford F-150s bringing the players out on the field, and the trademark moment of the Clydesdales' stomping through the warning track. When it all comes to an end to introduce the players, the most prestigious moment takes place: the Cardinals Hall of Fame members gather to shake the hands of the players who get the honor of standing on the field for a St. Louis Opening Day. The red jacket members provide an inner circle fraternity that only a select and honorable few can achieve by being the best of the best wearing the birds on the bat. Their presence has never been needed more with the current state of the organization and the torch they must carry after losing so many franchise icons over recent memory.

Many Cardinals red jacket legends will be in attendance on Opening Day.

Opening Day will leave no shortage of team legacy with the appearances from these Cardinals greats. Manager Tony La Russa will be making it back as the only manager representing. Recent Major League Baseball Hall of Fame inductees Scott Rolen and Ted Simmons will be carrying more star power with their recent career milestones obtained. The Herzog era of the '80s will be bringing back franchise favorites Ozzie Smith, Willie McGee, Vince Coleman, and John Tudor. The '90s will be represented by Mark McGwire and Ray Lankford. The '00s will round out with Jason Isringhausen and Edgar Renteria. The final member to finish out the lineup? The Mad Hungarian, Al Hrabosky.

For the fans attending St. Louis this weekend: Enjoy the ceremonious festivities and enjoy that baseball is finally back. For fans watching at home, we will soon find out how to actually watch the games. Game 1 is here of a very long season where anything can happen over the course of the full 162-game slate. Let's enjoy some meaningful baseball again while we can.