Cardinals' third base coach once again makes the wrong decision in a crucial moment

Ronald "Pop" Warner has been around baseball for nearly 35 years. He was drafted by the St. Louis Cardinals in the 1991 Major League Baseball Draft, and he's been with the organization ever since as both a player and a coach. His baseball knowledge is extensive.

Pop Warner has occupied the role of third base coach for the Cardinals since 2019. The role of the third base coach is to relay signs from the dugout to base runners and assess whether it's viable to send a runner home.

For some reason, Pop Warner just can't seem to get the wave at third down.

St. Louis Cardinals third base coach Pop Warner made another wrong decision against the Pittsburgh Pirates when he sent Michael Siani home in the 10th inning.

In the tenth inning of the rubber match against the Pittsburgh Pirates, the Cardinals had men on first and second with catcher Pedro Pages up to bat. Pages hit a single to shallow left field, and Siani, the man on second, was hustling around the basepaths. Pirates' left fielder Tommy Pham fielded the ball cleanly and rifled a bullet 222 feet at 90.8 MPH right to home plate to nab Siani at home.

There was no way that Michael Siani would be safe on the play, even with a lesser throw.

However, Pop Warner sent Siani home even with that knowledge. Siani was out by at least three steps. Had Warner held up Siani, it would have been first and third with no one out and Victor Scott II up to bat. Instead, VS2 came up to bat with one out and Pedro Pages at first.

This terrible send by the Cardinals' third base coach is just another in a long line of incorrect waves.

In 2022, Warner had questionable sends of perhaps the two slowest players on the roster that year in Albert Pujols on July 27 against the Toronto Blue Jays and Yadier Molina on August 19 against the Arizona Diamondbacks.

The send that got the most attention was in early April of 2023, when Warner sent Tyler O'Neill home on a ball hit to right field against the Atlanta Braves. The ball was hit to future National League Most Valuable Player Ronald Acuna Jr., one of baseball's best outfielders with a cannon for an arm. While O'Neill did hesitate on his way home, there was a small chance that he would be safe even with full effort.

Pop Warner has spoiled runs for the St. Louis Cardinals for several years now since his appointment as the third base coach. It's nearing time for the Cardinals to move on from the old guard and find a new third base coach who can send runners at appropriate times.

The Cardinals and Pirates would go through 13 innings before a conclusion came. The Redbirds lost 2-1 to the Pirates in extra innings. Pop Warner's send ruined a good opportunity to take the lead in extra innings, and this isn't his first blunder as the team's third base coach.