Former Cardinal reveals the somber truth about Busch Stadium

A new challenger has appeared for the St. Louis Cardinals–and it just so happens to be the field they call home. 

In recent history, multiple MLB teams have made stadium adjustments to promote more offensive-oriented contours. Most notably, the Orioles transformed Camden Yards, once a graveyard for right-handed hitters, into Pete Alonso’s new playground by scooting in the left-field fence. 

The Cardinals might be on deck for stadium changes, as fans, media, and players have all taken notice of the offensive retributions Busch owes its participants. 

In game three of the Cardinals’ series against the Rockies, Masyn Winn and Jordan Walker both took shots at long balls, respectively. Unfortunately, they both came up empty-handed. 

Following Winn and Walker’s should’ve-been bombs, JJ Wetherholt and Ivan Herrera just missed against rookie hurler Andrew Painter in game one of the Phillies series. 

Wetherholt’s was an inside-out swing that sent a baseball flying to the left field warning track, and Herrera turned on a hanger and just caught it off the end, both resulting in deep flyouts. 

The Cardinals would go on to lose by one run. Another homer would’ve been nice.

Busch Stadium: a flyball boneyard. It’s become something of a nuisance for fans, and you can only imagine how the players feel. 

Outside of all the recent missed bombs, Alec Burleson has been one of baseball’s most unlucky hitters all season. Coincidence? Highly unlikely. 

Rumors have spread like wildfire that Busch Stadium is more than a pitcher's park; it’s a hitter's nightmare. And a recent recantation by a Cardinal legend supports this claim. 

Former Cardinal Matt Carpenter reveals the truth about Busch Stadium 

On a recent episode of the To The Majors show on YouTube, former Cardinal Matt Carpenter was a guest. 

Carp and the hosts covered tons of different topics in the over three-hour-long episode. From his Cardinal career, highs and lows, former teammates, and various accomplishments, the Redbird legend has plenty to talk about. However, one detail stood out in light of recent events. 

Carpenter revealed that of all the stadiums he played in, Busch Stadium was “the worst” for his swing. 

He didn’t harp on the fans, atmosphere, or anything about the organization, as he’s been outspoken about his love for the Cardinal faithful. More so just that it didn’t “fit his swing.” 

This makes sense, as the short porch in Yankee Stadium aided the veteran to a career renaissance season that still murmurs in Bronx brains. 

With the lack of offense this season, and Carpenter’s honest comments about his experience at Busch Stadium, could it be time for change? Do the Cardinals need to tweak the dimensions? Or is it a skill issue? 

It’s fair to question whether this power outage is nothing more than a lack of legitimate big-league talent. Walker and Burleson have cleared Busch’s fences by 50+ feet multiple times, and opposing batters have done the same. 

It’s the rest of the Cardinal lineup that seems to lack the coding necessary to reprogram their swings to power mode. Subsequently, the Redbirds can’t hit home runs. 

Before St. Louis cashes in on big ballpark adjustments, they may want to wait until the next wave of talent hits. Changing the environment almost feels like cheating the game, and if there’s one thing you can’t do in baseball, it’s cheat the game. 

Chaim Bloom knows this, Oliver Marmol knows this, and so do the Cardinal batters. So for as many home runs fans feel their favorite team has been cheated out of, it’ll take adjustments from the batters before the walls get moved in. 

Add us as a preferred source on Google

Follow