How the Cardinals’ 2026 rebuild compares to the 1980s and 1990s

The 1980s rebuild

The Cardinals had one of their worst droughts in history. After going to the World Series in 1968, the team didn’t make the playoffs for 13 seasons. 

On June 9, 1980, with the Cardinals in last place, they hired Whitey Herzog as manager. The most important date was August 29, 1980. They gave him the title of GM that day. Instead of the usual Cardinal way of making small trades and hoping the minors would feed a player or two to the big leagues, he came in with a plan. This was not a slow burn; it was shock and awe. 

He had two months to manage the existing roster before the season ended. He had seen enough. The team was playing in a huge ballpark that has Astroturf for a playing field. He thought the roster construction was not suitable for winning. There were talented players, but it wasn’t a good team. He decided that speed and defense would be the way to win. 

Herzog remade the team in one week. At the 1980 Winter Meetings, he traded 13 players and acquired 9 in just a few days. He also signed one of the biggest free agents that year, Darrell Porter. 

In his first year, he had a team with the best record even though they didn’t make the playoffs. Because of the strike that year, MLB had the teams with the best first-half record and the best last-half records make the playoffs. The Cardinals had the best year record. 

Similarities between 1980 and 2026:

Both teams are going into the season with new general managers. 

Both teams had gone stagnant. Not terrible players, just not good teams. 

Both are cleaning house. 

Both teams brought in someone from the outside to fix the problem. 

Differences between 1980 and 2026:

The team had a win-now attitude in the '80s. Today, it’s a long-term process.

The '80s Cardinals doubled their payroll from 1979 to 1982. Today, the Cardinals are slashing payroll. 

Whitey traded for an All-Star closer and signed a free agent All-Star catcher. Today, the Cardinals are trading away All-Stars for younger players. 

Whitey used his minor league as trade chips. Bloom is restructuring the entire system looking for the minors to contribute to the sustainability of the team.