Jim Edmonds pulls back the curtain on Cardinals' organizational dysfunction

Jim Edmonds has had enough of the St. Louis Cardinals. The former color commentator for the Cardinals pulled no punches in an interview on the radio station 101 ESPN about his decision to leave the Cardinals' broadcast team.

The culture of the Cardinals, long a proud point for the team and a way to woo free agents, has dissipated in fans' eyes, and Edmonds doubled down on that fact. He mentioned that after the COVID-19 pandemic, the organization no longer appeared to feel a need for Edmonds' wisdom.

"Somehow, the inner circle isn't the same organization," said Edmonds. "It isn't fun to be around. Even the security guards are like, 'Hey, it might not be a good time.' I'm like 'Fine with me; I don't need to be in there if you don't want me to tell your pitchers that they're tipping their pitches or this guys pulling off.'"

Edmonds shared that Cardinals third baseman Nolan Arenado asked one spring if former Cardinals slugger Mark McGwire could come to Spring Training to help the hitters, and the Cardinals declined, saying they didn't need him.

The Cardinals have been similarly ignorant when Edmonds and other Cardinals alumni informed the team of how it's lost its way.

"Nobody cares," said Edmonds. "From all the way to the top, all the way to the bottom. Everybody knows."

The loss of many Cardinals legends over the past few years, including Bob Gibson and Lou Brock, has also affected Edmonds' perception of the team, as it's not the organization he played for.

"I loved to walk down to the clubhouse and there's Bob Gibson...Listening to those guys talk in the dugout was amazing. It's sad that they're gone and everybody's moved on."

On the broadcasting side, Edmonds said that he was thrown into the water in the booth and was forced to wing it, as he didn't know what he was doing. He mused that baseball has become too rushed and that play-by-play broadcaster Chip Caray would be able to do the game by himself if needed, and he criticized the quality of technology on broadcasts.

"They can do games from anywhere in the world, but I can't get a replay on a slider in the third inning to a certain hitter because it's not able to cut that fast," Edmonds said. "Chip can do the game by himself, because if there's one second where they can relax, there's got to be a commercial."

Edmonds doesn't expect to be back with the Cardinals, citing his need to be around his family.

"I think I'm done," he said. "I don't want to be around the stadium signing autographs for the rest of my life...I don't want to be me anymore. I just want to be a dad."

Cardinals fans knew the team was in a bad spot, but Edmonds' candid statements were revealing regarding how dire the state of the team is and the need for the team to completely revamp from the top down.