A look at the Cardinals under the DeWitts ownership

The fans of the St. Louis Cardinals are getting restless. This fan base is not used to not being in the playoffs. This has only happened five times in the last twenty years. Two of those years happen to be the most recent. The sky is falling and someone must be fired over this. I have seen calls for firing Oliver Marmol, and the entire front office including Mo and Girsh. I have even seen a few thinking we would be better if the DeWitts sold the team to someone else.

First, let’s agree that we have seen two off years. The trend isn’t promising. Are there changes that must be made? Absolutely. But it’s also time to take a breath, look at the numbers, and thank the baseball gods that they aren’t the White Sox. After all, some of us remember the 90s and may have a different perspective. From 1988 to 1999, the Cardinals only made the playoffs once.

Starting with a bit of history. The five years before the Dewitts bought the team, the Cardinals had the 18th-best winning percentage. That was a .485 percentage. Since the Dewitts have owned the Cardinals they have the fifth-best winning percentage at .541. Only the Yankees, Dodgers, Braves, and Red Sox have won more games during that period. This has been a very successful run and I have no idea why anyone thinks there needs to be an ownership change.

The screams have been the loudest for John Mozeliak to be fired. Since he is the face of the organization, more than the Dewitts or Girsh, he must be at fault, right?

Since the Dewitts have owned the club, there have been three GMs.

The first major hire was Walt Jocketty for GM. He was the GM for 2,085 games. The club’s winning percentage was .535. The Cardinals had the 4th highest winning percentage during his tenure and 54% of the time we made the playoffs. Two of those years ended with the Cardinals in the World Series. I think that when he retires there should be a red jacket waiting for him.

Jocketty was replaced by John Mozeliak. Even though it was a completely different style and philosophy, his run was even more successful. He was the GM for 1,458 games and had a winning percentage of .558. That was the second-highest winning percentage in all of baseball during those years and made the playoffs at a .666 rate. He also guided the team to two World Series appearances.

In 2017 the Cardinals made a front-office change. They named Mozeliak the President of Baseball Operations and promoted Michael Girsh to GM. To most, it was never fully explained as to how the duties were divided. When Whitey Herzog was here he was the manager and the GM. Once he got everything in place he hired Joe McDonald to replace him as GM. There was no question in this case. Whitey was still making the deals but Joe McDonald was put in charge of the day-to-day tasks. He made sure all MLB rules were followed, contracts were done properly, etc.

Since the Cardinals have been somewhat vague let’s assume that Girch functions as a normal GM since that is his title. At the time I am writing this Girsh has had that title for 1,027 games. The team’s winning percentage is .529. In four of his seven years, the team made the playoffs. This is a 57% rate which is almost the same as Jocketty’s.

When a team that has been as successful as the Cardinals have a couple of off years, it is understandable to want someone held accountable. I get that. If you have read my articles you know I don’t agree with a lot of the moves that have been made. As a Cardinal fan, I understand wanting heads to roll. As a baseball fan, I don’t think the Cardinals should throw the baby out with the bath water.

It sounds like changes are coming. Will they be all the changes a lot of fans want? Probably not. Will they come fast enough? Not for most fans. What I can say is that the DeWitts have a winning record over a long period of time and should be given the benefit of the doubt. That does not mean I won’t still be here letting everyone know when I think they have signed the wrong free agent, made a bad trade, or which players should be getting more time. That’s what makes baseball the best sport on the planet.