St. Louis Cardinals' Opening Day lineup makes MLB history

Opening Day brought a variety of emotions to the surface for fans of the St. Louis Cardinals this year. Hopes for a rebound season were cautiously optimistic. Those hopes were crushed very early as Miles Mikolas couldn't control the zone or get batters out. The Los Angeles Dodgers' lineup did what they were built to do: score.

However, before the first pitch even occurred, the Cardinals were able to make history in the sport. With Nolan Gorman, Jordan Walker, Victor Scott II, and Masyn Winn in the starting lineup, the Cardinals were the first team to have 4 players under the age of 24 start Opening Day.

The St. Louis Cardinals might have four position players in their Opening Day lineup who are under 24 years of age and that hasn't happened in Major League Baseball in 100 years.
(via @jonmorosi via @MLBNetwork) pic.twitter.com/eLpIwvA0P2
— Codify (@CodifyBaseball) March 28, 2024

While the Cardinals' rotation is one of the oldest in team history, the lineup is one of the youngest in the league this year. Winn, Gorman, and Walker were virtually penned into the Opening Day lineup from the last day of the 2023 season, but Scott's inclusion is a more recent revelation.

Injuries to Lars Nootbaar, Tommy Edman, and Dylan Carlson forced the organization's hand; though Victor Scott was deserving of an Opening Day role, his inclusion on the roster is more happenstance than planned.

The 4 young players ended up going 0-13 with 4 strikeouts on the day. Not a promising start, but it's still exciting to see them get a chance to play early in the season. There's a lot of time left for the quadrumvirate to get their footing.

History buffs will recall the 4 players who started for the St. Louis Cardinals in 1924 as Jim Bottomley, Howard Freigau, Les Bell, and Ernie Vick of course. Sadly, that team went 65-89 that same year; hopefully, the 2024 rendition of the St. Louis Cardinals exceeds those totals.

I had to look this up, but I’m still not sure if I’m correct.
Those four would have been:
- Jim Bottomley (would have turned 24 a little over a week later)
-Howard Freigau
-Les Bell
-Ernie Vick (who was later replaced in the game by 22 YO Wattie Holm)
65-89, here we come!!! https://t.co/UR9o1f6ZRG
— Kyle Reis, 58% Neanderthal (@kyler416) March 28, 2024

The future is surely bright for the Birds on the Bat. Players like Brendan Donovan (27 years old), Lars Nootbaar (26 years old), Dylan Carlson (25 years old), and Ivan Herrera (23 years old) are all young, controllable, and talented players on the roster. In the pipeline, the Cardinals have Thomas Saggese who is near the majors, and pitchers like Tink Hence and Tekoah Roby who are both young and full of promise.

The 2024 starting rotation is aged and experienced, but the lineup and the players in the minors for the St. Louis Cardinals are young and full of talent. The future is surely bright for the franchise regardless of how the 2024 season pans out.

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