What will it take to excite Cardinal fans once again?

The St. Louis Cardinals haven't done much recently to give fans a reason to go crazy. In fact, 2022 was the last time I can remember the stadium being filled and fans going nuts, and most of that was related to the triumvirate of Albert Pujols, Yadier Molina, and Adam Wainwright chasing history.

This year, Cardinal fans have experienced deflating losses and nerve-wracking wins. Outside of insane defensive plays from Masyn Winn and Michael Siani and one of the best closers in baseball in Ryan Helsley, there have been few energizing moments this season.

This discussion came to a head in one of Derrick Goold's most recent chats at the Post-Dispatch (subscription required). Goold asked fans in his chat what types of moves would excite the fanbase after a decrease in in-stadium attendance this year. While ticket sales have largely been similar to past years, the number of butts in the seats has clearly dropped off.

This is an interesting concept. I wanted to dig a bit deeper and posit concrete actions that ownership and the front office can take to rouse a lethargic fanbase that is searching for anything to cheer about.

Winning

This is the most obvious answer. When a team is winning, the fans will come out. The Arizona Diamondbacks had 1,605,199 total fans attend games in 2022 when they finished with a 74-88 record. Last year, they made it to the World Series, and their attendance total jumped to over 1.9 million fans. This year, they've already seen 1,546,703 fans come to games, and there are still 49 games left this year. Winning sure helped Arizona's attendance. The Baltimore Orioles, Texas Rangers, and Houston Astros are other prime examples of winning boosting attendance figures.

If the Cardinals can get back to winning, and I mean winning at least 90 games a year, then fans will begin to return to the stadium to show their support. If the team continues to float around 85 wins or has losing seasons, then the DeWitt family should not expect attendance number to continue exceeding three million fans.

Big Signings

This approach may not actually be as fruitful as expected. This past offseason, John Mozeliak signed last year's American League Cy Young runner-up, and attendance at Sonny Gray's games isn't noticeably greater than other games. Signing Gray was huge this offseason, but it hasn't seemed to pay dividends.

Perhaps a true top-tier signing would make an impact amongst fans. This upcoming offseason, players such as Juan Soto, Corbin Burnes, Pete Alonso, Max Fried, and Japanese phenom Roki Sasaki will all be available via free agency. Not one of them will sign for less than $25 million annually, so the DeWitt family will have to open up their pocketbooks if they want a player who will draw fans. Don't expect them to do so.

However, Mozeliak acquired two top-20 players in baseball within three years (Goldschmidt and Arenado), and he signed one of the best pitchers available this past offseason, and fans still aren't coming out in droves. Will big-name players actually move the attendance needle? I'm skeptical.

Transparency

The Cardinal Way has included tight-lipped executives and political-esque stances and statements from everyone associated with the organization. John Mozeliak will never telegraph his specific plans -- nor should he. But if the organization wants to see more fans in the seats, everyone from the top-ranking executive to the field manager must be transparent.

Fans don't like being toyed with. When a need is obvious for a team but an executive skirts around this weakness in interviews or acquisitions, fans notice. For years, fans were treated to a consistent on-field product that produced division-winning caliber teams. Transparency wasn't abundant throughout the 2000s and 2010s, but there wasn't much of a need for that when the team kept winning.

Now, after back-to-back underwhelming seasons, perhaps a more unambiguous approach to things would do ownership well. If the team wants to maintain a "get in and win" approach with the playoffs, tell the fans that. If ownership sees a total rebuild as the best route to consistent success once again, let fans know that, too. Derrick Goold put this concept best in his most recent chat.

We just had a conversation in the press box about how refreshing it would be for the Cardinals to talk openly and honestly about wanting to be the best team in the NL again, not just the NL Central. Talk about having the best record in the NL, say that's the brand and live up to it.

Whatever path is chosen, ownership owes it to the fanbase to let them know the approach so the loyal supporters aren't drudging around for years feeling betrayed and let down.