It wasn’t supposed to come to this. Long regarded as one of the league’s proudest franchises, the St. Louis Cardinals have stumbled in another series against the Colorado Rockies. You can’t drop to the Rockies if you’re a contending team. And that’s exactly what the Cardinals did, falling again earlier this week in a series that left them with a season record of 2-4 against the Rockies. In the three-game series, the Cardinals were able to score only a total of eight runs.

Now, the club is 4.5 games behind the final wildcard spot in the National League as well. These setbacks have not just affected the standings but also the attendance. Last year, the Cardinals finished the season with attendance of 2,878,115.

This season, the St. Louis Cardinals rank 19th in MLB attendance, with an average of 28,804 fans per home game. They have witnessed the continued trend of decreased audience for the second consecutive year. Across 43 home games, the club has drawn nearly 30,000 attendees per game.

As noted by Colin Cowherd, “St. Louis is currently 19th in MLB attendance. There was an argument it was the most rabid & loyal baseball city in America less than ten years ago.” Exactly 10 years ago, the Cardinals had 43,467 fans per home game.

Their current ballpark, Busch Stadium, opened back in 2006 and seats roughly 44,400; it has rarely looked this empty. After all, the Cardinals have had a tough season. They are currently 61-62 and 17 games behind in the National League Central entering Saturday.

Their latest loss was against the New York Yankees, where they fell 4-3 to the Bronx Bombers on Friday night. The team has also been brutally bitten by the injury bug, which has led to many key pieces on the sidelines. Recently, Nolan Arenado, Willson Contreras, and Brendan Donovan were out with injuries.

Donavan returned to the lineup during the series against the Colorado Rockies, and his return was a good sign. However, he was scratched out of the lineup on Friday against the Yankees due to foot pain. Manager Oli Marmol announced that it could keep Donavan out for multiple days, marking yet more bad news for the team. Naturally, given the deepened slump, fans have given up on manager Oli Marmol, too. It’s because a lot of the organizational issues trace back to ownership and the front office.

St. Louis fans’ frustration boils over the Cardinals

The struggles of the Cardinals this season have not only shown up in the standings but also in the stands. Attendance continues to dip, and fans have not been shy about voicing their frustration towards the Cardinals and their ownership. But as of present, fans have not held back from sharing why they have given up on the Cardinals.

One fan summed it up frustratedly, “I’m so sick of this notion that you need to go to every game regardless of the teams success… the ownership and the team has zero loyalty to the fan base so why would I spend my money to come root for a dud?” The declining attendance is not only because the Cardinals have been losing games back-to-back. Sure, they have brutally lost the series to the Rockies and another game to the Yankees. However, the reason behind the declining attendance is also that the fans have lost trust in Cardinals ownership.

Then many took a shot at the president of baseball operations, John Mozeliak. “It’s the Mozelaik effect… Mo/Oli combo has caused massive fan apathy…” If it helps, John Mozeliak is stepping out by the end of the season. Chaim Bloom is taking over to guide the club into a rebuild. When this news came out, it led many to speculate that Bloom will fire Oli Marmol and replace him with a better manager of his choice. It still could be the case, but as it seems, Marmol will be the Cardinals’ manager for 2026 as well. Amidst all the setbacks, many wondered if Chaim Bloom would keep Oli Marmol as the Cardinals’ manager after he takes over. Apparently, he could. That’s because of the steady progress Marmol has shown each year.

The calls for the “Mozeliak effect” never stopped, as one fan wrote, “Our emotions have been toyed with for over a decade. Mo has been a terrible GM outside of a few trades and signs.” During the first half of Mozeliak’s tenure (2008–2015), the Cardinals averaged 91 wins per year, captured four division titles, appeared in four NLCS, played in two World Series, and won one championship.

On the contrary, the following years (2016–2024) have been defined by mediocrity—an average of 85 wins per season, only two division titles, just one additional NLCS appearance, and a mere four playoff victories, with five playoff absences. No wonder that over the years, fans have lost trust in the Cardinals’ ownership. That’s why many collectively said, “Year after year of mediocre baseball and a cheap front office has killed our love for the team.” Well, it makes sense why this year’s attendance is 6,000 fewer than last year.

Fans have made it clear that their frustration is translating into action: “As a fan of the team, most are unhappy with management and ownership and won’t go to games.” For a club that was once hailed as a model for attendance, this refusal to show up is a direct reflection of where the relationship between club and community stands today. Marmol was an early favorite to win the NL Manager of the Year. It was back when the Cardinals were enjoying a nine-game winning streak back in May. But now, things are clearly different.