The annual anticipation of Opening Day is heightened for St. Louis Cardinals fans in 2026, with a gifted group of young players who represent the future

By Ryan K Boman | March 25, 2026

‘Twas the Night before First Pitch… and the Cardinals were busy in the off-season, unloading a lot of veteran stars and established names as they turned the page on a disastrous few seasons. With Opening Day set for tomorrow against the Tampa Bay Rays, the franchise’s new-look team will try to get back to its old winning ways. Once considered one of the National League’s perennial contenders, it’s going to be a long climb back to the top in the Gateway City.

The Redbirds (78-84 in 2025) finished in fourth place in the NL Central Division last year, just ahead of lovable losers, the Pittsburgh Pirates. Despite having a lineup that featured Brendan Donovan, Nolan Arenado, and Willson Contreras, the team was offensively inept, finishing 17th in MLB in batting average and 29th in home runs. All three former All-Stars are gone now, along with veteran pitcher Sonny Gray and a handful of former mainstays.

In their place are youngsters who the club hopes represent a bright future. New General Manager Chaim Bloom went on the attack when he was asked to gut the roster and start over. Now, thanks to his winter moves, fans will enter the 2026 campaign in a way that many of them aren’t familiar with.

‘Not Knowing’ is the really fun part

Tomorrow, the always-anticipated March of the Clydesdales will take place, and plenty of former Cardinal greats will surely be in attendance for another St. Louis celebration of the season. Much of the festivities will be business as usual, of course. Folks in the Midwest wouldn’t have it any other way.

But what will be radically different is how Cardinal Nation will watch baseball this Summer. While they will still root for victories, the ‘Best Fans in Baseball’ will also act as unofficial scouts. They will be eyeing the new crop of Cards to see who could stick and who could be a star. Rather than watching the scoreboard, a good portion of them will be more interested in the stat sheet. Especially when it comes to potential superstars like Masyn Winn and rookie JJ Wetherholt.

Much like the night before Christmas, the Redbird followers aren’t really sure what’s waiting for them on what has become an unofficial holiday at Busch Stadium. They know what they’ve wished for, but now comes the moment of truth. What will follow may end up being one of the most entertaining seasons of Cardinals baseball that we’ve seen in a long time. There will be big moments, and likely even bigger mistakes, but the team’s followers will get to watch them grow up, right before our eyes.

While it may not be as good as being in the hunt, watching what develops could be just as much fun for the friends of the feather as a powerhouse playoff run. What this team brings to the table in 2026 is hope. And it springs eternal. That may not matter much to cynics, but in the magical world known as Cardinal Nation, it has the makings of a storybook year for several different reasons. For now, all we can do is tuck ourselves into bed and see what the season brings, starting tomorrow. First pitch, 3:15.

CLICK FOR MORE: The ‘Best Fans in Baseball’ are giving the Redbirds a reprieve in 2026

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Ryan K Boman is the Publisher for the Savannah Bananas at Sports Illustrated and the author of the 2023 book, Pop Music & Peanut Butter: A Collection of Essays Looking at Life with Laughter & Love.

Boman is a longtime sports writer & editor whose previous work has appeared at The Sporting News, MSN, Yahoo! Sports, the Miami Herald, and Yardbarker.
Follow him on X @RyanKBoman