Welcome to The Write Fielder – a weekly newsletter on baseball and the St. Louis Cardinals from the Post-Dispatch. Every Friday, lead baseball writer Derrick Goold delivers behind the seams stories straight to your inbox that builds upon the baseball coverage in a city celebrated for its deep roots and deepest fondness for the game.
ST. LOUIS — Hours before he cupped his hand to his ear to hear the curtain-call applause from the sellout crowd grow and then pointed to his heart as a thanks to the fans, Nolan Arenado stole some time with Matt Holliday, a longtime friend, a standout Cardinal, and one of the players with a standing invitation to attend opening day at Busch Stadium.
They call them the red jackets.
Membership has its privileges.
People are also reading…
And did trades-not-made this winter by the Cardinals actually set them up for what they’ll need at their Hall of Fame for a future membership drive?
The group of Cardinals Hall of Famers and National Baseball Hall of Famers, all clad in those signature, tailored red sportscoats, who attended Thursday’s opening day included Tony La Russa, Joe Torre, Ozzie Smith, and then also Jim Edmonds, Jason Isringhausen, Ted Simmons, Scott Rolen, Matt Morris, and Holliday. As he was introduced Thursday, Arenado shared a hug with Rolen – and could soon surpass Rolen in one Cardinals’ statistic (see below).
The semicircle of red jackets got me thinking about who will be joining it.
George Hendrick, Steve Carlton, Brian Jordan, and Edgar Renteria could be elected to the club’s Hall of Fame this year. A year from now, Albert Pujols and Yadier Molina will be elected by fans into the Hall, and that means they’ll be in red jackets for 2027, and a few months later fans will certainly elect Adam Wainwright to the team’s Hall of Fame and red jacket reunion. And then? Depending on his plans for the coming season, Matt Carpenter could be next.
But who is the red jacket out there on the field now?
I wondered if the Cardinals inability to finalize a trade for Arenado and lack of interest in trading Ryan Helsley might have thrust them into red jacket territory. I asked around the ballpark a bit on Thursday, and Masyn Winn came up as the leader in his class for a red jacket with Brendan Donovan getting a nod. Winn has a few years to go before he’s eligible. Arenado already is, and so is Helsley, complete with the club record for saves in a season. Their former teammate, Paul Goldschmidt, will also be eligible, and he’ll bring an MVP to the fan ballot.
The next generation of red jackets after the Pujols-Molina-Wainwright trio is fascinating, and that’s where you, Write Fielder readers, come in.
The floor is yours.
Send me an email (dgoold@post-dispatch.com) with your thoughts on who on the field playing now for the Cardinals will be on the field in the future sporting a red jacket.
I want to share some of your thoughts and reasoning in next week’s newsletter.
Please know that if you write me I may share your email.
Eager to hear from the fans who will have the vote …
The St. Louis Cardinals Hall of Fame inductees stand for a photo during opening day ceremonies before the game against the Minnesota Twins on Thursday, March 27, 2025, at Busch Stadium.
CONTRERAS WILL SET NEW CAREER HIGH
Anyone who watched Willson Contreras hit this spring training – in batting practice, in games, on the backfields – saw the exuberance in the former catcher’s swing and the power soaring off it. Contreras looked so joyful at the plate that at one point he bat-flipped a walk. No one saw the relish Contreras had hitting this spring more often or in closer proximity than his teammates.
So, I asked them this past week how many home runs will Contreras hit.
His career high is 24.
“Over,†said one teammate.
“Take the over,†said another.
“Way over,†said another.
“I set the over under at 33.5,†a veteran said, “and I still I’m taking the over.â€
Three teammates predicted 32 home runs, precisely, for Contreras. One said that he would top his career high by one, hitting 25. A fellow hitter noted how often Contreras will be able to play because he’s not catching anymore and said he’ll top 30, easy. Another teammate said Contreras will hit 35, and close by teammate chimed in to agree with 35 but said Contreras “might just go for 40.â€
“Over. I’m taking the over,†Luken Baker said. “And you can quote me on this. He’s the best hitter I’ve ever been. He’s so strong. He’s so balanced. How many home runs is going to hit, you said? A lot. That’s my prediction. A lot.â€
The Cardinals' Nolan Arenado is congratulated in the dugout by Lars Nootbaar after hitting a solo home run in the eighth inning of a game against Minnesota on Thursday, March 27, 2025, at Busch Stadium.
FROM THE 'PEN
Nolan Arenado’s home run on opening day gave him 107 with the Cardinals. That is four shy of tying the 111 Scott Rolen hit during his stretch as a Hall of Fame-bound third baseman with the Cardinals. … The homer broke a tie with Whitey Kurowski and Ripper Collins on the Cardinals’ career rankings so that Arenado now ranks 23rd all-time. … Ryan Helsley is the first Cardinal with a save on opening day since Kwang Hyun Kim had one in 2020 during his super-brief tenure at closer. … According to the Cardinals’ media relations staff and its research, Helsley tied Skip Schumaker for the third-most opening day appearances at Busch. Helsley and Schumaker have four, trailing Yadier Molina (seven) and Albert Pujols (five). … Meanwhile, in Toronto: Former Cardinal and current Baltimore Oriole outfielder Tyler O’Neill homered on his sixth consecutive opening day. O’Neill’s six home runs on opening day ties Bryce Harper for the active leader in homers on the opener. Arenado is tied with Giancarlo Stanton with the third-most. … O’Neill’s six consecutive is the MLB record, by the by. And this year, the Canadian slugger hit it in Canada. … The Cardinals’ .342 slugging with runners in scoring position in 2024 was the fifth-lowest for the club since Major League Baseball and its statistical partners began tracking the start. The four seasons worse than this past season for the Cardinals: .339 in 1984, .339 in 1990, .328 in 1988, and .325 in 1986. … The Cardinals hit .229 this past season in RISP spots, and that was the lowest since 1974, when the stat can be tracked. And not just the lowest. It is the lowest by a significant amount for a Cardinals lineup. The previous low was 1986 when the Cardinals hit .237 in RISP spots. … If you want to look at the places where the Cardinals can improve from 2024 to 2025, consider that according to Baseball Prospectus the Cardinals had seven hitters underperform their projections. That is the second-most in the majors. Six of those players return to the Cardinals this season. … Jordan Walker’s single on opening day left his bat at 116.5 mph. That is the highest exit velocity measured of his career, and it is the swiftest hit off the bat by a Cardinal since May 8, 2023, when Willson Contreras drilled a pitch at 117.5 mph. … Phil Maton, who grew up in Chatham, Illinois, as a Cardinals fan, pitched the eighth inning Thursday to become the 2,101st player for the Cardinals since they joined the National League in 1892. … Class AAA Memphis manager Ben Johnson is 20 wins away from becoming the Redbirds all-time leader in managerial wins. He'll surpass Chris Maloney. From 2007-2011, “Hammer†went 367-350 with the Cardinals’ top affiliate. Since taking over in 2019, Johnson is 348-367. Currently second on the place and poised to be surpassed by Johnson is Gaylen Pitts, at 364-351. Danny Schaeffer had 244 wins in Memphis. … Some other notable managers in Memphis and their win totals: Stubby Clapp (174), Ron “Pop†Warner (205), and Mike Shildt (138). … Thursday was my 21st consecutive opening day on the Cardinals beat, my 22nd Cardinals’ opening day covering baseball, and off we go into my 22nd year covering baseball in this baseball city. Eager to do it.
DRAWING THE GAME
Every season brings a brand-new scorebook. This year's has some features from the Cardinals' 2025 look, but it also plays off the art used in an old 10-cent scorebook I found images of and some vintage St. Louis postcards. I enjoy scoring the game and talking about the different styles of scoring — or "drawing the game," as my son called it when he was a preschooler. Regularly throughout the season I'll share pages or scoring calls from the book.
Scorebook page from Derrick Goold's bespoke scorebook illustrating the Cardinals' 5-3 victory against Minnesota on opening day 2025. The game was played at Busch Stadium on March 28. (Photo by Derrick Goold)
Scorebook page from Derrick Goold's bespoke scorebook illustrating the Cardinals' 5-3 victory against Minnesota on opening day 2025. The game was played at Busch Stadium on March 28. The photo also shows a Blackwing pencil, (Photo by Derrick Goold)
PAPERCLIPS
• On the eve of returning to St. Louis and opening day start the Cardinals and their third baseman did not think would happen this winter, Nolan Arenado sat in the AutoZone Park dugout with me to talk about the fans, St. Louis, and his view of getting a chance to make sure last season isn't how his time in a Cardinals uniform ended.
• Missed the award-winning, annual ÁñÁ«ÊÓƵ Cardinals Season Preview special section? "Finding their way back" was the theme. All of the articles, including Daniel Guerrero's position-by-position breakdown of the '25 Cardinals, are organized here for easy access.
• From hell to ‘baseball heaven,’ John Ulett has been voice of Busch Stadium for 40 years, and sports columnist Benjamin Hochman has his story.
• Cardinals season brings fancy sausages, umbrella hats, red hot sausage, cheese arepas, plantains, Mayo Ketchup and more to the ballpark. Hannah Wyman attended the open house preview at Busch and brought the details back.Ìý
• Former manager Mike Matheny has a new book out, writes Rosalind Early.
COVERING HOME
While away at spring training, my Tower Grove neighborhood welcomed a new bookstore to South Grand. . I hear they have a strong selection of postcards, and I will be visiting as soon as possible during this opening homestand. Leviathan had a list of its favorite baseball books last year, and on it was Lonnie Wheeler’s book, “The Bona Fide Legend of Cool Papa Bell: Speed, Grace, and the Negro Leagues.†It’s a strong book to learn a lot about a St. Louis legend.
A local shop with a booklist ready to go?
Anyone up for the Best Book Club in Baseball?
ON DECK
The Cardinals’ opening home stand concludes at the start of next week with a visit from the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim in Orange County down the road from Disneyland and their star player Mike Trout. One of the greatest players in baseball history, Trout also was a teammate of Pujols and Shohei Ohtani under the halo and, yet, never had any October success.
In five games at Busch Stadium, Trout has hit .300 with a .417 on-base percentage, a .40 slugging percentage, one home run, one RBI, and five runs.
Write back to you next week from Boston.
— Derrick Goold, Post-Dispatch lead baseball writer
Replies to this email will not reach me. If you would like to offer feedback or suggestions for The Write Fielder, please contact me at dgoold@post-dispatch.com.
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