This story was excerpted from Will Leitch's Cardinals Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.
The 2026 season was expected to be one of the worst in Cardinals history. Baseball Prospectus’ PECOTA projected the Cardinals to lose 96 games, which would have been their most losses in a season since 1913. Almost every publication and expert picked them last in the NL Central. This did not look like it was going to be a fun season for Cardinals fans.
It didn’t turn out that way. Sure, the Cardinals ended up falling short of a playoff spot, and only a red-hot final week will keep them from falling under .500 for the second year in a row and third time out of four. This team had clear holes that became evident as the year went along, particularly with the bullpen.
But not only did 2026 serve to help the club identify long-term, foundational pieces, it also provided some significant entertainment value. The Cardinals saw rookies burst onto the scene. Young players took long-awaited big steps forward and provided some truly joyous moments. So before we say goodbye to the 2026 Cardinals, here are the five most memorable moments of the season in St. Louis.
5. Burleson bashes in the Bronx (Aug. 3)
The top four moments on this list were pretty clear choices, but we had a lot of options for the fifth spot, from the four-game sweep in Pittsburgh in late April to the 17-1 win at Wrigley Field on July 3 to Iván Herrera dramatically salvaging the Hancel Rincon hat game. But Alec Burleson may have secured his future as the Cardinals first baseman this season (and he may end up leading the Majors in RBIs), and his signature moment was his three-homer game at Yankee Stadium on the day the Cardinals traded away Dustin May and Lars Nootbaar ahead of the Aug. 3 Trade Deadline.
Busch Stadium does Burleson’s power no favors -- Statcast park factors rank it as the toughest home run park for left-handed batters -- and you definitely got the sense he enjoyed the opportunity to take aim at the inviting right field seats in the Bronx. Burleson was a revelation for the Cards this year. And that was his brightest night.
4. Wetherholt’s glorious opening weekend (March 26-28)
No Cardinals player had more eyes on him on Opening Day than second baseman JJ Wetherholt, the seventh overall pick in the 2024 Draft and a top prospect who seemed to represent the promise of a better Cardinals future all by himself. He couldn’t have authored a better introduction.
Facing the Rays on Opening Day at Busch Stadium, Wetherholt homered in the third inning for his first big league hit (in a game in which the Cardinals came back to win after trailing 7-1). Two days later, he became only the second Cardinal in 60 years to have a walk-off hit in his first or second big league game when he hit a two-run single in the bottom of the 10th. (Curt Ford in 1985 was the other.)
Wetherholt would end up having a terrific year. Even as his offense slipped later in the year, he still leads all rookies in WAR, thanks in part to exceptional defense at second. He also signed an extension that will secure his place as a centerpiece of the Cardinals moving forward. He has felt like a seasoned Cardinals veteran since the beginning.
3. ‘Tarps Off’ turns on (May 15)
It was just a bunch of kids on a club team from Stephen F. Austin University, taking in a Cardinals game while in town for a tournament. Inspired by college football fans, they took their shirts off and started chanting. And then there were more people in their section, and then more, and then still more. Next thing you know, manager Oliver Marmol was inviting them to the clubhouse, they were back the next night, the section was designated specifically for Tarps Off … and a movement was spreading throughout baseball.
For a team rebuilding for the future -- and reintroducing itself to a fanbase -- the energy that Tarps Off brought merged perfectly with a young team that clearly fed off it. In the end: Even franchise legend Julian Javier was getting in on the fun. It made Busch Stadium feel alive again.
2. Báez makes history (Aug. 15)
Everyone knew Joshua Báez had unique power. He had hit 34 homers in just 103 games for Triple-A Memphis and was MLB Pipeline’s No. 59 prospect at the time of his Aug. 15 debut. But it was reasonable to expect an adjustment period, particularly with his first game in the cauldron of Wrigley Field against the Cardinals’ hated rivals.
Then, like it was nothing, he hit the first pitch he ever saw in the Majors, from Matthew Boyd, 449 feet to dead center field. Then, in his next at-bat, he hit another home run. And then, in his third … he hit another. It was something no player in MLB history had ever done, hitting homers in his first three at-bats. It was baseball history.
“It’s just unreal,” Báez said. “For me to not only get a hit, but hit three home runs is just crazy.” He is not wrong.
1. Walker wins the Derby (July 13)
At the beginning of the season, there was legitimate concern that Jordan Walker might have to start the season in the Minor Leagues after his miserable 2025 and a rough Spring Training. But he was a revelation in the first half, finally becoming the player the Cardinals have long believed he could be, earning himself his first All-Star appearance … and an invite to the Home Run Derby.
In front of a loud, raucous Citizens Bank Park crowd in Philadelphia screaming for hometown hero Kyle Schwarber, Walker just calmly, casually kept launching homer after homer, like it was nothing, like it was the easiest thing in the world. He kept his cool in the face of those rowdy fans and won the first Home Run Derby in Cardinals history. But more than that: It was clear, that night, a star had been born.