COMMENTARY | The St. Louis Cardinals organization has been named by many different sources as having one of the best farm systems in baseball and the pitching talent is a large reason for that. Perspective becomes increasingly important however when determining if a pitcher is considered a major-league pitcher or a top-of-the-rotation major league pitcher.

My previous article took a look at why the Adam Wainwright extension was a much more sound decision than the possibility of signing Albert Pujols to a long-term deal would have been. During that discussion, I point out that Wainwright was much harder to replace since there were very few arms in the minor league system that project to take over his position as “ace” with this club.

Many fans have to wonder what I might have been talking about. The young pitching has looked more than impressive at the end of 2012 and during the spring of 2013. Why then, fans wonder, would I say that there is only one pitcher that projects to be the potential heir to the Wainwright throne?

Click here to read an in depth look at the young hurlers in the Cardinals organization.

The final day of the Cardinals Winter Warm-Up brought on a few heavy hitters, with some highlight topic as well. The chief among them all was manager Mike Matheny, who is has a spotlight over him entering his second season at the helm. As can be expected, he addressed a wide range of topics, from positional battles and pitching projects, all the way to his publicized financial losses and the passing of Stan Musial.

• Matheny stressed a very involved method of learning from his first season on the job, including keeping contact with his players throughout the winter. He’s placed importance on their feedback as part of his preparation, as well as speaking with coaches from other sports for perspective as well.Looking back at last season, Says the difference between a plenty of wins were small things that can be fixed and focused on. Says it’s a waste of time to dwell on them, and “it’s a matter of controlling things you can control, and that’s where I come in.”
• Approaching this season, he is confident in the evolution of the club: “I think we have made some adjustments to our club. Some of our younger players are different players now with the experience they have, and I think we have a chance to be much better than 88 games.”
• In regards to player usage, there was a focus on resting players more often but within reason. Stresses that it is a case by case with managing players. Also there is the situation of understanding how to enable younger players to know how to battle.
• One of the players that benefited in this fashion a year ago was Allen Craig. Matheny stated he learned how to “grind through and push through times when he probably wouldn’t have in the past. And what that does for the respect level in the clubhouse.” Said he has few holes in his swing, and that he has the chance to be an elite level hitter.
• Going back on what was indicated by John Mozeliak earlier in the weekend; Matheny says that second base is open, but that the healthiest thing to do is for everybody to walk into camp ready to compete, regardless of position. “Second base has certainly presented some opportunities, and the competition should be fun to watch.”
• In regards to the reported losses his sustained from a real estate venture before signing with the ballclub last year, he stated that much of that story was misreported. Explained it had no impact on his managing, and that there were “There were no woes, financially.”
• Regarding the loss of Musial, Matheny said he first met him 20 years ago as a minor league ballplayer and he feels strongly about making a visible tribute to him on the uniform this year. “I think everybody gets how important Mr. Musial was, and still is and will be to this organization and community.

In addition to the skipper, David Freese and Yadier Molina showed up to address the direction of the club headed off a tough ending to 2012. John Mabry made an appearance to discuss his new role with the club, and both contenders for the second base slot were in attendance as well.

• Matt Carpenter described having more confidence in place with the organization after last season. Says he loves playing in St. Louis and “We’re envied by a lot other players. Guys are always talking about what it’s like to be Cardinal.”  Is going to take the same mindset into the spring as any other year, and is focused on winning second base job. He is okay with playing there a few times a week, or not at all, as long as he can contribute somewhere.

• Daniel Descalso acknowledged having a lot of struggles offensively, but felt like he squared the ball more often down the stretch, which led to his success. Said he is excited about working with John Mabry, and expects it to be a seamless transition between him and McGwire.

• Yadier Molina expressed he is excited about working with the young pitchers that will compete for a place on the team, and that developing their understanding of the game is just as important as their play. “When I came up my first couple of years, my mind was my real test. I use that for the young guys. You have to work with their mind and give him confidence. If they so you not confident, they are going to feel that way too.”
• He expressed an excitement in playing for his homeland of Puerto Rico in the World Baseball Classic, and that playing in the Puerto Rican winter league, as well as spending the winter residing in Jupiter, Florida close to the club’s spring training facilities was part of his advanced preparation for the season, due to the time he will miss in camp participating.

• John Mabry said that his promotion to hitting coach was a surprise, but “I’m still home. And if I was to go back into baseball it would be with the St. Louis Cardinals, the team that drafted me and developed me.” On his philosophy for the preparing batters, he feels “The separation point between players is the mental approach, and good and great, great and awesome. Staying with your game plan, and not deviating from it unless forced to.”
• Continued on that Says there are surprises coming, and that Oscar Taveras is the club’s best hitting prospect since Albert Pujols. The hope is that he doesn’t come up right away, because that means everybody is healthy. You don’t want to have a talent like that on the bench. Says infielders Kolten Wong and Greg Garcia will come to camp and get more at-bats due to the WBC, and will have opportunities to improve their stock.

• David Freese said he had a much slower offseason than last year, which he enjoyed, but that the way the season ended is still sticking with him. “It was very disappointing. As a St. Louis Cardinal, you expect to make the playoffs but also reach the World Series. But you think about game 5, 6 and 7 and you realize it wasn’t meant to be.”
• On the experience of playing in the first Wild Card play-in Game, expressed it as a unique and high pressure scenario and a strong incentive to play to win the division every year. “I haven’t really been around too long, but that’s insane. I rarely get nervous, but I was nervous that game. We were 7 games behind Atlanta, and we’re playing them. It was crazy.”
  

The second day of the Cardinals Winter Warm Up brought on even more players to the annual event. Outside of the passing and impact of Stan Musial, popular topics for the day on the upcoming season, popular topics included the competition for the fifth starting position, which included three of the candidates for the role offering their take on their chances for it.

Shelby Miller is showing up in shape to compete for the opening in the rotation.

Joe Kelly: Is open to pitching in both the rotation and the bullpen, and there is an appeal to pitching every day possibly in the bullpen. He went on to state the transition from starter to reliever is easier from a preparation perspective. He understands there will be a tough competition for spots on the pitching staff, and feels he is “probably the most competitive guy on the team”.

Shelby Miller: The three-time top organizational prospect said that strength improvement was his top focus this winter. In discussing his slow start to 2012, he takes responsibility for being in bad shape calling his frame a “beach bod” shape, which was no good for him to be a starting pitcher. He came into camp light at 204 pounds, but is up to 223 this year.

As far as what he learned from his early difficulties, Miller affirmed “I didn’t really struggle at any point in the minor leagues except in Memphis in the first half. I was probably one of the most stubborn guys ever seen.” And in regards to why it took so long to work out, he revealed “I wasn’t a happy person but I blame myself for that.” Said he is thankful for his struggle, as he gained perspective from them.

Trevor Rosenthal: Has been training in St. Louis with Chris Carpenter this winter, and has been working out at Busch for eight hours a day. He complimented Carpenter’s intensity and regime as helping him take strides to be ready for any roll on the team.

In regards to his postseason success as a reliever, after making the conversion from minor league starter, he gave credit to Adam Wainwright for helping him ease into the roll: “One of the main conversations we had going into the postseason was to keep doing what I’ve been doing. Don’t try to change anything, trust my stuff and go out there and do what I’m used to.”

In other player news to prime for Spring Training:

Jon Jay: Stated that playing next to Carlos Beltran, a three-time Gold Glove center fielder, was a definite bonus in him taking strides forward as defender. After having troubles with his shoulder mid-season in 2012, he says it is fully healthy now with no restrictions.

Jordan Swagerty: The 2010 second round pick, who missed all of last summer due to Tommy John surgery, stated he threw 60 pitches, all maximum effort, this month. He continued on that his breaking pitches not as sharp, but they are coming back around. In regards to whether he will return as a starter or reliever this year, he has “no idea what they have in store for me. I like to do both, but I got a little bit of a closer’s mentality.”

Pete Kozma:  In regards to his experience being thrust into the starting lineup for the final months of the season, he stated that the intensity of the games was a shock, but over the experience was very memorable. As for his place in this year’s club, he sees versatility as his ally, and is encouraged by the fact the team didn’t add anything via free agency or trades in the middle infield.

Jake Westbrook: Stated that he would have been healthy to participate in the World Series if the club had reached it, and perhaps could have been available in the NLCS as well. In regards to being back with the club after the club activating his option for 2013 late last season, “I couldn’t be happier. I love playing here and it’s good to continue on in St. Louis.”

Westbrook later on said he enjoys his role in the background of the rotation this season, but is surprised about Kyle Lohse still not being signed.

Edward Mujica: Entering his second season with the club, Mujica Says that Mike Matheny gave him a lot of confidence when he came to St. Louis, and that knowing he would be pitching the 6^th and 7^th innings helped tremendously from a preparation stand point. He is also excited to have Randy Choate rejoin him in the bullpen, and that Choate contacted him before signing with the club. The two were teammates in Miami last season.

Mitchell Boggs: On the subject of his path from fighting to a bullpen spot to leading the National League in holds last season, he says nothing has changed in his approach to spring training. “The thought process doesn’t change at all. Last year was very positive, but it’s not something I’m going to hang my hat on. I expect to be great again.” He elaborated further stating, “It helps to know every single day to know what your role is going to be. But at the same time, you have to go out there and be ready for everything and be focused on what it takes to get the job done.”

He made a clear turning point in the success of the Cardinal bullpen a year ago, pointing to the acquisition of Mujica as key: “Adding Mujica was huge for us. He stabilized our bullpen and gave us another proven arm that could go out there night in and night out. We took off as a bullpen when we got him.”

On the subject of being selected to Team USA’s roster for the World Baseball Classic, he stated felt it was something he takes a lot of pride in and an opportunity he was very excited to accept. He said when talked to Matheny he was “extremely supportive” of his opportunity. He added that the opportunity to be coached by Greg Maddux and Dale Murphy was a bonus as well, as he grew up a Braves fan in Dalton, Georgia.

In baseball, you can never have enough pitching and the Royals figure you can’t have enough hitting coaches. The Royals hired Jack Maloof as their new hitting coach and Andre David as the assistant hitting coach for the 2013 season, replacing the departed Kevin Seitzer.

Maloof, 63, spent the last five seasons as special assistant to player development and hitting coordinator. He was in the Atlanta organization from 2002-07 and the Marlins’ hitting coach from 1999-2001. Maloof will be the primary on-field batting coach.

David, 54, has been a part of the Royals organization for 14 years. He was the Royals Minor League hitting coach from May 2005 to May 2006. For the last three seasons, David was the hitting coach for Surprise in the Rookie Arizona League. David will assist Maloof with batting coach duties.

With both Maloof and David being a part of the Royals organization, they have familiarity with the current Major League players and players in the Minor League system. The 2012 Royals were fourth in the A.L. with a .265 batting average, but were 12th in the A.L. with 676 runs scored and tied for last in the A.L. with 131 home runs. Maloof and David hope to improve the Royals power hitting and home run totals.

But why two hitting coaches? There’s concern two hitting coaches might send mixed signals to the players, but Maloof and David insist they work well together and are on the same page hitting wise. If that’s the case, they can work on two different players at the same time, being able to coach more players. And though the hitting philosophy of Maloof and David are likely to be the same, some players might “click” better with one of the coaches, increasing their chances to improve their hitting. Of course there’s the danger of the players forming “cliques,” liking one coach over the other, which could cause friction.

There’s also the “extra set of eyes” from David that gives Maloof another perspective. During games, David will be in the stands, observing batters to see what they’re doing right or doing wrong. Maloof can use the information to improve the Royals hitting.

Many teams have their pitching coach as the “primary” coach and their bullpen coach as the “assistant” pitching coach, so it’s not too far fetched to have two hitting coaches. The Giants, Tigers, Braves, Cardinals, Phillies and Padres have two hitting coaches. The Giants and Tigers are in the World Series, and the Braves and Cardinals made the playoffs, so there’s the argument two hitting coaches can be successful. With the hire of Maloof and David, The Royals are the second A.L. team to employ two hitting coaches.

The promotions of Maloof and David won’t magically propel the Royals above .500 and into the playoffs. The Royals main focus this off season is starting pitching. But they need players like Eric Hosmer and Mike Moustakas to reach their offensive potential and the team needs to score more runs. The Royals hope Maloof and David will take the team’s offense to the next level. Who knows, maybe they’ll get Chris Getz hitting opposite field home runs. Hey, they’re hitting coaches, not miracle workers.

The Kansas City Royals, coming off wins in ten of their last fifteen games with both great starting pitching and timely productive hitting from the offense, saw a change in the batting order.  Manager Ned Yost seemed to want to change it up in the three spot in the order, which has been a black hole for Royals hitters this season. The third spot in the batting order is supposed to be a position that a guy gets the opportunity to get guys who are on base in to score runs. But the problem is that the offensive production that the Royals lineup has put together this season is just not working.  The Royals are 11th in the American League in runs scored yet they are in the upper half of the league in both hits and batting average.  So what is the problem? A team that gets hits should be able to score runs but if they are not in the right order than the guys getting the hits do not have the opportunity to do so with guys on base.

The third spot in the batting order for the Royals this season is batting .223 with 57 runs batted in and only 30 extra base hits in 466 at bats. Putting that into perspective the nine whole in the lineup has driven in 55 runs.  It would be great for the nine spot to be two RBIs behind the three spot if the fact were that the three spot has lets say 80 RBIs or so.  But that would also mean that the Royals were scoring more runs and winning more games than they have this season.

The Royals have used numerous hitters in the three spot this season including Eric Hosmer, Mike Moustakas, Lorenzo Cain, Billy Butler and most recently Alex Gordon.  Gordon, who seems to be comfortable batting leadoff not only has a good batting average, .291, but it his on base percentage, .367, that makes him such a viable candidate for the number one spot in the order but if the guys behind him are not producing enough to get him in than his getting on base does not truly matter.  Some may say why mess with his psyche since he has had success at the leadoff spot the last two seasons but with the season lost the question to ask is why not? If the Royals truly are playing for the future then why not try out a few guys at the number three spot to see what they can bring to the table. Eric Hosmer proved that in his young career he is not ready for the role of run producer at the top of the lineup.  His production, or lack there of, this season has pushed him all the way to the bottom of the order.  He will turn things around and more that likely end up being the future three hitter for the Royals but something is going to have to change in his approach for that to happen. The Moustakas and Cain experiments were never going to stick because that is not what the future has in store for either of them.  Moustakas projects to be a solid five hitter with power and a batting average of .280 if not a touch under that.  Cain could fit into two different spots in the order.  He could be a six hitter with the pop that he has shown so far in his late entrance to the 2012 season but he seems to look more like a seven or eight guy with speed to get on for the top of the order.  Billy Butler is purely a number four hitter.  This gives the Royals three different guys to get on in front of him throughout the season.  The reason Butler is not a good fit at number three is his lack of speed.  If he gets on base with a double it is not a sure thing that a single will score him.  If he gets a single a double will more than likely never score him.

Ned Yost has a tough task of putting together a line up with the guys that he has on his roster this season.  With guys struggling and having three players, Alex Gordon, Alcides Escobar and Billy Butler, being the only to stay consistent all season long it is hard to put a line up together This all being said here would be the lineup for both the current and the future Royals that I would put together if I was signing the lineup card every night:

1.Current- Chris Getz (2B)                   Future- Alex Gordon (LF)

2.Current- Alcides Escobar (SS)         Future-Alcides Escobar (SS)

3.Current- Alex Gordon (LF)               Future- Eric Hosmer (1B)

4.Current- Billy Butler (DH)                Future- Billy Butler (DH)

5.Current- Mike Moustakas (3B)       Future- Mike Moustakas (3B)

6.Current- Salvador Perez (C)             Future- Wil Myers (RF)

7.Current- Eric Homer (1B)                 Future- Salvador Perez (C)

8.Current- Jeff Franceour (RF)          Future- Lorenzo Cain (CF)

9.Current- Lorenzo Cain (CF)             Future- Chris Getz (2B)

The problem that the Royals have faced this season is that the guys producing are not in the right spots.  Gordon may be the guy who leads off for this team in the future but if he can give this season a boost from the three hole that is all Ned Yost is trying to do.  Nothing from the three spot seems to have been working so why not put the guy who is hot in that spot.  Some will say if it not the future than why try it but if he continues to put a guy who is continually slumping in that spot there people will still be upset.  The players for the Royals have put their manager in a tight spot by not allowing him to put them in the three hole.  He is just trying something new and just because it may not work once does not mean it will not work over the rest of the season.  Trying something new that does not work once is better than leaving something old that has not worked for 117 games so far this season.

In the last 15 years, the Kansas City Royals have put some pretty pathetic teams on the field. As some time has passed since some of these historically inept Royals teams have come and gone, it is interesting to take a look back at the worst of them all, the 2005 version of the Royals.

Having the benefit of perspective, it really is astonishing to think that anyone in the organization expected that team to do anything other than suck really bad.

The 2005 Royals were entering the season coming off of a 104 loss season, their second 100 loss season in 3 years. And as hard as it is to believe now, up to that point, those were the Royals’ only 100 loss seasons in franchise history. Little did anyone know, that was just the beginning of a stretch of some of the most disgracefully inept (borderline insulting) brand of baseball anyone would ever witness. In order to fully appreciate the level of stink that graced Kauffman Stadium 81 times in the summer of 2005, we must first take a quick look back at 2004:

The 2004 Royals came into the season with some glimmer of hope, as crazy as it seems now. They had just completed a 2003 season that saw them lead the division most of the year and remain in contention into September. The Royals felt that if they only could carry that positive momentum into 2004, and add a few key pieces, that they would be ready to contend again. Enter Juan Gonzalez and Benito Santiago and a slightly higher payroll. Clearly this approach was miscalculated at best, and delusional at worst. Nonetheless, it represented a somewhat honest attempt at fielding a winning team for the first time in quite some time, which was refreshing in its own way.

As soon as the next off-season hit, it was like Royals ownership and management immediately wanted to get the message out that since they went for it last year and it failed miserably, that it would be a cold day in hell before they would ever try anything like that again. Come April 4, 2005, Royals fans who took off work early and spent their hard-earned money to come out to Kauffman Stadium for Opening Day, were therefore treated to this opening day lineup:

David DeJesus-CF, Ruben Gotay-2B, Mike Sweeney-1B, Calvin Pickering-DH, Matt Stairs-RF, Angel Berroa-SS, Terrence Long-LF, John Buck-C, Mark Teahen-3B, Jose Lima-SP

Not shockingly, the Royals were beaten 11-2 by the Tigers in their first of 106 losses that season. The 2005 Royals would start the season 5-9 before going on a 9 game losing streak to fall to 5-18. They would eventually fall to 8-25, before Manager Tony Pena decided he had enough and quit. Interim manager Bob Schaefer got in on the fun, going 5-12 before Buddy Bell was brought in as the permanent replacement for Pena. In most seasons, a 9 game losing streak would be far and away the low point in the season. Not for this team…not even close. They would go on to treat their fans to losing streaks of 5, 5, 8, and 19 games before going into just standard Royals Stink Mode in late August. To put it further into perspective, that 19 game losing streak saw their loss total rise from 63 to 82 before their win total rose from 38 to 39.

The passage of time allows us to look back at seasons like 2005 and find the humor in some ways. If Project 2012 can come to fruition and the Royals are fielding championship caliber teams for years to come, the 2005 season can then become nothing more than a hilarious footnote in Royals history.

Old friend Paul F Sullivan takes a look at Albert Pujols and puts things in perspective:

Paul Francis Sullivan
Blog: http://sullybaseball.blogspot.com/
Video Channel: http://www.youtube.com/user/sullybaseball
Twitter: @sullybaseball

Royals fans may not quite be giddy about their 71 wins, but they certainly are optimistic about the way their season ended, with their talented collection of youngsters rolling to 11 wins in their last 16 games.

And rightly they should be. They have had little to feel good about for years. And this young lineup certainly has potential.

But perspective is a funny thing.

You see, at the same time – August and September – that KC was celebrating the smallest of victories, St. Louis was muddling through what seemed like a disappointing season. Injuries and poor relief pitching had primarily undermined the perennial contenders, and at the end of August, the Cardinals trailed in both their division and in the Wild Card race by what seemed an insurmountable margin.

But miraculously, just when the season seemed lost, an Atlanta collapse suddenly became a possibility. Then it became a reality. And just like that, the Cardinals slipped into the playoffs, deservedly or not.

Now even though I lived in Missouri for years, surrounded by those annoying St. Louis fans, I never developed a full-blown case of Cardinal envy. In fact, I can honestly say I rarely paid enough attention to the National League even to develop a healthy appreciation for the Cardinals’ consistent success.

But this season provides a valuable lesson on the importance of perspective.

I hate to admit it, but this season proves more than just about any other that the Cardinals are where the Royals want to be.

Not because the Cardinals might win the World Series, even though they might.

No, the Cardinals are where the Royals want to be because even though they struggled and fumbled and limped their way through what was, for them, a sub-par season, they ended up in the playoffs anyway. The Royals meanwhile fielded an exciting collection of “prospects” (for the umpteenth time) and still ended up so far out of contention that we stopped paying attention to the standings mid-summer.

It doesn’t take a genius to figure out the difference. The Royals perennially field a few decent hitters, some horrible pitchers and some promising prospects. The Cardinals, meanwhile, have a few great hitters, and some excellent pitchers. Then they pull together a collection of solid role players that, in the hands of Hall-of-Fame caliber management, just win because that’s what you do when you are the St. Louis Cardinals.

It’s the getting there that seems to be the hard part.

Good luck in the playoffs, Redbirds. Win or lose, you are always winners. We in KC can only hope that someday we can have sub-par seasons like the one you’re having.

One homerun, 4 RBIs, and a .128 batting average.

Those were Albert Pujols’ numbers during the first two weeks of this season. Heck, he only had 5 hits. By months end, one of the best hitters the baseball has ever known “rebounded” to hit .257 for the month… a far cry from his then .331 career batting average.

Not exactly the start he or Cardinals fans were hoping for.

May was not much better for Albert, who only put up 2 HRs and 13 RBIs. That’s a total he’s nearly eclipsed already just 11 games into the month of September (2 HRs, 12 RBIs, and a .428 Avg. by the way). And that’s exactly the point.

Albert Pujols is still the man.

Has he had his flaws this year? Absolutely. With 15 games to go, there’s a decent chance he’ll tie or break the National League record for groundball double plays in a single season (32 – Miguel Tejada, Pujols has 29). His current batting average of .298 is well below his previous career low of .312 (’10). He slumped so much that teams started pitching to him late in games with the tying run in scoring position and first base open. His intentional walks, in fact, will likely be the lowest since 2004 (yes, teams still pitched to him in ’04. Crazy, I know).

But despite all that, plus a broken wrist and an overwhelming large contract cloud looming over him, he’s still managed to put up these numbers: .298, 35 HRs, 92 RBIs… and there’s still two weeks left. The man is simply absurd.

His value to the Cardinals is undeniable. In the team’s 79 wins, he has driven in 70 RBIs. In the team’s 67 losses… just 22 RBIs.

Many fans will think back on the 2011 season and think Pujols had an “awful” year. By Albert’s incredibly high standards, he truly is having an awful year. But luckily for the Cardinals, and “awful” Pujols means hitting .428 in September, (likely) driving in 100+ Runs, scoring another 100+, and leading the league in homeruns.

Perspective is a funny thing sometimes.

But with perspective in mind, fans have to hope that both the Cardinals’ management and team Pujols have it going into the offseason. Both sides know he was underpaid for 11 years of dominant baseball… putting up over nine-hundred extra-base hits during that span and leading the team to two World Series and one championship. Both sides must also know that the next 8-10 years will not yield that same kind of production unless Pujols goes Barry Bonds on us.

The Cardinals paid $116 million for Pujols’ prime, and he wants $300 million for his decline. It’s a tough situation for everyone involved. Hopefully they can settle things up for a less-than-franchise-crippling amount in the middle… because Cardinals Nation wants him back, and the team needs him back.

He is, after all, still the man.

The following information was provided to i70baseball by the St. Louis Cardinals organization.

Busch Stadium Tour Tickets Now Available Online
Fans Can Purchase Tour Tickets at cardinals.com/tours

ST. LOUIS (July 26, 2011) — The St. Louis Cardinals announced that starting today fans are able to purchase stadium tour tickets at cardinals.com/tours. The new online process is designed to make the practice of booking a stadium tour easier and more efficient.

“Our tour staff does an exceptional job of giving fans an intimate perspective of Busch Stadium while sharing with them the history of the Cardinals,” said Vicki Bryant, Vice President of Event Services & Merchandising for the Cardinals. “The online ticket option gives fans a more convenient way to purchase the tickets for individual use or as a special gift.”

Tours are normally offered daily at 9:30 a.m., 11:00 a.m., 12:30 p.m and 2:00 p.m. throughout the baseball season (April through September) with exceptions for public holidays and events. Tour tickets are $10 for adults, $8 for military personnel and seniors and $6 for children 15-years-old and under. In addition to being able to purchase tickets on line at cardinals.com/tours, fans may still purchase tickets at windows 19 and 20 on Clark Street at Gate 5 thirty minutes prior to the first tour or by calling 314.345.9000.

Busch Stadium tours last approximately one hour and include stops in the Redbird Club, broadcast booths, Cardinals Club and Cardinals Dugout, as well as other unique areas of the stadium.

Groups with more than 25 guests qualify for special rates. Call the Tour Information Line at 314-345-9565 for details.

Over 30,000 fans each year have taken stadium tours in the new ballpark since it opened in 2006.