Latest / Kenny Wallace Media / Cardinals Ownership Explains Offseason Moves

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Cardinals Ownership Explains Offseason Moves · Kenny Wallace Media

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I think MO and his team did a good job of filling some holes
0:04
that we had and and you know getting us in a position where
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we can be you know competitive for the in the division and and
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you know in the league. So I'm happy with what has been
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accomplished in the postseason. Here.
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You. Know MO made a good point the
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other day when he spoke to us about when you brought in high
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in bloom. It's to get a view from the
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outside to see where we are compared to industry after last
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year and then the previous years with unfortunate playoff
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results. You guys from the ownership
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standpoint also take a different perspective, try to get a
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different vantage point to make sure you got the thing as high,
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the level as high as possible. Yeah, you know, it's interesting
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because when I saw that Haim had been let go in Boston and and
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Mossad as well. I, I immediately thought you
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know, we could probably use someone like that who's been
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with a small market, big market, very smart guy to kind of help
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see what's going on with our organization.
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And you know, interestingly MO thought the same thing And so he
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called me like 2 days later and I said, you know, it's
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interesting because I had the same thought and you know we're
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on the same page there, which is great.
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I I think he can be very helpful.
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I mean we've our team's been together a long time and you
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know you never know what else is out there that that you know
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maybe our guys you know if if not you know been in in touch
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with or you know the the world changes and it's helpful to get
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the perspective for somebody who's you know been with
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different organizations. Bill you.
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See the bill? You see the money that the
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Dodgers spent not just on the top reagent available and the
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money they deferred specifically for that top reagent, but also
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the extensions that Atlanta spending, the money that the
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Mets threw around last year. As an owner, are you at all
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concerned that the the gap is getting wider between the teams
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at that level of spending and teams in your spot, or even the
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teams lower like in your division?
2:33
Well, I think it's, you know the way the game is set up now if
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the big markets have an advantage in terms of revenue
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they generate and you know they're taking advantage of
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that. So you know we're we're we're in
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a certain level of the market and try to do everything we can
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to compete with that and of course the other teams that we
3:00
play. But you know it's kind of the
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nature of the game and give them credit.
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I mean, if they have the resources to do that, which they
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do, you know, they're going to try to have the best teams
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possible And you know, same thing we're trying to do.
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How? Do you close that gap?
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It's not financial then, is it? With innovation as a structure,
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is it spending elsewhere in player development?
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And how do you do that at a time when also the RSN rights might
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just be in turmoil? Well, on the RSN front,
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fortunately, it looks like we'll get full payment this year,
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which gives us a full year to try to figure out how we're
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going to best monetize our TV rights.
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I mean, we've got a big audience.
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As you know, Cardinal Country is bigger than the city of Saint
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Louis. And we think we can do pretty
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well in the future, but it's to be determined because we haven't
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really run that operation internally and we'll see how
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that develops and. Then the other part of that is
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closing the gap. If you can't do it financially
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with the bigger market teams, where do you do that?
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Does it? Does it have to be on the player
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development or innovation form? Well, I, yeah, I mean you
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compete the best way you can and I we've always felt that draft
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and develop is the Cardinal model and it's played out pretty
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well for us over the years. So you know we'll continue to do
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that but pick our spots on free agents and you know we'll feel
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like we can compete with anybody.
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But you know they clearly have an advantage.
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But you know I think we saw this last year where you know some
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some of the higher price payrolls didn't necessarily do
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that well. Base baseball's interesting game
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that way you. Mentioned draft and develop.
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Obviously it's worked with a lot of hitters lately.
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It used to work really well with pitchers, but maybe not yet.
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Obviously tin cans and all them haven't made the pigs yet, so
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acknowledging that, but what have you learned as leaders in
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regards to scouting, drafting and and developing players over
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the last recent years from? A pitching standpoint, I guess
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you'd have to ask. You know, MO and the team that,
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you know, we've been performance oriented, so pitchers have
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performed well. We're more apt to draft than,
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you know, those who have maybe more physical tools and there
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maybe there's a balance there. So, you know, our goal is to
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obviously develop pitchers. That's where you know our need
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has been. We've done well on the position
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player side, but not so much on pitching.
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Good news is that, you know, when we got in a position where
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we needed to make some changes, we got some really good pitching
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prospects. And you know the one who got the
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award last night Bridge sick. I think I pronounced that
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correctly. There's an example of a good
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young kid who's who's, you know, really good prospects.
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So the more good prospects you have on the pitching front, the
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better. But you know, with, as you saw,
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we went outside the organization to get the three pitchers we got
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and you know, we'll try to do a better job on draft drafting and
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developing when. You look at the regional Sports
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Network situation, how important revenue streaming is to the.
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Cardinals Obviously it's not a black and white issue and it
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differs. For each team.
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But did the uncertainty for the 2024 season impact spending at
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all this offseason? The uncertainty on on the.
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Future with Valley, not just for 2024, but beyond.
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No, we were pretty committed this year to do what we've done,
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You know the the kind of payroll that we're going to have.
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We knew that we would get 80% at the worst probably on the Valley
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front, but that's a big hit, losing 20%.
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And you know, as time goes on, we'll know better what we can
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expect in the future. But right now we don't really
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have that knowledge. So you know, that'll impact our
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payroll. Bill, I believe yesterday was
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the eight-year anniversary of the NFL vote that moved the Rams
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out of Saint Louis. And Billy went up that night
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with Tom Stillman and made a pretty public statement, you
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know in favor of the city and and it's sort of standing up for
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a city that lost the team. There was a boat this past fall
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where the A's were given unanimous consent from the
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ownership to move from Oakland to Las Vegas team.
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Do you see conflict in that and is that is that a circle you can
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swear or do you think? Those are two different
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situations. Conflict in what sense?
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I mean you you all were very strong about how you felt about
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the way that things happened with the Rams and and and the
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stability that Saint Louis earned from supporting that
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team. There's a fan base in Oakland
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that is going to lose their team presumably.
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Do you think that there is a conflict there in in being a
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vote in favor of that move or do you do you not see there?
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Well I think Oakland tried forever to get a new stadium and
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they just weren't able to do it. And frankly I haven't been there
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for a long time and but I know, you know it was not a good
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situation from a a stadium standpoint.
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So you know they really needed one and they they they couldn't
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pull it off and so that really drove the drove the move.
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I think when you look at what happened here, I mean we had a
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stadium plan teed up in Saint Louis, so there was a lawsuit
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that settled for a giant number, which suggests that those paying
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the damages on that lawsuit might have felt like perhaps
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they weren't as clear about the processes they could have been,
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leave it at that. But they're totally different
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situations, I think. Might This might be a baseball
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operations question, but you have a manager headed into the
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last year of his contract. How do you stand on a possible
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extension? Or do you need to see?
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Improvement first or? How do you guys feel about that?
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Well, I we're very positive on Ollie as our manager and you
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know we'll see how this year goes, but I have full
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expectation that after this year he'll continue as our manager.
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How would you describe, Do you have an appetite interest in in
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making more additions to this team before games begin?
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There seems like there's still a lot of reagents on the pitching
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side believers, starters that could be beneficial, that are
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maybe going to start to get hungry, to have a deal in hand
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before too long. I know MO's MO and his group are
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out there looking particularly at the reliever market, so it
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would be nice if we could acquire some additional help on
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that front. When you look back at last
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season, what stood out to you most is the thing that you most
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want to see be addressed or fixed.
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In in this season. I've heard a lot of players,
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coaches come through here and said they want to get back to
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playing Cardinals baseball. What does that mean to you?
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What does that look like? Well, I think Cardinal Baseball
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is a very competitive team and and you know, you've got players
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that want to win and do everything they can to help us
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win. And I think some of the players
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that we've acquired, particularly the three pitchers
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or the prominent ones fit that bill.
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There's no question that we were a little short on the pitching
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front last year. And and I think the culture that
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that those three and others bring as part of their asset, I
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mean, they're good pitchers, but also, you know, they're good
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team mates and competitive competitors.
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Bill, understanding the appetite from the fan base for winning
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baseball in Saint Louis and understanding how important it
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is for you guys in terms of ticket sales as as part of.
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The way you guys operate. Just what was the sense of
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urgency from your perspective to make sure to do the things this
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offseason in terms of adding players and and getting the the
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team, the things they needed in order to make sure this could be
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a quick turn around? Well you know, Timo's credit and
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and his his team's, when he said, you know we're going to
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get 3 new pitchers, I thought it's easy to say hard to do.
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But he was able to do it by acting early and being
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aggressive. And you know, we're fortunate
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that that that transpired because we're we're pretty high
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on that group and you know it. It's not that easy to go out.
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Try to fill out your starting rotation when you need 3
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starters so you know I I feel good about that.
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What were the conversations with Moe when you guys discussed
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hiring Guy and Molina as a special advisor to the team?
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And what do you expect from him this year to be the impact from?
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Him. Good question.
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I I think, you know, sort of TVD.
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I I think anytime Yadi's around here, it's a big plus.
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I know most talk to him on a number of occasions and he's
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fired up to come here, but you know it's not full time.
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But nevertheless, I think he'll have a very strong impact when
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he's here and there will be a residual effect of it as well.
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So I'm excited to see Adi back here and look forward to it.
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Bill to to Benjamin's earlier question, MO has been very
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candid with us and certainly with you about his desire to
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sort of step back from his current position by the end of
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the 25 season, you all bring in Heim, the position that you
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brought Heim Bloom into. Is it too simplistic for us to
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look at that, to look at MO's timeline and to draw a
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connection? Is that too simple for us, or or
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Can you imagine a future where that's how that unfolds?
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Well, I think you know MO, MO has said that that that you know
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that's a potential timeline for him and the sequence of Heim
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Bloom coming on I wouldn't say necessarily was part of that it
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it was you know get another asset in our baseball OPS group.
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So you know to to fresh look and you know if it turns out that no
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is moving on or or wants to go in a different direction in a
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couple years, then you know we've we've got a more beefed up
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staff than we would have had otherwise.
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Bill you did you did that notably back in O3O4 when you
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brought Uno on to have a fresh look, a different one, and kind
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of build up the analytics approach that then you benefited
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from because of MO and and Gersh and others for about another
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decade. And then when MO moved up to
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president one of the things he said was he wanted to address
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where he felt the Cardinals have fallen behind and lost an edge.
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Did the industry catch up? And how do you think the
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Cardinals have done the in the last, say, 5-6 years?
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Kind of looking for and regaining that.
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Image Well, I'm not sure when he said that, or he was.
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Promoted to president? You mean?
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From GM to. President Oh, OK, Which
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refreshed my memory. What year?
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That was 6. Years ago.
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Yeah, OK. I'm not sure that really changed
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his role at that point. It was more title differential
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but look you know I think overall we've done a good job of
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drafting and developing. You know we've got a good crop
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of young players that are emerging and have emerged and
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particularly on obviously on the position player side.
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But you can always improve and do better and you know it's good
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to get a a fresh look and CFR model is continuing to be
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effective and you know would always try to improve.
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Bill, when you all signed your most recent deal with ballots, I
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know there was at least some discussion, some seemingly
16:09
looking into what an in house network would look like, whether
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it was you in the Blues or a larger conglomeration.
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Obviously you didn't go that way.
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Are the things that you learned through that exploration
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process, are those still relevant now or has the industry
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changed so much on that standpoint that you would maybe
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have to even reconsider what that process looks like, if
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that's the way you go, whether it's in a year or eight months
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or whatever it? Is we also done some work on
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that? Yeah, I would say that when we
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did our big extension with then Fox Sports Midwest, I think it
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was 2018 as I recall when we signed that deal.
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And you know, that gave us sort of a runway of a long stretch of
16:53
rights fees payments because they're really the middle man in
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that situation. They buy the rights from us
16:58
annually. They turn around and monetize
17:00
them on their end by getting distribution and all that other
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stuff. So what's happened is, is that
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business model is cratered because of what we all know, the
17:10
trends being with cord cutting. And in some cases, even fans who
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have kept the bundle in their TV situations at home might have
17:19
lost Cardinal Baseball if, for example, their carrier, like
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Dish, for example, drops Fox Sports.
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So there's two ways in which people have run into issues
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getting Cardinals baseball. And so the model has gotten
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pressure on all fronts. Now though, what will happen is
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if we get through next season under the status quo and we're
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still with the Blues and the other properties on Fox Sports
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Midwest, it's it's likely that that would be the end of the
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line there and that the rights would return back to us and the
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Blues. And so in some respects you're
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kind of a free agent at that point.
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You can partner with the Blues and do a channel.
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We could go it alone as part of perhaps a more holistic MLB only
18:10
strategy that would take care of a number of issues for fans
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related to access, which is a problem for us right now.
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In any event, regardless of how it works with Blues without on
18:24
our own what have you, it's likely there will be a direct to
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consumer product that emerges where anybody that doesn't have
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access to games now would be able to buy a monthly package
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and get direct streaming in market that's in the future
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whether it's next year or beyond.
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So I think to summarize on this issue, from a team standpoint
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and from an industry standpoint, it's quite a scramble.
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It's quite a project to figure out how to get all these teams
18:59
that are getting their rights handed back to them back into a
19:03
place where they were and and so and while other teams haven't
19:09
gotten to that point yet, maybe they still have an RSM that's
19:11
viable for a period of time or into the future or not.
19:15
The main thing to think about those from a fan standpoint,
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it's going to get better pretty soon.
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The the the two ways in which they've lost access to Cardinal
19:26
games that I mentioned before, those both go away if you have a
19:28
direct to consumer product. So I think this is very
19:32
interesting from a team point of view and it's a lot of work for
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us to really understand our market better if we even have to
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monetize our own rights and all that kind of stuff.
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So all that has like internal issues for us to deal with.
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But again, from a fan standpoint, I think actually
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things get better because of this disruption.
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Is there, is there a similarly sized market that you all can
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sort of model in my book like right, I think of Pittsburgh for
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instance, right. They, they do have some
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ownership of their own IRS and I believe Fenway Sports actually
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owns their network and there's some of that that happens there
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as well. Is there, I don't know what what
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do you look at because marquee obviously that's a that's a
20:06
larger market and S&Y is a larger market.
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It's when you look at those team owned networks versus maybe
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maybe it is as simple as. You go to cardinals.com and you
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pay whatever the rate is. I mean, you're accessing it.
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Is that sort of, I mean, is that the rub?
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Is that what we should be looking at in terms of how you
20:21
all think about that development?
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Well, look, we're looking at all the other team models.
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The one you mentioned in Pittsburgh, the Pirates and the
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Penguins just entered into an agreement to do a a channel on
20:34
their own. And you know we we talked to
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other teams a lot. In fact my counterparts with the
20:42
other teams, particularly the Valleys teams are are very
20:49
commonly communicating with each other and trying to be helpful
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about have you looked at this or are you doing your homework on
20:55
that? If we I've talked to the Padres
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and the Diamondbacks who had their rights handed back to them
21:03
in the middle of the last season.
21:06
I'm in close contact with MLB Media.
21:09
Billy Chambers is running the the entity that MLB set up to
21:13
help teams handle this transition.
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So it's definitely like a big project.
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And then the other piece of it is we're doing a lot more work
21:22
about our actual TV market that we have.
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You know, when Bally's was paying us a rights fee and then
21:29
turning around and distributing it into our TV market, in some
21:32
respects you kind of you know would focus on other things
21:35
because that was a long term agreement.
21:37
They were taking care of it. Well now if it's in our lab, but
21:42
we better know our market, we better know who's out there.
21:46
We better know what ratings have looked like in outer market
21:48
territories, inner market territories.
21:51
We better understand how our our ticket sales and other things
21:55
overlay with those numbers and that's something that could have
21:59
ancillary benefits for us as we understand our market better and
22:02
maybe we package things related to TV access and tickets.
22:06
And so I could kind of go on and on, but the bottom line is that
22:11
we we want, we want to take this opportunity to deal with this
22:18
disruption in a way that may benefit us beyond just handling
22:24
our rights coming back to us in the in the most efficient
22:27
possible way on the TV front. Phil, do you have to?
22:29
Be you have to be. Prepared to get your games going
22:33
independently next season 2025, Do you have to be prepared to be
22:39
the independent provider for your games?
22:42
Even if there's a possibility of an MLB kind of group thing, you
22:46
have to kind of prepare and the idea it'll be you reaching out
22:50
and you'll have to produce them. Well, if you're a free agent
22:53
with your rights like we might be in 2025, there are multiple
22:58
ways that could go right. We could do our own network.
23:02
We could work with MLB and have it be a MLB LED effort with a
23:08
basket of MLB teams that are out in the marketplace getting
23:12
distribution collectively. There could be another third
23:16
party that emerges. I mean, there's been rumors of
23:19
big, the big boys in the bankruptcy auction court, right,
23:22
And coming in and saying, you know, maybe we'll buy these
23:26
rights, in which case you'd have an intermediary again to deal
23:29
with instead of valleys, maybe it's someone else.
23:34
So there are multiple scenarios out there that could play out
23:38
and we need to be ready for all of them.
23:40
Probably if we're ready to do it ourselves, then we're ready for
23:45
anything. That's that's sort of my
23:47
philosophy. Is there a scenario where this
23:50
levels the playing field for all teams where I mean the Yankees
23:55
and the Dodgers, these teams benefit from large rights fees
23:58
because of their market is. Is there a scenario at all where
24:01
because of this, the disruptions of the work where it levels the
24:04
playing field for all teams and and all of a sudden that's the
24:07
route to for maybe some of the smaller market teams to to move
24:11
up? You want to take that one?
24:12
Yeah. You know, that's hard to say.
24:16
I mean they they've got some of them on their own networks now
24:20
and they're doing well. So you know that may or may not
24:24
change. I just think there's a lot of
24:27
uncertainty and you know the big markets in the end will have an
24:34
advantage because they've got more subscribers and more, more,
24:39
more eyeballs. But you know, I think we've got
24:46
a pretty darn good market and and bigger than obviously what
24:51
the city of Saint Louis is because we've got a broad fan
24:54
base. And one of the disappointing
24:56
things as time has gone on is we've lost subscribers and that
25:02
it's not just the money from the subscribers, but it's you know,
25:07
potential loss of ability to follow the team.
25:11
So, you know, this is a big project for us, is that?
25:16
The frustration where the blackouts have kind of come into
25:18
play as well where you guys know that there's market out there
25:21
that you could probably capitalize on with the the wide.
25:24
Reach of the fan base. That you're kind of restricted
25:27
from doing so at present. I think it's blackouts are one
25:30
thing and we've been sort of dealing with them for a long
25:33
time. But it's the two things I
25:36
mentioned before that have happened, not just in our
25:38
market, but in a bunch of markets where, let's say you
25:41
were a bundle subscriber before and you cut the cord and you're
25:46
now going to streaming with all your content.
25:48
Well, there isn't a direct cardinal streaming option right
25:52
now in market, OK. So that's one way people
25:55
eyeballs have gone down on our product, #2 is you're a bundle
25:59
subscriber and you've maintained that bundle, but your particular
26:03
distributor has dropped the RSM eyeballs have gone off of our
26:08
product again. So this is again this is
26:12
dealing, this is happening everywhere.
26:14
So we are an example of the two. That's why we have to fix the
26:19
eyeball problem 1st and then the economics will flesh out.
26:23
We've got to fix that problem where somebody wants access to
26:26
our games that can't get it and that's what but kind of to your
26:31
point Derek would is ML BS goal to move towards a more level
26:39
playing field through the media route.
26:44
I would say yes that is an industry goal.
26:47
Is it doable and practical that that remains to be seen but I
26:51
think the disruption gives the industry an opportunity to try
26:55
to move in that direction. As you know we have revenue
26:57
sharing which is a catch all for no matter how you get your
27:02
revenue, local media, tickets, concessions sponsorship or what
27:06
have you. If you're getting a little bit
27:12
more overtime even playing field on media then that that's a
27:16
positive thing. But strategically how do you
27:22
level the playing field a little bit more if you're the
27:23
commissioner which is a goal, certainly media is the 1st place
27:28
to look. How you implement that is
27:33
multiple scenario analysis in New York.
27:38
Well, in the Internet, I mean, international is now part of
27:40
this, right? I mean, like the Dodgers side,
27:43
Shoghi and Tiny, you go to a subscription model.
27:47
That's a country that a team has access to in a way that the 29
27:52
other teams don't know. I mean I'm, I'm over, you're
27:55
right. But that's actually largely a
27:58
MLB asset, because people in Japan who might want to stream
28:02
the game on MLBTV, that would be going into the central fun piece
28:08
and not directly to the Dodgers. The Dodgers will benefit from
28:10
some additional sponsorship from that, but probably not directly
28:18
benefit from ATV windfall of any kind.
28:21
If it's splinters, that's the risk, I guess that's what I'm
28:24
asking. Like if you guys have a direct
28:26
to market option and other teams do as well, it's like making
28:31
sure that it doesn't splinter. In a way it then gives A-Team
28:35
like that an advantage where you can buy a Dodger.
28:38
Subscription, it's hard. Yeah, I think it's hard to at
28:42
this point speculate on how it's all going to play out because
28:47
there are a lot of options out there.
28:49
And I think from our perspective, our goal is to
28:53
maximize the eyeballs on Cardinal games and you know
29:00
continue the the broader reach that we have for our fan base
29:04
and you know also try to maximize the the value of that.
29:10
But you know it's disappointing when we have fans who can't get
29:16
our games. And I I do think one of the ML
29:19
BS goals is to make sure all fans can get all games that they
29:25
want and not be cut out of certain, you know, games that
29:31
aren't available to them because of the current model.
29:34
Bill, what percentage of your average work day is this taking
29:37
up this conversation here? I mean you go to the office like
29:40
how much of your day is how do I get the game on team?
29:43
Yeah, I mean, I wouldn't put a huge percentage, but it's like
29:47
chunky, you know, they'll be like a whole few days working on
29:51
this with like an upcoming milestone and then you'll kind
29:55
of moved on it. But so yeah, but it's top of my
29:58
list, that's for sure. There's a There's a sports
30:01
franchise in downtown Saint Louis.
30:03
What? What did you learn from watching
30:05
Saint Louis City FC this past year?
30:07
Was there any lessons about modern, modern sports or
30:10
downtown or what have you that you could share?
30:13
Yeah, I would say, first of all, I'm very impressed with what
30:16
they pulled off because, you know, they got the stadium and
30:22
the training facility done in right there in Midtown.
30:26
It was from scratch. Like, you know, I remember when
30:28
we were designing this building and I thought, you know, being
30:33
very involved in like the design and development process, he was
30:37
the financial guru behind the scenes.
30:41
How important it was for us to get feedback from all the people
30:46
that have been around here a long time related to design and
30:49
development and like which we, how should we design the
30:52
clubhouse? Well, let's talk to the
30:53
clubhouse guys, bring them in on the design process.
30:56
You're starting from scratch. What do you do?
30:58
I mean, I'm just very impressed that they were able to pull that
31:01
off with starting a franchise from scratch and then designing
31:07
a stadium without that, you know, history and organizational
31:11
history. So first of all, kudos to them
31:14
for pulling it off. And then to have a winning team
31:17
in the first year, make the playoffs pretty awesome.
31:22
So I I think and and we've tried to be very open and
31:28
accommodating to any questions they may have had.
31:31
We we're proud of that relationship we've had and built
31:33
with. The Blues.
31:34
You mentioned the. The puck drop eight years ago,
31:37
it certainly goes well beyond that into I would call it a a
31:44
special relationship with the Blues and the Cardinals and
31:46
we've tried to pull City SC into that too.
31:49
So it's just a feel good for me when we see their players at our
31:56
events root for us and vice versa.
31:58
And some teams, some people in my position have took note of
32:04
that a little bit and said it's so weird.
32:05
You guys are like friendly with the teams in your market and
32:11
support each other 'cause we're sort of at each other's throats
32:13
and they take the view sometimes that we're competing for the
32:16
same entertainment dollar, you know, so we got to out compete
32:19
with the other guys. And I I don't look at it that
32:21
way at all and I don't think our fans will get it that way.
32:26
So it's been a pretty cool story for Saint Louis, I think.
32:30
To document question about design, Bill, what's the state
32:33
of play in Jupiter right now? I know there were delays against
32:35
that construction started. What what does that look like
32:39
and what does that timeline look like now compared to maybe how
32:41
you want it to be? Well, we were hopeful of getting
32:45
it started this year, but it's not looking that way at the
32:48
moment. So and we're getting right down
32:52
to spring training. The the big key is to get it
32:55
right and you know I think we're on the verge of getting it
33:00
right, but you know it's probably going to be pushed back
33:05
a year or so. You know we've we've been in
33:11
that facility for a long time and one more year's fine too.
33:14
Well, when you look at the. On field results last year,
33:18
what? What gives?
33:19
You the most confidence that that was?
33:22
The one off of the anomaly as opposed to something maybe
33:25
bigger starting. I think it was just one of those
33:34
years where you know what could go wrong, did go wrong, and you
33:40
had years what could go right did go right.
33:44
Baseball's an interesting game that way and you go into a
33:50
season and you think you've got a really good team and get off
33:53
to kind of start we did. It can have a an effect as the
33:59
year goes on. So I remember Tony Larusso when
34:04
he was managing, he always said I want to get off to a good
34:06
start because it sets the tone for the rest of the year.
34:10
Well, the opposite of that happened.
34:12
The ticket sales guys say the same thing.
34:14
Yeah, right. So, you know, things happen in
34:19
baseball. It's not there.
34:21
There's no perfect science, that's for sure.
34:23
I was going. To ask you about this season in
34:26
that way, you always been very pragmatic about evaluating
34:29
seasons as a whole. You know you don't want to
34:31
overreact to a month or a half, but in some ways does the way
34:36
last season started and where it LED put that much more emphasis
34:39
on the way this season starts for that reason, But also.
34:42
Because of how it. Starts with some of the teams
34:44
because we've been playing out of the gate.
34:46
It's a pretty significant launch of the.
34:49
Season this year. Well, the good news is we'll
34:53
play some tough teams early, but then we, you know, we'll play
34:56
them down the line. But you know how you start isn't
35:04
necessarily how you finish. So you know, obviously we're
35:08
going to try to start strong and be strong the whole way, but
35:11
there's so many ups and downs to a baseball season that you know,
35:16
you can have a wonderful start and you know before you know it
35:18
you're below 500. So it's a great game that way,
35:25
very, very uncertain. Bill, with just how important,
35:29
obviously ticket sales and attendance.
35:31
Are you? You are.
35:32
Any concern about carry over just from?
35:34
Last season. Going into this year and
35:36
obviously looking at it for for a bounce back after a tough
35:39
season. Well, you can talk.
35:41
Yeah, we're we're actually pretty happy so far with our
35:44
ticket sales. We right out of the gate, we
35:50
started a little slow and then MO made those pitching moves.
35:54
I think that really bolstered interest in the the team and
35:58
when you look at sort of where we are right now, it sets us up
36:02
for I think achieving our goal of 3 million tickets sold, which
36:09
is always a great milestone for us, out of reach for many clubs.
36:14
There are teams that have been around for a long, long time,
36:16
never gotten close to that number.
36:18
So I think our fans understand that that we have a team that
36:27
figures to be very competitive this year and I think it's
36:30
showing in in in the pre sale we sell about 7080% of our tickets
36:35
before opening day. So the offseason is very
36:39
important but that last 2030% is a big piece of that budget that
36:45
you know make or break and and that that is a function of how
36:49
we're playing and so forth. We saw at the end of last season
36:52
some no shows and you know the trends that are obvious if
36:55
you're not in the race. But so you know, I'm, I'm
37:02
pleasantly surprised about where ticket sales are to this point.
37:06
But we've got a lot of work to do, obviously.
37:10
What about the other side? I'm just calling Bill at that.
37:14
Is that me? You've talked about that last 20
37:19
to 30%, that's on a gross #3 million tickets.
37:23
But there's also discount that's involved and.
37:25
Sometimes you need to stimulate that the team is playing well.
37:28
You have to be less of that, therefore greater profit in a
37:31
positive scenario where things don't even have to a good start.
37:34
Is there a possibility to? Invest further in the team later
37:37
during the season if needed. To sort of push.
37:39
Him that last step. I think we've always had the
37:43
belief that if you have some dry powder and your team is
37:47
competitive, it gives you perhaps an opportunity during
37:50
the trade deadline or at other points prior to improve the
37:54
club. It doesn't have to be that way,
37:58
but ideally optionality is is nice and then you know a team
38:04
that or a or a a season in which revenue is outpacing budget and
38:10
projections just gives you that much more room you know or
38:15
flexibility. So yeah, I mean those things can
38:17
play into you know, we don't like say you know, OK we've
38:23
studied the numbers and this is the payroll number.
38:26
I mean, of course, there's a number that sort of we start
38:29
with the bounces around a little bit based on things, but it's a
38:33
little more fluid than you might think as as information comes
38:38
in, in the season related to revenue expenses and all that
38:41
and team performance. Sorry, that's my fault.
38:44
From everybody, from you, you 2, all the way down to, I don't
38:47
know, bat boys or lowest or what have you, but no offense to the
38:50
bat boys if you're not the lowest.
38:51
But is there a a sense of urgency, of restoration?
38:57
Is that a fair way of putting it?
38:58
Like let's restore the Saint Louis Cardinals thing, to be
39:01
winners not only in the regular season but in the post season?
39:05
Is that a fair way of describing it?
39:07
Yeah, I think, well we're trying to put the best team that we can
39:12
on the field and we're our view is that you know if we do a good
39:17
enough job we'll be in that position.
39:19
So that's obviously our goal. You know, we've always said we
39:25
want to continue to have year in, year out strong, competitive
39:30
teams that have a chance to, you know, get into the playoffs and
39:34
do good things in the playoffs. So you know, we're, we're
39:38
sticking to that. Hopefully we'll continue to
39:43
stick to that and it'll play out.