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There was one major problem.

A popup storm canceled BP.

Led by the coaches, including Jon Jay engaging the crowd, several players toted out the bags of gold baseballs to left field and tossed them to season-ticket holders as the rain fell. It was a welcome gesture from the field to make sure rain didn鈥檛 wash out the entire event for fans 鈥� and the club says it鈥檚 aware larger ones, particularly on the field, will be necessary following this season鈥檚 precipitous drop in ticket sales, as exemplified by Sunday鈥檚 total of 25,365.

鈥淎t the end of the day, it鈥檚 not where we want to be, so there鈥檚 work 鈥� there is work there to be done,鈥� Cardinals Vice President for Ticket Sales Joe Strohm told the Post-Dispatch. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 the one thing: Fans have a right to voice their pleasure or displeasure, and we know there is work to get people back. We have to earn them back. That鈥檚 the entertainment industry. You鈥檝e got to earn people鈥檚 discretionary income.鈥�

The Cardinals entered Sunday鈥檚 series finale against the New York Yankees with an average of 28,882 tickets sold per game.

That ranks 19th in the majors, down from seventh a year ago.

Since the opening of Busch Stadium III in 2006, the Cardinals had never finished out of the top seven in average attendance, but they will this season. From 2013 to 2022, they had seven years where they ranked second in average tickets sold per game, often between the league-leading Los Angeles Dodgers and the Yankees. The Cardinals are on pace to finish with 7,000 fewer tickets sold per game, and the weekend series against the Yankees underscored the dramatic downsizing of crowds.

The smaller crowd size was a topic on the Yankees鈥� radio broadcast Sunday. Several members of the Yankees who had been to Busch before remarked how the matchup between two historic teams 鈥� Nos. 1 and 2 in total World Series titles 鈥� could not pack Busch. The reasons range from extreme heat at times, occasional storms and the chilly reception the Cardinals are experiencing with a disappointing season in the forecast.

In 2023, the Yankees series drew 133,759 tickets sold for a weekend series.

This weekend, that number dropped to 90,334 for three weekend games.

With renewals already out to season-ticket holders, the Cardinals are revealing some of the ways the ticket sales staff is doing that 鈥渨ork鈥� to connect with fans ahead of 2026. The renewal date has been moved up to Sept. 5, and Strohm explained that was to allow ticket sales representatives to talk with holders while the season is going on. This weekend鈥檚 season-ticket holder events are an example of ways the club can reach those fans.

The move up of the date puts the Cardinals in line with other teams. Milwaukee sent an email Aug. 1 with information about 2026 plans, and the club has an 鈥渆asy-pay auto-renewal鈥� on Aug. 29 for season-ticket holders.

The Reds have a season-ticket pitch called 鈥減ay as we play鈥� 鈥� with payment plans set for the advancing rounds of the playoffs 鈥� and qualifying for it requires renewal by Sept. 5.

Strohm said the Cardinals offer a 5% discount for renewal by that date.

On average, before that discount, season-ticket prices went up 2%-3%, Strohm said. Some areas saw a steeper increase while others decreased in cost following a study by the team about price trends that revealed where they were charging 鈥渉eavy.鈥� The Cardinals are also introducing a new payment plan that allows fans to schedule payments into February (payments used to be due as early as January). And season-ticket holders have the choice to delay their decision until January.

Strohm said a fan can see how the roster develops before committing.

鈥淚t鈥檚 one of those where if you鈥檝e got a person who says, 鈥業 want to see what the team does before I make my decision,鈥� then it鈥檚 like it was before,鈥� Strohm said. 鈥淵ou can wait until January. If you want to pay early and get a discount, that鈥檚 there for you as well.鈥�

A significant change is ahead for the Cardinals in the coming month as they begin the official transition from John Mozeliak鈥檚 tenure atop baseball operations to Chaim Bloom taking the reins. The Cardinals advertised this as a year to identify and commit playing time to its next young core of homegrown talent. The Cardinals reduced payroll and attempted to reduce expectations, yet hovered around .500 and in contention, and that muddied the messaging.

In the past three decades, the Cardinals have often hitched their payroll spending to their ticket sales, advertising how ticket sales 鈥� which annually eclipsed 3 million 鈥� allowed the Cardinals to spend beyond their market size. The team鈥檚 current ownership drew a symbiotic relationship between top 10 ticket sales and maintaining a payroll near or within the top 10.

The Cardinals will explore ways to trim salaries again this winter with Bloom at the helm of those decisions and with the podium to present his vision for contending and how soon.

The Cardinals want to build their on-field performance and production around young players, such as shortstop Masyn Winn and top prospect JJ Wetherholt, and it will become clear through the winter if they do the same with off-field promotions.

Major League Baseball has yet to release the schedule for 2026, and it is later than usual as it took some time to navigate stadium schedules, city schedules and travel schedules around a World Cup summer in the United States. A final schedule is expected to be announced soon.

The Cardinals entered this schedule braced for a downturn in ticket sales, knowing team performance would be a driving reason. Ownership and officials said at the start of the year how they were aware the team鈥檚 place in the standings and the team鈥檚 inactive offseason would mix with competition for the entertainment dollar, attendance trends in recent years and the economy to contribute to a reduction in ticket revenue and crowd size.

鈥淭here wasn鈥檛 anything that surprised us this year,鈥� Strohm said. 鈥淲e knew where it was going. We understand the trends that are there, and we were expecting that. And we know it鈥檚 going to take time to get back to where it was. And we will get there. But it鈥檚 going to take time.鈥�

Extra bases

Willson Contreras (bruised foot) went through a series of workouts Sunday to determine he would be available off the bench Sunday and possibly back in the lineup as soon as Monday in Miami. Brendan Donovan (toe) remained unavailable for the third consecutive day, and the Cardinals intend to give him another day away from the lineup before his possible return.

Cardinals manager Oli Marmol said the team intends to avoid an injured list move with Donovan.

• Lefty John King (oblique strain) began his rehab assignment with Class AAA Memphis and threw a scoreless inning Saturday. Depending on how he feels in the coming days, King could rejoin the team during the upcoming road trip and its two stops in Florida.
• As part of the roster moves Sunday morning, the Cardinals promoted lefty Anthony Veneziano to the major league bullpen to give them a second lefty for the first time in more than a week.

Veneziano, 27, did not allow a run in three appearances and four innings for Triple-A Memphis after being picked up off waivers from Miami. He was 1-0 with a 3.10 ERA as a reliever in 10 games for the Marlins this season.