graphic: Springfield Cardinals
After almost two decades of ownership, the St. Louis Cardinals are selling their Double-A team, the Springfield Cardinals, to an organization that owns 17 other minor league clubs.
Springfield Cardinals release
The Springfield Cardinals today announced its sale by the St. Louis Cardinals to Diamond Baseball Holdings, (DBH) an organization that owns and operates select minor league baseball clubs affiliated with Major League Baseball (MLB) including the Memphis Redbirds, the St. Louis Cardinals’ Triple-A affiliate. The Springfield Cardinals will remain the Double-A affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals, with the current front office staff continuing under new ownership, led by Vice President and General Manager Dan Reiter.
“The St. Louis Cardinals are excited to evolve and further elevate the Springfield Cardinals with this sale to DBH,” said Bill DeWitt Jr., Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the St. Louis Cardinals. “DBH’s unparalleled expertise and vision for promoting and growing the minor leagues makes them our ideal partner in the continuing relationship between the St. Louis and Springfield Cardinals, as well as with the Springfield community.”
The City of Springfield’s purchase of Hammons Field and lease extension activated earlier this year enables the Springfield Cardinals to call the stadium home for at least the next fifteen years.
“We welcome Diamond Baseball Holdings to Springfield and are so excited about the opportunities afforded to grow and enhance the minor league baseball experience in our community. DBH brings a solid record of innovative support for minor league baseball including teams in the Texas League as well as within the Cardinal organization. Springfield is very proud of its Cardinals. We have the highest respect and admiration for the St. Louis Cardinals and cannot ask for a better partnership,” said Springfield Mayor Ken McClure. “The Cardinal tradition and heritage is so special—we would even say priceless. Our long history with the Cardinals goes back initially to the 1930s. Having DBH be a key part of not only keeping that special relationship, but expanding upon it, is exciting.”
“One of the keys to our organization’s long-term success has been our minor league system. There is a great track record for both the quality and quantity of prospects that have worn the Springfield Birds on the Bat,” said John Mozeliak, President of Baseball Operations for the St. Louis Cardinals. “We are thrilled that Hammons Field and the Springfield community will remain a premier environment for our young players to learn and grow in their careers.”
“DBH is grateful to the St. Louis Cardinals for their partnership, and we look forward to many more years of Cardinals baseball in Springfield,” said Pat Battle and Peter Freund, Executive Chairman and CEO, respectively, of DBH. “We recognize the meaningful relationship between the Cardinals and the city, and we are thrilled to honor Springfield’s passion for the club with our commitment to best-in-class fan experience and expanded activation of Hammons Field to foster even deeper community engagement.”
“This transition is an incredible opportunity for the Springfield Cardinals to maintain our close connection to St. Louis while also being part of DBH, which is setting a new standard for innovation and collaboration in minor league baseball,” said Dan Reiter, Vice President and General Manager of the Springfield Cardinals. “DBH is supportive of what is most important to us in Springfield: a great family-friendly, affordable and accessible Cardinals baseball experience at Hammons Field.”
Subject to satisfying standard closing conditions, the transaction is expected to be completed promptly.
About the Springfield Cardinals
The Springfield Cardinals are the Double-A affiliate of the 11-time World Series Champions St. Louis Cardinals and call Hammons Field in Springfield, Missouri, home.
About Diamond Baseball Holdings
Diamond Baseball Holdings (DBH) was formed in 2021 to support, promote and enhance Minor League Baseball Clubs affiliated with Major League Baseball through professional management, best practices, innovation and investment. DiamondBaseballHoldings.com
Brian Walton’s take
Not that long ago, the St. Louis Cardinals owned and operated their Triple-A and Double-A franchises. Soon they will own neither, with Diamond Baseball Holdings having added both clubs to their growing portfolio.
Welcome to the future of Minor League Baseball. Diamond has been busily acquiring minor league teams and appears poised to continue to do so. Very closely aligned with Major League Baseball, which has assumed full control of the minors in the past few years, DBH’s portfolio will number 18 teams nationwide once the Springfield sale is complete.
Note their mission statement to close the above release. “Professional management, best practices, innovation and investment” in that order. Anyone who has spent time in the business world knows from personal experience the pros and cons of corporate consolidation.
The St. Louis Cardinals had owned the S-Cards for almost 20 years.
In August 2004, the organization purchased the El Paso Diablos, previously the Arizona Diamondbacks’ Double-A affiliate, from Brett Sports and Entertainment, headed by Hall of Famer George Brett, for an estimated $9.8 million.
The organization immediately moved the club to Springfield, Missouri, where they first owned a team during the 1930’s and 1940’s.
Businessman John Q. Hammons had announced in February 2002 his plan to build a new $32 million ballpark even before a team was officially committed to play there. Starting in 2005, fans filled Hammons Field seats at the rate of nearly 7,000 per game, with attendance consistently among the highest at the Double-A level in the early years.
On the field, the team reached the Texas League playoffs in four of six seasons from 2007-2012, culminating in their only league championship in 2012, earned under manager Mike Shildt.
Recently, results have been far less impressive, however. In the last nine seasons, the S-Cards have reached the playoffs just once, in 2016, and last posted a winning record in 2017.
Average attendance in 2022 was 3,754, seventh in the 10-team Texas League. As noted above, Hammons Field also has new ownership, but the baseball agreement with St. Louis will continue.
As such, the on-field product will remain the same under the new team ownership. The Cardinals organization will continue to supply the baseball personnel, including players, managers, coaches, trainers, strength and conditioning coaches and the like.
But the business side of the Springfield Cardinals will soon be under the “professional management” of DBH.
Exclusively for members of The Cardinal Nation
Now available – 2023 Prospect Guide
The Cardinal Nation 2023 Prospect Guide is back for its sixth year. It includes a record 292 pages of in-depth commentary about the very best St. Louis Cardinals minor leaguers, including dozens of new scouting reports and much more.
https://thecardinalnation.com/order-tcns-2023-cardinals-prospect-guide/
Not yet a member?
Join The Cardinal Nation for the most comprehensive coverage of the St. Louis Cardinals from the majors through the entire minor league system.
Brian Walton can be reached via email at brian@thecardinalnation.com or for fastest turnaround, pose your questions on The Cardinal Nation’s members-only forum. Follow Brian on Twitter.
© 2023 The Cardinal Nation, thecardinalnation.com. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.