Cardinals fans made their presence felt during last week’s All-Star Game in Philadelphia, and the numbers backed it up.
St. Louis led the United States in viewership for the game, drawing roughly 10.1 million viewers, according to Neilsen.
Nationally, the audience checked in at 4.4 million, but the Cardinals’ local pull still stood out. It was the highest St.
Louis total since the 2022 All-Star Game.
That 2022 game had its own strong Cardinals connection, with Albert Pujols, Miles Mikolas, Paul Goldschmidt, Ryan Helsley and Nolan Arenado all named All-Stars. That year, the St. Louis area delivered 10.4 million viewers, the most in the nation.
This time, the Cardinals had three All-Stars in Riley O'Brien, Ivan Herrera and Home Run Derby champion Jordan Walker. None of the three had ever made an All-Star team before, and all three ended up appearing in the game.
Walker was added to the National League roster first, and O'Brien and Herrera were added not long after. St. Louis didn’t have a starter in the game, but the lineup of Cardinals representatives still gave fans plenty to tune in for.
That mattered in a big way for a fan base that has stayed locked in even as attendance at Busch Stadium has dipped over the past few years. The Cardinals may still be a few years from being a true contender, but their supporters continue to live and breathe baseball.
From 2023 through 2025, the Cardinals had only three All-Stars total, one in each season. In 2024, Helsley was selected but did not appear in the game.
This was the first time since 2022 that St. Louis had more than one All-Star.
The game itself didn’t exactly deliver much excitement from the National League side, but the Cardinals still gave their audience something to watch. With young players on the All-Star stage, St. Louis fans had a reason to pay close attention, and the turnout suggested that interest remains strong.
It was another reminder that Cardinals fans show up when there’s something to believe in, and this year’s All-Star group gave them plenty.
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Nezs exit is the part that stings for a system trying to show it can still develop arms, especially after a season that never really found traction at Springfield. At the same time, the Cardinals are still trying to sort out what comes next with Brandon Clarke, whose rehab assignment was moved to Class-A Palm Beach as he continues working back into game action, leaving the organization with more questions than answers about how its pitching depth is actually holding up. [Read more 🡒]