77 and 85. Not the ending anybody wanted, but not the season anybody expected either. PECOTA had this team at 66 wins before Opening Day. Sixty six. The Cardinals sold at the deadline, traded away Dustin May and Lars Nootbaar, played most of the second half without any real Wild Card math left to hold onto, and still found a way to make this year matter. That says everything about who this roster actually is. Because here is the truth, this was never really about the record. It was about JJ Wetherholt looking like a Rookie of the Year candidate from day one. It was about Jordan Walker breaking out into a genuine All-Star and taking home a Home Run Derby trophy in the most dramatic fashion possible. It was about Ivan Herrera and Riley O’Brien (tough 2nd half) joining him on that All-Star roster. It was about Joshua Baez walking into the big leagues and hitting 3 home runs in his very first game, something nobody in the history of this sport had ever done. This roster gave us more new names to fall in love with than any Cardinals team in recent memory, and that is not nothing, that is the whole point of a season like this one. It was also about the Tarps Off crew. About a stadium that had gone quiet the last couple years finding its noise again, about Oli buying out a section for college kids because they made the building feel alive. About a fan base that could have checked out completely and instead showed up anyway, cautiously, honestly, but showed up. So yeah, 77 and 85 is not a number anyone is thrilled about. But this team punched well above its expectations, gave us a legit young core to build around, and reminded this whole city what it feels like to actually enjoy watching Cardinals baseball again. That is a foundation. The record was never going to tell the real story of 2026. See you next year. Bird szn never really ends, it just goes into hibernation 🤝