ST. LOUIS — The value of the St. Louis Cardinals climbed 9% to $2.45 billion in Forbes' annual rankings, up from over $2.24 billion last year.
That figure ranked the team at No. 7 among Major League Baseball's most valuable franchises, its same ranking as in 2021, which reflected results from the pandemic-shortened 2020 season.
The Cardinals finished the 2021 season with a 90-72 record, clinching a spot in the postseason thanks to a record 17-game winning streak in September. The Cardinals were eliminated from the playoffs Oct. 6 after losing to the Los Angeles Dodgers in the National League Wild Card game. A week later, the Cardinals' front office fired then Manager Mike Shildt over what officials said were "philosophical differences," hiring Oliver Marmol to replace him.
Forbes' rankings were released late last week, before word Sunday night that slugger Albert Pujols agreed to return to the Cardinals on a one-year contract, 11 years after he left as a free agent following the 2011 World Series. The Cardinals' 2022 season begins with their home opener at Busch Stadium on Thursday, April 7.
The New York Yankees claimed the top spot in Forbes' rankings with a value of $6 billion, followed by the Los Angeles Dodgers at just under $4.1 billion and the Boston Red Sox at $3.9 billion in the No. 3 spot.
The Cardinals finished one spot below the New York Mets, which Forbes valued at $2.65 billion, and one spot ahead of the Philadelphia Phillies at $2.3 billion.
Read the full story on the St. Louis Business Journal website.