All right, now we get down to the nitty-gritty, assuming anyone even says that any more. They probably don’t. Anyway, we’ve gone through a lot of great accounts but, according to the voting, these were the very best ones. As is our tradition, we’ll look at each of these in a little more depth, starting with……
Number 25: cigarmike
Love all, trust a few, do harm to none. CigarMike is not actually a cigar.
I love the DH because I actually like seeing someone that’s able to hit at the plate, you know, hitting. Strategery that, you get off my lawn turn your music down mowing at 7 in the morning goofballs.
— cigarmike (@cigarmike) December 7, 2020
On Twitter since: January 2009
Number of Tweets: 89.3K
Following: 2,298
Followers: 3,671
Total points: 633
Average: 7.276
Number of ballots: 87
Maximum: 10
Minimum: 1
% that were 10: 18.39%
% that were 1: 3.45%
Ranking history: 39 (2015), 37 (2016), 23 (2017), 22 (2018), 30 (2019)
As the highlighted tweet shows, Mike can be wrong about some stuff. That doesn’t keep him from being a highly entertaining follow. He doesn’t hold back on his opinions, either baseball or otherwise, but he still interacts with others in a respectable manner. You’ll often find him talking about the cigars he’s smoking and what’s going on in Memphis as well. If you are in that area, stop by his shop and I’m sure he’ll set you up with a fine smoke.
Number 24: RobRains
St. Louis @Cardinals beat writer, Stlsportspage.com, author, member 2017 class of @MoSportsHall
Adam Wainwright wins Roberto Clemente Award from MLB for his humanitarian charity work. https://t.co/bLFuBwCTwi pic.twitter.com/LYRE5AqEOT
— Rob Rains (@RobRains) December 7, 2020
On Twitter since: September 2009
Number of Tweets: 29.2K
Following: 2,425
Followers: 14,123
Total points: 633
Average: 7.815
Number of ballots: 81
Maximum: 10
Minimum: 3
% that were 10: 22.22%
% that were 1: 0.00%
Ranking history: 90 (2017), 32 (2018), 41 (2019)
Rob sometimes gets overshadowed on the beat by writers at The Post-Dispatch or The Athletic, but there’s a reason he’s been doing this a long, long time. He’s seen numerous eras of Cardinal baseball and chronicled them not only in column form but in many, many books. So many books. Rob and his wife Sally were early supporters of the United Cardinal Bloggers, even sponsoring our first dinner gathering, and I’m glad to see him finally crack the Top 25.
Number 23: retrosimba
(no bio)
40 years ago, Dec. 9, 1980, in a deal that reversed the course of the franchise, the Cardinals acquired Bruce Sutter from the Cubs. Revisit the story of how it happened and why the Cubs rejected the Cardinals’ offer to include Keith Hernandez in the deal: https://t.co/Bah0OoI84B
— Mark Tomasik (@retrosimba) December 9, 2020
On Twitter since: January 2012
Number of Tweets: 1,949
Following: 2,348
Followers: 4,073
Total points: 636
Average: 8.260
Number of ballots: 77
Maximum: 10
Minimum: 1
% that were 10: 40.26%
% that were 1: 3.90%
Ranking history: 141 (2018), 62 (2019)
For far too long, I left Mark off of this survey and for that I apologize, because there aren’t many better. I don’t know that you can find a blogger whose work is more respected in the community. You’ll occasionally hear something he’s written referred to on the FOX Sports Midwest broadcast. His articles are a remarkable look at Cardinal history. Plus he’s a pretty great guy that I’ve been honored to know through the UCB. If you aren’t following him, you are missing out!
Number 22: Dylan_Dinger
(no bio)
This could be fun. I’m heading to Walmart add something to my list in the mentions:
— Dylan Dinger (@Dylan_Dinger) December 8, 2020
On Twitter since: July 2014
Number of Tweets: 96.4K
Following: 1,241
Followers: 3,773
Total points: 650
Average: 7.386
Number of ballots: 88
Maximum: 10
Minimum: 1
% that were 10: 23.86%
% that were 1: 2.27%
Ranking history: 80 (2017), 18 (2018), 23 (2019)
“Chaotic” is a word that comes to mind with this account, though I don’t say that as a slight. You’ll see so many different topics here, from video games to the Cardinals to what’s for lunch. There was a review of bathroom stalls at one time. Even the name of the account can’t stay still–you probably remember this as STLMattinals or as JackofCards22. It’s a whirlwind of a follow but it’s definitely worth it.
Number 21: TheCatonFox
Fox Sports Midwest. My tweets are my own.
Update: Since baseball’s Winter Meetings will be virtual this year, my annual well-attended, and some would say inspirational seminar “Regional Cable Journalism And You” has been postponed. We look forward to resuming our important work in the future. pic.twitter.com/5TMECQAAzI
— Jim Hayes (@TheCatOnFox) December 7, 2020
On Twitter since: February 2014
Number of Tweets: 16.2K
Following: 292
Followers: 77,507
Total points: 650
Average: 8.228
Number of ballots: 79
Maximum: 10
Minimum: 1
% that were 10: 30.38%
% that were 1: 1.27%
Ranking history: 61 (2015), 13 (2018), 12 (2019)
That bio is so understated. No mention of Jim being a master of regional cable journalism. No hint of his prowess at youth basketball coaching. No name-drop of athletes like Matt Holliday and Lance Lynn who have always been so forthcoming with him. The personality you see on the broadcast translates to the Twitter feed, whether it’s commenting on Cardinal news or wishing former or current players a happy birthday. The only question is will he have to change this handle with the change in ownership?
Five down, twenty more to go. Let’s do this.
