We’ve reached the end of our journey. Below are the accounts that you the voters believe are the best ones on Twitter. Before we get to them, though, a little clarification.
Two years ago, we instituted the policy that, after three #1 finishes, a person would then be inducted into the Top Cards on Twitter Hall of Fame and, while still showing up on the ballot, would not be counted in the rankings. This was mainly by request but it also allowed for a little more variety as well. I have also, since the beginning of this project, only noted where the vote for my Twitter handle would fall but also haven’t put a ranking next to it.
With all that said, our Final Five:
Number 5: bschaeffer12
Cardinals writer @KMOV. Host @KTGRBigShow. Mizzou grad. Cat dad. Pro-boba tea. Bowling’s a sport. All Star Wars are good. GIF has a hard g. I’m no Seth.
AFTER FURTHER REVIEW WE SUCK
— Brenden Schaeffer (@bschaeffer12) December 21, 2021
On Twitter since: July 2011
Number of Tweets: 116.4K
Following: 987
Followers: 17,482
Total points: 1,164
Average: 8.435
Number of ballots: 138
Maximum: 10
Minimum: 1
% that were 10: 39.86%
% that were 1: 1.45%
Ranking history: 26 (2016), 7 (2017), 6 (2018), 6 (2019), 3 (2020)
Brenden might not be able to spell his name or get a haircut, but he’s one of the more active and engaging media members on Twitter. He’ll tell you about his fantasy football team and anything else that might come down the tracks, mainly sports related. You can’t give too much grief to someone that realizes that all Star Wars is good Star Wars, but I do my best anyway. He just got a radio show to go along with his writing, so his presence in St. Louis is only going to grow.
Number 4: kyler416
Fancy Printed Words, 280 Letters Long. General Waywardness. Dweller On The Threshold. Odd head. MiLB for @birdsontheblack. Loves animal Twitter. Don’t follow me
Put David Eckstein in the Hall of Fame
— Kyle Reis (@kyler416) December 19, 2021
On Twitter since: December 2012
Number of Tweets: 63.8K
Following: 1,055
Followers: 7,035
Total points: 1,190
Average: 8.881
Number of ballots: 134
Maximum: 10
Minimum: 1
% that were 10: 67.16%
% that were 1: 2.99%
Ranking history: 65 (2016), 33 (2017), 5 (2018), 8 (2019), 4 (2020)
Every year, Kyle begs me to take him off this list. However, I have no desire to be treated like a stormtrooper who stumbled onto some hungry Ewoks. Kyle’s following is passionate and well-deserved for all the work that he brings to the minor league system. Most of us would have no clue about some of these prospects if it wasn’t for the Dirty [Fill In A Number] and some of us would also be overly excited about a prospect if it wasn’t for Kyle bringing context and reason into the discussion. He’s a goofball who I am proud to call my friend, except when he’s pretending we live together.
As I said, I’d note where my vote total would fall and that would be right here with 1,201. My thanks to all that think I bring something to the table and I’m grateful for your support!
Number 3: DannyMacTV
Baseball broadcaster for the StL Cardinals | Janitor at Scoops w/ Danny Mac | Insta: @scoopswithdannymac
We talk with @B_Walton here about the #stlcards prospects in winter ball, the number of hopeful catchers in the system and those who may be underrated. What’s the minor league timeline with the lockout in effect?
Listen here thanks to @LouFuszNetworkhttps://t.co/JtD8GdIGA9
— Dan McLaughlin (@DannyMacTV) December 22, 2021
On Twitter since: March 2013
Number of Tweets: 15.3K
Following: 1,006
Followers: 91,099
Total points: 1,289
Average: 8.651
Number of ballots: 149
Maximum: 10
Minimum: 1
% that were 10: 49.66%
% that were 1: 2.01%
Ranking history: 127 (2018), 3 (2019), 2 (2020)
Dan McLaughlin is a juggernaut that seems to have plans for dominating the St. Louis sports media scene. Those plans, they are working. Scoops is always churning out content, whether it’s regular podcasts (featuring people like Brian Walton, Ben Fredrickson, and Derrick Goold as regular guests) or articles by Bernie Miklasz. All that on top of being the TV voice of the Cardinals and, with Mike Shannon’s retirement, you might be able to remove “TV” from that qualifier. It’s a lot, for sure. My goodness.
Number 2: dgoold
Lead Cardinals beat writer for St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Proud father. Bookworm. Lapsed cartoonist. World Record-holding INF. Friendly neighborhood word slinger.
It’s Mr. Daily Wax Pack @RyanFagan‘s birthday. Great time to check out our conversation about how both #MLB and the trading card industry on are similar precipices, precariously teetering when it comes to their fans. https://t.co/IBM8M3QBxB
— Derrick S. Goold (@dgoold) December 21, 2021
On Twitter since: September 2008
Number of Tweets: 181.4K
Following: 2,030
Followers: 121,401
Total points: 1,298
Average: 8.653
Number of ballots: 150
Maximum: 10
Minimum: 1
% that were 10: 54.00%
% that were 1: 4.00%
Ranking history: 1 (2015), 2 (2016), 2 (2017), 2 (2018), 2 (2019), 1 (2020)
So close. Needing just one more top finish to make the HOF, Derrick was denied on this year’s ballot. However, the consistency he puts up is remarkable, never finishing below second in our rankings. As the team beat writer, everyone’s following DG for breaking Cardinal news, links to podcasts and articles, and anything else he’s throwing out there. He’ll interact on Twitter regularly when questions come up, unless he’s busy with a certain web-slinger. Pretty much he’s an indispensable follow when it comes to Cardinal Twitter and the voting reflects that.
Number 1: katiejwoo
I write 6-3 for a living covering the St. Louis Cardinals for @TheAthleticMLB/@TheAthleticSTL
I found my 7th grade diary while cleaning out my childhood bedroom and so far the most on-brand thing about it is that I felt the need to chart the stats of my friend’s little league games??????
— Katie Woo (@katiejwoo) December 20, 2021
On Twitter since: March 2016
Number of Tweets: 9,791
Following: 1,253
Followers: 28,975
Total points: 1,451
Average: 9.242
Number of ballots: 157
Maximum: 10
Minimum: 1
% that were 10: 65.61%
% that were 1: 0.64%
Ranking history: None
The j stands for Just Dominating Twitter. In the early voting on this, Katie was holding her own with cardinalsgifs and that NEVER happens. Taking over The Athletic coverage of the Cardinals right before Opening Day, Katie made an immediate splash with her lively coverage of the team, her willingness to engage Cardinal nation, and her variations on Dylan Carlson’s middle name. It’s remarkable to see someone come in and finish ahead of all of the distinguished names you have seen so far, which is a testament to how quickly St. Louis took to Katie and vice versa.
Now, if cardinalsgifs was still eligible, we’re having the same conversation we have every year about the man, the myth, the legend that continues to thrive. Gifs received 1,560 points and almost universal acclaim at being the best. Which he is, if you’ve seen any part of his work and know how much he gives to the community. His artwork–recently featured on the Exit Interview series here–is sublime. I’d say follow him, but you already are.
Congratulations to everyone listed in this series and I look forward to doing it again in the fall of 2022. We’ll have a wrap up post this afternoon slicing the data a few different ways for those that are interested!
