Cardinals to Open Season Against Interleague Opponent for First Time in Franchise History
ST. LOUIS, Mo., March 27, 2023– A pregame ceremony that introduces the reigning N.L. Central Division champion St. Louis Cardinals, honors the club’s Hall of Famers and celebrates the great tradition of Opening Day in St. Louis will highlight the annual return of baseball at Busch Stadium on Thursday, March 30. The Cardinals will open the 2023 season at home against the Toronto Blue Jays at 3:10 PM CT. A pregame schedule and information can be found below and atcardinals.com/OpeningDay to help fans enjoy the unofficial holiday that is #OpeningDaySTL:
Pregame Schedule
10:30 AM – 12:30 PM Official Opening Day Pep Rally at Ballpark Village: Join Fredbird, Team Fredbird, DJ Todd Thomas, Cardinals organist Dwayne Hilton and Cardinals Alumni at the Busch II Infield Stage in the Together Credit Union Plaza for the Cardinals Opening Day Pep Rally. This event is free for all fans to attend and includes prizes and ticket giveaways to Opening Day and other 2023 games.
12:00 PM Gates Open
2023 Cardinals Magnet Schedule: All fans, ages 21 and older, will receive a magnet featuring the 2023 Cardinals schedule, compliments of Budweiser.
12:05 – 12:55 PM Cardinals batting practice (subject to change)
1:00 – 1:50 PM Blue Jays batting practice (subject to change)
2:25 PM Pregame ceremonies begin with an appearance by the world famous Budweiser Clydesdales
Introduction of Fredbird & Team Fredbird
Recognition of Chairman & CEO, Bill DeWitt Jr.; President, Bill DeWitt III; and President of Baseball Operations, John Mozeliak at home plate
Special Tribute Video on scoreboard
Introduction of Cardinals Hall of Famers via 2023 Ford Mustang convertible motorcade
Recognition of 2022 N.L. Central Division Championship
2:50 PM Introduction of the St. Louis Cardinals via 2023 Ford F-150 truck motorcade
Introduction of the Toronto Blue Jays
3:00 PM Canadian National Anthem performed by violinist Abigail Stahlschmidt
3:01 PM U.S. National Anthem performance with Color Guard presentation by the
Ft. Leonard Wood Joint Service Color Guard
3:05 PM Ceremonial First Pitch by National Baseball Hall of Famer Scott Rolen to
Cardinals Hall of Famer Matt Holliday
3:10 PM First Pitch by Cardinals Opening Day Starting Pitcher Miles Mikolas
Forecasted Weather
Partly cloudy skies. High 67° F. Winds SSE at 10 to 20 mph.
Television Coverage
Opening Day airs on Bally Sports Midwest and streams on the Bally Sports app. An extended edition of Cardinals Live pregame begins at 1:30 PM on Bally Sports Midwest and will include live coverage of the pregame ceremonies inside Busch Stadium.
Chip Caray and Brad Thompson will call the game, with Jim Hayes serving as reporter. Alexa Datt, Ricky Horton and Al Hrabosky will host pregame and postgame coverage from a special set inside Busch Stadium.
Radio Coverage
Fans can tune into KMOX 1120 AM, 98.7 FM, or one of the 147 stations in the Cardinals Radio Network to hear John Rooney, Ricky Horton and Mike Claiborne call the game. The Ameren Total Access Show starts at 1:35 PM and will include live coverage of the pregame ceremonies inside Busch Stadium.
Fans can tune in locally to WIJR 880 AM “La Tremenda”, or one of the six stations in the club’s new Cardinals Spanish Radio Network to hear Spanish broadcasters Polo Ascencio and Bengie Molina call the game as well.
2023 Economic Impact
Based on a projected regular season attendance of 3.3 million fans, Greater St. Louis, Inc. and Explore St. Louis estimate the Cardinals to generate a total of $350.2 million in regional economic activity for the upcoming season. The total amount is comprised of $153.3 million in direct economic impact and $196.9 million in indirect economic impact. Out-of-town visitors are expected to make up approximately 35% of game attendees.
The analysis uses the economic impact model IMPLAN, which measures how spending tied to an event has multiple impacts and spreads throughout a region, thereby benefiting households and firms within the region. The direct, indirect, and total economic figures are based on estimates of visitor spending and the economic contribution of the Cardinals and Busch Stadium operations.
New Concession Stands at Busch Stadium
The Cardinals and Delaware North Sportservice have partnered with three restaurants to open four new concession stands inside Busch Stadium for the 2023 season, including:
- Big Chicken: Located in section 135 along the first base line and section 358 on the third base side of the terrace level, the Shaquille O’Neal-owned chicken concept’s menu features three chicken sandwiches, including one originally crafted sandwich unique to St. Louis in partnership with local artisanal doughnut shop, Vincent Van Doughnut, along with fries and a cookie the circumference of an NBA basketball.
- M.D.E. (Most Delicious Ever): Breaded chicken, Shaq sauce and B&B pickles
- Uncle Jerome: Nashville Hot Chicken, lettuce, mayo and pickles
- The 314: Uncle Jerome’s Chicken served on Vincent Van Doughnut’s Cardinals Red Maple Bacon donut with Shaq Sauce (Busch Stadium exclusive)
- Freddy’s Frozen Custard & Steakburgers: Located in Budweiser Terrace in right field, the fast-casual restaurant concept’s first MLB ballpark stand will serve a handful of the brand’s fan-favorite menu items, including Freddy’s Original Double and Bacon Double, as well as Freddy’s famous shoestring fries and cheese curds.
- Mission Taco Joint: Located in section 150 behind home plate, the local West Coast-style taco restaurant concept will serve four different tacos and takes on select signature menu items including:
- “Hot Corner” Chicken Taco: flour tortilla with shredded chicken, buffalo sauce, celery seed ranch, lettuce, and pickled onion (Busch Stadium exclusive)
- Mango Shrimp Taco: flour tortilla with fried shrimp, habanero aioli, cabbage, and mango salsa
- Vegan Soft Taco: flour tortilla with vegan ground “beef,” taco sauce, lettuce, pico de gallo, and vegan cheese
- Regular Taco: crispy tortilla, ground beef and bean, taco sauce, lettuce, pico de gallo, and queso fresco
- Street Corn: corn on the cob, garlic aioli, queso fresco, and tajin
- West Coast Nacho Fries: chile-crusted fries, queso, crema, pico de gallo, and pickled jalapeños
Opening Day Roster
The Cardinals 26-player Opening Day roster projects as follows, but will not become official until Thursday, March 30:
Pitchers (13): Jack Flaherty, Giovanny Gallegos, Ryan Helsley, Jordan Hicks, Steven Matz*, Miles Mikolas, Jordan Montgomery*, Packy Naughton*, Andre Pallante, Chris Stratton, Zack Thompson*, Drew VerHagen, Jake Woodford
Catcher (2): Willson Contreras, Andrew Knizner
Infielders (6): Nolan Arenado, Brendan Donovan, Tommy Edman, Paul Goldschmidt, Nolan Gorman, Tyler Motter
Outfielders (5): Alec Burleson, Dylan Carlson, Lars Nootbaar, Tyler O’Neill, Jordan Walker
Injured List (3): Paul DeJong-INF, Wilking Rodríguez-RHP, Adam Wainwright-RHP
New On-Field Rules
Three new rules have been implemented for Major League Baseball’s 2023 championship season:
- Pitcher Timer: pitchers will have up to 15 seconds between pitches when the bases are empty and up to 20 seconds between pitches with at least one runner on base
- Defensive Shift Restrictions: two infielders must be positioned on each side of second base and all four infielders must have both feet in the infield dirt when the pitcher begins his pitching motion
- Larger Bases: the size of first, second and third base have increased from a 15” square to an 18” square
For more details on the new on-field rules, visit cardinals.com/newrules.
2023 Official Team Media Guide
The St. Louis Cardinals Media Guide is the official resource used daily by sportswriters, broadcasters and Cardinals front office staff. Featuring reigning NL MVP Paul Goldschmidt, Platinum Glove Award winner Nolan Arenado, and newly-elected National Baseball Hall of Famer Scott Rolen on the cover, the Cardinals Media Guide contains stats and biographies of every player and coach in the organization and is the best and most comprehensive book about the Cardinals anywhere.
Printed copies of the 2023 Media Guide are available for $20 at the Official Cardinals Team Store at Busch Stadium, inside Cardinals Authentics Shops or online at cardinals.com/mediaguide.
New Featured Exhibit at Cardinals Museum
The Cardinals Hall of Fame and Museum has unveiled its new featured exhibit entitled “The Art of the Cardinals Moment”. The exhibit features over 70 works of art and photographs on display, some of which have never been seen before. Looking into what defines a “moment”, five themes—tribute, milestone, snapshot, nostalgia, and fan—unite the pieces together.
This exhibit will be open through February 2024 and is included with admission to the Cardinals Museum. Fans can learn more and purchase Cardinals Museum tickets at cardinals.com/museum.
Opening Weekend 50/50 Raffle
Ticket sales for the Cardinals Care Opening Weekend 50/50 Raffle, presented by Draft Kings at Casino Queen, will go on sale online at 9:00 AM CT on Thursday, March 30. Tickets can also be purchased at Busch Stadium when gates open until the end of the 7th inning during games played between March 30-April 2.
The winning number will be drawn on Sunday, April 2, at the end of the 7th inning. One lucky winner will take home half of the total pot, while the other half will go to Cardinals Care to help support the Redbird Rookies youth softball and baseball program, youth ballfields and grant program that provides much needed funding to area non-profits that support kids.
Raffle tickets are 3 for $5, 10 for $10, 60 for $20, and 200 for $50. Fans must be 18 years of age or older and be located in the state of Missouri at the time of purchase. For more information or to purchase tickets, visit cardinals.com/5050.
Cardinals Care Silent Auctions
Cardinals Care will conduct a Silent Auction throughout the first home series featuring autographed jerseys, baseballs, bats and more beginning on Thursday, March 30, at 9:00 AM CT through Sunday, April 2, at 9:00 PM CT. Fans can bid online at cardinals.com/ccauctions.
Prohibited Items Policy
- In conjunction with a league-wide policy established by Major League Baseball, the St. Louis Cardinals reserve the right to inspect all items entering Busch Stadium.
- Guests may bring in items such as: bags, purses and soft-sided coolers not exceeding 10” x 8” x 10”; food, non-alcoholic beverages in factory-sealed plastic bottles no larger than 2 liters; empty cups, mugs or plastic bottles.
- Fans can visit cardinals.com/security for the complete stadium inspection policy and prohibited items list.
