In February at Cardinals spring training, under a sunny sky that hadn’t yet started falling, I asked manager Oliver Marmol about Turner Ward.
“I mean, he lives and dies with (the Cardinals batters) — these guys will describe it as they feel like he’s in the box with them, just because how much he cares,†Marmol said. “That’s what you want in a hitting coach.
“You want that he goes into those deep dives with (players) — and when things aren’t going well, he’s feeling that just as much as you are. He does a really good job of engaging.â€
Ward is a nice guy. Strong track record. And highly respected by former National League Most Valuable Player Paul Goldschmidt, with whom Ward worked with in Arizona, too.
But right now, the Cardinals are not good at hitting.
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They just finished a three-game series at Detroit — in the 27 innings, the Cardinals scored in just four of them.
And yes, the players should be held most accountable for having the NL’s fewest homers (21 in 31 games) and lowest batting average (.220). But Ward should be under a searing spotlight as the season unfurls into May, especially if the offense continues to unravel. The hitting coach is supposed to enhance hitters, empower hitters, unlock hitters. Right now, you could argue, every Cardinals hitter except two (Willson Contreras and Masyn Winn) is underachieving.
The lack of offensive power from Goldschmidt (two home runs), Nolan Gorman (four) and Nolan Arenado (one) is flabbergasting. Sure, people can easily say: “These guys will break out soon enough, just look at their track records.†I’m guilty of this too. But what will have happened by the time they all actually start slugging? We’ve already been through a month-plus of baseball and the Cardinals are 14-17 with the fewest wins in the National League Central (all while wasting some strong pitching performances from ºüÀêÊÓƵ starters and relievers).
Similarly disheartening is the lack of hits in general. The Cardinals entered Wednesday with 7.2 hits per game — in the NL, only the Reds averaged fewer. And then, in Wednesday’s 4-1 loss at Detroit, the Cards tallied seven hits — with the only run courtesy of a Contreras homer.
And it was under Ward’s watch that Jordan Walker regressed so much he was sent back to the minors. Again, the onus is on the player. But the coach is part of the project. Walker was the Cardinals’ best hitting prospect in a decade. He broke out last summer as a rookie. Now, he’s broken. With ºüÀêÊÓƵ in 2024, he has a .155 batting average, no homers and a .498 on-base plus slugging percentage — so he’s refining (and perhaps even rediscovering) his swing at Class AAA Memphis.
And this next one isn’t just on Ward. Remember, he is just in his second season in charge of the hitting department — and his predecessor Jeff Albert couldn’t fix Tyler O’Neill in 2022. But after a dismal 2023, O’Neill was traded to Boston. And in 2024, O’Neill is hitting .320 with nine homers and a 1.126 OPS.
So another team’s coaches helped unlock O’Neill, at least in the short-term.
The Cardinals offense is equally underwhelming when you look at some advanced stats, too. The Cardinals entered Wednesday 27th in baseball in weighted on-base average, 15th in expected weighted on-base average and tied for 25th in barrels per plate appearance.
Admittedly, there is extra urgency regarding Ward and the offense because of last year. The 2023 Cardinals, of course, went 71-91 (Ward’s 2023 offense, to his credit, was third-best in homers and OPS in the NL at the trade deadline, when the white flag was waved). So 2024 is a crucial season in Cardinals history. If they stink again, it would confirm the franchise is on the wrong track. If they return to the playoffs, people can say that 2023 was an aberration.
Thus, the intensity is heightened. Achievement is expected. And right now, the offense is a problem. It’s not just the big names, either. What’s up with Lars Nootbaar? In his past 15 games, he has 10 hits — and leading off Wednesday’s ninth, down 4-1, he swung at the first pitch and hit a chopper to second base.
Brendan Donovan has proven to be a brilliant on-base batter — but so far in 2024, his on-base percentage is just .309.
And Ivan Herrera got six hits in his first 16 at-bats (.375), but since then, he has seven hits in 42 at-bats (.167).
The good news is the first home series of May features the worst team in baseball, the Chicago White Sox.
And again, many of these Cardinals, especially the famous names, have strong track records. Surely, some of them will start hitting closer to their career averages.
But the Cardinal who must have the most-improved May? Turner Ward.