With John Mozeliak stepping down from his role with the St. Louis Cardinals, the franchise is experiencing its first leadership transition in 18 years — a shift whose magnitude can’t be overstated.
While ownership remains unchanged and the team’s market naturally dictates a certain operational style, such long stretches under one executive voice are uncommon in Major League Baseball. Regime changes typically occur much more frequently, making the Cardinals’ continuity under Mozeliak especially rare.
Now, Chaim Bloom — who spent the past two years as a consultant before officially taking over — brings a deep well of experience. His background includes leading the Boston Red Sox front office and playing a key role in transforming the Tampa Bay Rays into a model small-market powerhouse. Because of his experiences in both Tampa and Boston, many are curious to see how Bloom will shape the Cardinals’ baseball operations going forward.
During an appearance on 101 ESPN, Alex Ferrario asked Bloom if there was a particular identity he envisioned for the Cardinals under his leadership. Bloom’s answer provided a clear glimpse into his philosophy.
“I’ll give you a couple of things on that,” Bloom told 101 ESPN. “One of them is, in addition to what I just talked about, there is a lot that gets talked about. Are we about small ball? Are we about power? Look, the reality of it, we should just be about winning, and there’s times for each of those. We can talk about small ball, and obviously, the legacy of the Cardinals has a lot of that, and there’s plenty of conversation, which I understand, about this year’s club, and hitting the ball over the fence is a pretty good way to score runs. So we should never be in a position where we are walking past certain types of players or where we don’t have a club in our bag to try and get something done on the field.
To me, it’s more about we need to be detail-oriented. What this organization has done historically really well is dominate details, and so those things add up. No one thinks of a three-run homer as a detail, but everything that went into the training that put the player in position to get there and hit that is a detail. The decision, perhaps, to let the player swing away, if it was correct in that instance rather than bunt or rather than give himself up to move runners, that is a detail, and if we dominate those details, we should get the results.
And then beyond that, again, like the identity of the team, some of that just comes out of your talent. I don’t want to walk past talent just because it might not fit a particular profile. What I do want is, if you come here to play us, at the end of that series, you should be exhausted. I want us to be really hard to play against.”
Chaim Bloom wants the Cardinals’ identity to be detail-oriented and hard to play against
Although the phrases “detail-oriented” and “hard to play against” can sound vague and hard to measure, I truly believe they’re two essential traits the Cardinals must develop in the coming years.
As Bloom explained, being recognized as a detail-oriented organization gives you an edge over the competition. Of course, talent is necessary, but how you maximize that talent each day often determines the difference between winning and losing, between a Wild Card berth and a division title, and ultimately, how far a team can go in October. That mindset has to permeate every level of the organization—from the front office and support staff to the coaches and players. If the Cardinals optimize everything they can—scouting, player development, performance, and in-game execution—and if the players attack each day with that same precision, the team can truly become greater than the sum of its parts.
A lot of discussion surrounds the sustained success of the Los Angeles Dodgers, and while their financial strength is unmatched by most clubs, it’s their relentless attention to detail that has set them apart. They explore every possible avenue to improve, squeezing the most out of every player on their roster, which has allowed them to become the powerhouse they are today.
The Milwaukee Brewers, now the standard in the National League Central, are another example of how a detail-oriented approach can elevate an organization beyond its limitations. Despite being outspent by the Cardinals year after year, Milwaukee consistently wins division titles, develops elite pitching, produces strong position players, and maintains a deep farm system to support its success.
Bloom has seen how effective this mindset can be. He experienced it firsthand during his time with the Tampa Bay Rays, has watched those same principles strengthen the Boston Red Sox’s foundation, and now aims to make the Cardinals the benchmark for organizational excellence across baseball.
In the early 2010s, the Cardinals were both detail-oriented and undeniably hard to play against. The teams from 2011 to 2015 were relentless—they came from behind, wore out opponents, and routinely made deep postseason runs. While traces of that spirit exist in Oliver Marmol’s current club, Bloom wants to see that identity fully restored. That doesn’t just apply to the major league team; it should define the entire organization, with every prospect developing the same drive and intensity. The new “Cardinal Way” should aim to outwork and outthink opponents before, during, and after every game.
These objectives won’t be achieved overnight, but in time, the Cardinals’ on-field results will reflect whether they’ve succeeded. Bloom has built this type of culture before, and now, the challenge is to bring that same transformation to St. Louis.