By Rob Rains
It has become our custom at the end of the last several years to take a look back at stories we published on STLSportsPage.com during the last 12 months to select our favorites of the year.
This year, there were two stories which received the most comments from readers, and they both hopefully point to a brighter future for the Cardinals beginning in 2026.
About a week after he officially took over the duties of president of baseball operations for the Cardinals, we published an in-depth profile of Chaim Bloom. This 4,500-word story detailed where he’s been, what he believes and what makes him tick. If you missed the story when it was published on Oct. 6, you can read it by CLICKING HERE
A player who is being counted on to make a major contribution to the Cardinals next season was the subject of a 3,800-word profile on Aug. 11. JJ Wetherholt gave us unprecedented access to detail a “day in the life” of the Cardinals’ top prospect which discussed how his faith, preparation, focus, confidence and determination have him on the cusp of the major leagues. To read that story, CLICK HERE
We spent a lot of time each season in the minor leagues, and many of the other 10 stories which join the profiles of Bloom and Wetherholt on our list of the favorite stories in 2025 were a result of some of those trips, including profiles of some of the Cardinals’ other top prospects and some human-interest stories.
Two stories which made the list came from the major-league club, a profile of Kyle Leahy, and the story of the special bond and relationship between Matthew Liberatore and Victor Scott II and their fathers.
These 10 stories are presented in chronological order.
Sitting outside the Cardinals spring training clubhouse, Cesar Prieto was about an hour, but another lifetime, away from where he made a daring run to freedom as he escaped from Cuba when the country’s national team arrived in Florida for an Olympic qualifying tournament. A candid Prieto described the details of his decision, and how he escaped, in our March 3 story. CLICK HERE to read it if you missed it when it was published.
Every morning during spring training, pitching prospect Tekoah Roby carried a big stack of books to a table outside of the clubhouse. In our story on March 11, Roby talked about the significance of those books, and the change they marked in his life. The story detailed how Roby’s re-found faith helped him deal with numerous injuries. Unfortunately, another injury requiring Tommy John surgery loomed in his future, likely forcing him to miss the 2026 season. CLICK HERE to read it.
One of the surprise stories early in the season for the Cardinals was the performance of reliever Kyle Leahy, whom we profiled on April 21. Leahy talked about how he was able to overcome poor performances in his minor-league career and never lost the faith that he would one day pitch, and pitch well, in the majors. To read the story CLICK HERE
One of the people who helped Leahy through his tough times was Brian Alazzawi, a mental skills coach in the organization. A former Navy SEAL, Alazzawi was the subject on a May 5 profile, which coincided with the release of a new movie, Warfare, in which he was one of the SEALs featured in the depiction of a fierce battle in Afghanistan. To read the story CLICK HERE
A trip to Peoria, Ill., gave us the chance to write about outfielder Joshua Baez, who had lost his status as a top prospect because of a couple of poor seasons. He discussed how he was working hard to regain that status – which he in fact did over the course of the summer. To read, or re-read the story published on May 12, CLICK HERE
Just before Father’s Day, we told the story of the special relationship between Liberatore and his father, and between Scott and his father. To read that story from June 12 CLICK HERE
Later in June we went to Springfield, Mo., to write about one of the Cardinals’ rising prospects, catcher Leonardo Bernal. To read the June 18 story CLICK HERE
In early July, we were off to Jupiter to watch the Palm Beach Cardinals and came back with two stories. The first was about perhaps the most unknown prospect in the Cardinals’ system, catcher Rainiel Rodriguez, who after signing as an international free agent has risen near the top of the team’s prospect list and earned a spot as a top-100 prospect in the game. To read the July 7 story about Rodriguez: CLICK HERE
On the same trip we got together with right-handed pitcher Andrew Dutkanych IV, just days before he made his professional debut – a year after he was drafted. He talked about that long wait as he recovered from Tommy John surgery in our story published on July 9. To read: . CLICK HERE
The final story on our list for 2025 also was about a pitcher who has spent more than a year rehabbing from surgery. The difference for Packy Naughton is that while he was doing that, he also went out and got another job, as a real estate agent. To read the story from Oct. 30 CLICK HERE
As always, thanks to all of our readers for their support this season. We look forward to the opportunity to write more stories of interest to our readers in 2026, when we will celebrate 46 years of writing about the Cardinals and baseball.
Follow Rob Rains on X @RobRains
Photo of Chaim Bloom by Taka Yanagimo courtesy of St. Louis Cardinals
