John Denton

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Veteran Cardinals/MLB reporter

John Denton has been a reporter for more than three decades while covering MLB, NBA and the NFL. He's covered four Super Bowls, four NBA Finals and four MLB seasons. Following the bouncing ball has allowed John to cover pro sports in Australia, China, Brazil, England, Mexico and all over the U.S.

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Cardinals' Standout Becomes MLB's Best First Base 'Receiver' on Scoops

Oct 4, 2026

STLCardinalsRoundtable

Cardinals Outfield Prospect Starts Arizona Fall League with a Bang

Oct 4, 2026

STLCardinalsRoundtable

Sparked by JJ Wetherholt, Masyn Winn, Cardinals Finish Third in MLB in Two Key Defensive Metrics in 2026

Oct 3, 2026

STLCardinalsRoundtable

Cardinals Must Answer Catching Quandary, Herrera's Arm Issues By '27

Oct 3, 2026

STLCardinalsRoundtable

Two Cardinals Catching Prospects Soar Up Final Top 100 Rankings of '26

Oct 2, 2026

STLCardinalsRoundtable

Another Top Cardinals' Catching Prospect Getting Shot to Shine in Arizona Fall League

Oct 2, 2026

STLCardinalsRoundtable

Cardinals' No. 9-Ranked Prospect Out of Arizona Fall League with Elbow Issue

Oct 2, 2026

STLCardinalsRoundtable

Cardinals Complete Lars Nootbaar Trade by Adding Another Hard-Throwing Right-Handed Pitcher

Oct 2, 2026

STLCardinalsRoundtable

Cardinals Given Harsh Regular-Season Grade by ESPN Despite Numerous Strides Made by Young Players

Oct 1, 2026

STLCardinalsRoundtable

Cardinals' Reliever Changed Grip on his Slider, Dramatically Changed Trajectory of his 2026 Season

Oct 1, 2026

STLCardinalsRoundtable

Cardinals Need Continued Growth from Starting Staff, More Support in Bullpen to Reach Playoffs in 2027

Sep 30, 2026

STLCardinalsRoundtable

Former Cardinals Players, St. Louis Browns Radio Team Finalists for Ford C. Frick Broadcasting Honor

Hall of Fame pitcher Dizzy Dean and St. Louis native and former Cardinals player Buddy Blattner, who formed the radio team of the St. Louis Cardinals and Browns and worked together as broadcasters on the national Game of the Week for years, have been selected as finalists for the Ford C. Frick Award, which is presented annually for excellence in baseball broadcasting by the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum. Jay Hanna "Dizzy" Dean, a 1934 World Series champion with the Cardinals and a former star player elected to the Hall of Fame as a pitcher in 1953, made his mark as the voice of CBS’ Game of the Week from 1955-65 following several seasons with the Cardinals and Browns. Blattner, who was born in St. Louis in 1920 and died at 89 years old in Chesterfield, Mo., in 2009, worked 26 seasons for outlets primarily in the 1950s and 1960s including the Liberty Game of the Day, Mutual Game of the Day, ABC Game of the Week, CBS Game of the Week and NBC, along with several stops with individual teams. Blatner made his MLB debut with the Cardinals on April 18, 1942. After four years away with the U.S. Navy, he played for the New York Giants (1946-48) and with the Philadelphia Phillies (1949). In 272 MLB games, he racked up 176 hits and a career .247 batting average. Blatner and Dean are two of the 10 finalists for the Frick Award, presented annually for excellence in baseball broadcasting by the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum. This ballot will mark the first election featuring a composite ballot of local and national voices whose broadcast careers concluded prior to the advent of the Wild Card in 1994. The election cycle will then return, starting with the 2028 Frick Award, to four straight years of candidates whose careers began or mostly comprise the years after the advent of the Wild Card era. The cycle then repeats. Here are the other finalists for the award: Ken Coleman, Earl Gillespie, Merle Harmon, Ned Martin, Monte Moore, Gustavo Lopez Moreno, Bill O’Donnell and Jack Quinlan. The winner of the 2027 Frick Award will be announced on Dec. 9 at Baseball’s Winter Meetings in San Diego and will be honored during the July 24 Awards Presentation as part of the July 23-26 Hall of Fame Weekend 2027 in Cooperstown. Moore and Moreno are the only living candidates on the ballot. The 2027 Frick Award ballot was created by a subcommittee of the voting electorate that included past Frick honorees Joe Castiglione, Bob Costas, Tom Hamilton and Eric Nadel and broadcast historian Curt Smith. Final voting for the 2027 Frick Award will be conducted by an electorate comprised of the 14 living Frick Award recipients and two broadcast historians/columnists, including past Frick honorees St. Louis native Joe Buck, Marty Brennaman, Castiglione, Costas, Hamilton, Ken Harrelson, Pat Hughes, Jaime Jarrín, Tony Kubek, Denny Matthews, Al Michaels, Jon Miller, Nadel and Dave Van Horne and Smith.Sep 30, 2026

STLCardinalsRoundtable

Cardinals' Left-handed Pitcher Jared Shuster Chooses Minor League Free Agency

Left-handed pitcher Jared Shuster, who was hit hard in five games with the Cardinals and was designated for assignment three times in 2026, elected Minor League free agency on Tuesday. To qualify for Minor League free agency, players have to be outrighted off their team's 40-man rosters without being added back. Also, these players must have multiple outrights on their professional resumes or at least three years of MLB service time. Shuster, 27, pitched nine innings in five appearances for the Cardinals in 2026. He allowed 11 hits, nine earned runs, a homer and six walks. Used as veteran depth, Shuster appeared in games against the Red Sox on April 11 and 12 and was designated for assignment on April 13. When he wasn't claimed by another team, he returned to the Triple-A Memphis Redbirds. He returned to the big leagues on May 1, but weas DFAed again on May 16. The Cardinals brought him back to St. Louis on July 7 for a long-relief appearance, but the Brewers knocked him around to the tune of five hits, seven earned runs three walks and a homer in just 1 1/3 innings of work. A former first-round pick (No. 25 overall) by the Braves in the 2020 MLB Draft, Shuster has pitched for Atlanta (2023), the Chicago White Sox (2024-25) and the Cardinals (2026) at the MLB level. In 37 games (three starts) with Triple-A Memphis in 2026, the Wake Forest product went 6-4 with a 5.65 ERA. In 63 2/3 innings of work, he struck out 64 hitters, but he also allowed 12 homers.Sep 30, 2026

STLCardinalsRoundtable

Despite Success at Big-League Level, Cardinals Rookie Planning to Still Pitch with Chip on Shoulder

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Sep 30, 2026

STLCardinalsRoundtable

Cardinals Trail Only Dodgers with Three Top Prospects Named to All-MiLB Teams

Sep 29, 2026

STLCardinalsRoundtable

Cardinals' Offensive Gains in 2026 Tempered by Struggles at Home, Poor Finish

A poor finish to the season by the St. Louis Cardinals overshadowed many of the gains that the team made offensively in 2026. Firmly in contention for a Wild Card slot most of the season, the Cardinals lost nine of their last 11 games, went just 9-15 in September and finished 13 games below .500 after the MLB All-Star Game after going 50-45 before the break. Alec Burleson won MLB's RBI crown with 116, and he became the first Cardinals' player to lead MLB in runs batted in since Joe Torre in 1971. Jordan Walker and Ivan Herrera evolved into first-time All-Stars, and Walker went to Philadelphia and captured the Home Run Derby in dramatic fashion over hometown hero Kyle Schwarber. JJ Wetherholt homered in his first game, had a walk-off hit in his second game and was solid offensively from the leadoff spot most of the season before fading down the stretch, in part, because of right wrist tendinitis. Many of the Cardinals offensive numbers were also tempered by the team's problems hitting at notoriously pitcher-friendly Busch Stadium. The Cards scored 100 more runs on the road (410) than at home (310), averaging 5.1 runs a game in visiting parks and just 3.8 runs a night in front of the home fans. They hit 99 road homers, compared to just 68 in Busch's hot, humid air. Their 3.8 runs, 68 homers and .661 OPS at home ranked last in the National League. Here is a look at where the Cardinals ranked among the 15 teams in the NL in every major offensive category: Runs -- 10th Hits -- 13th Doubles -- 13th Triples -- 14th Homers -- 13th RBI -- T-9th BB -- 12th K -- 3rd fewest Stolen bases -- 11th Caught stealing -- T-5th fewest Batting average -- 13th On Base Percentage -- 10th Slugging -- 15th On Base Plus Slugging (OPS) -- 15thSep 29, 2026

STLCardinalsRoundtable

Cardinals Dominated Dodgers, Braves and Cubs in 2026, but Struggled Versus Brewers, Phillies

Sep 29, 2026

STLCardinalsRoundtable

Cardinals Claim Former Top 100 Pitching Prospect Off Waivers from Yankees, Nats

Sep 29, 2026

STLCardinalsRoundtable

Cardinals President Calls Offseason 'A Dangerous Time,' Doesn't Want Club to Relax

Sep 28, 2026

STLCardinalsRoundtable

Out of Postseason Again, Cardinals Actually Fared Well Versus Six AL Playoff Teams in '26

Sep 28, 2026

STLCardinalsRoundtable