A recent player poll is really a slap in the face to the Cardinals, who were once a sought-after place to play in the MLB.

Miami Marlins v St. Louis Cardinals
Miami Marlins v St. Louis Cardinals / Joe Puetz/GettyImages

MLB players recently took a poll where there was a simple question posed.

“Which team would you sign with if contracts, state taxes and rosters were not a factor?”

This question eliminates most outside factors, leaving the 86 players polled to decide where they want to play based on the franchise, the location, the history, the stadium and the weather. Some expected historic teams like the Yankees and Red Sox to top the poll, but it was actually the Braves who got the most votes in the league.

The St. Louis Cardinals, a team that was once seen as a “mecca for players” received just one of the 86 votes, accounting for just about 1 percent of the poll. Yikes.

Cardinals receive one vote in MLB players poll about desirable destinations to play

This is really indicative of the Cardinals front office and their manager, Oli Marmol.

St. Louis used to be a team held to a high standard, one in which players desired to play there because of the management, production, leadership and their winning ways. That’s just not the case anymore as the Cardinals are one of the least stable franchises in the league.

Oli Marmol currently sits on the hot seat and absolutely nobody would want to play for a franchise that may be without a manager in the near future. Their front office isn’t much more stable, which is indicative of the results of the poll.

In all honesty, it’s surprising that St. Louis got a vote at all.

This poll brings out an interesting side of things: a view into what the players would want and where they would want to play if the option was fully up to them. It’ll be interesting to see if The Athletic is working to do more polls like this in the future.

Having a dive into the minds of the players is a truly integrative part of the game that has been missing for so many years.

It just so happens that this recent dive into the minds of players shows how truly unattractive it currently is to play for the St. Louis Cardinals.