Cardinals fans go OFF on Paul Goldschmidt, Nolan Arenado over vaccination status

The St. Louis Cardinals are entering a critical juncture in their campaign. They currently trail the NL Central leaders Milwaukee Brewers by just 2.5 games. If the team wants a guaranteed slot in the playoffs, they will need to overtake their division rivals and avoid the mess that is the Wild Card race.

Unfortunately, their race to the top hit a pretty nasty speedbump on Sunday. The Cardinals announced that stars Nolan Arenado and Paul Goldschmidt aren't able to play in their upcoming two-game series against the Toronto Blue Jays. The reason? Both players are still unvaccinated against COVID-19. Missing both of their star hitters against a white-hot team like the Jays is a recipe for disaster.

Their impending absence caused a stir in the Cardinals fanbase, and rightfully so. By this point, most players know the current rules of playing in Toronto. Why did Arenado and Goldschmidt not get the vaccine? Here's how fans reacted to this bombshell news.

Absolutely inexcusable from those 2 who claim to be “team 1st”

— Braden says Fire Mo (@BradenBrown24) July 24, 2022

This tweet should have red Arenado, Goldschmidt, and Romine choose to not join STLCardinals in Toronto during a close playoff race.

— Troy Divine (@TroyDivine) July 24, 2022

That’s the last two guys who I would have thought would quit on their team

— go_ners (@Go_Baseball) July 24, 2022

Nolan Arenado and Paul Goldschmidt in the "did my own research" finals pic.twitter.com/kFujzQmru9

— Inside the Bird (@InsidetheBird1) July 24, 2022

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Billy this is Nolan Arenado and Paul Goldschmidt they're 2 of the top 25 players in baseball. Their defect is that they cannot legal enter the country of Canada. pic.twitter.com/jn9oGEmYX4

— #SellTheTeamMark (@adambrownknows) July 24, 2022

https://twitter.com/tjadenski/status/1551256544783831040

However, there are also those that defended the Cardinals stars' decision to not get the vaccine. Most of these guys argue that it's their body, and therefore they should have full control of what they put in them.

Any Cardinals fans blasting Nolan Arenado or Paul Goldschmidt for their personal health decisions are not fans. Yeah it sucks to be without them for two games but don’t bash them for their choices #STLCards

— redbirdhighlights (@bluesdeke12) July 24, 2022

“Nolan Arenado and Paul Goldschmidt are so selfish.”

– People selfishly mad that they made a personal choice for themselves and are now going to miss two baseball games for their favorite baseball team because baseball > real life

— Prez John Mozeliak (parodeez) (@PrezJohnMo) July 24, 2022

Unfortunately for the Cardinals, what's done is done. Unless there's a miraculous vaccine developed within the next 24 hours that takes effect immediately, Arenado and Goldschmidt won't be able to play in Toronto. Hopefully, the team can take the full force of a Toronto team fresh off one of the most dominant games in MLB history.