Cardinals OK with making baseball fun … to a point

8:17 PM ET

WASHINGTON — Well before St. Louis Cardinals players reach the major leagues, they undergo organizational brainwashing, if you want to call it that.

“Cardinal Way, that sort of stuff,” outfielder Stephen Piscotty said.

One of the first times Piscotty got an earful of how the Cardinals like to comport themselves on the field came a couple of years ago at the team’s spring-training camp for elite prospects. Both manager Mike Matheny and general manager John Mozeliak addressed the room full of minor leaguers.

Here’s how Piscotty summed up the message:

“Just respect the game, respect the umpire, respect the other team. It’s really pretty simple,” he said. “In an era of smartphones and social media, people want to be a little flashier. It’s just the way it is.”

“Athletes are so talented now that if you grind, grind, grind without having any laughs and fun, you’ll wear yourself out,” said Adam Wainwright, right, who has Mike Matheny’s ear on such matters. Charles LeClaire/USA TODAY Sports

Washington Nationals superstar Bryce Harper has mounted a campaign to make baseball “fun again.” He sometimes wears a trucker hat that carries the message. It all began with some comments to ESPN The Magazine’s Tim Keown in which Harper called baseball “tired,” because its unwritten rules discourage flamboyant young stars from showing flair on the field.

The Cardinals, it can be safely stated, are on the other end of baseball’s culture wars, but they might not be quite as stodgy as many people believe. Matheny said his stance on on-field celebrations has softened over the years as the game’s culture has evolved with young talents like Harper, the Los Angeles Dodgers’ Yasiel Puig and Miami pitcher Jose Fernandez.

Team leader Yadier Molina has been increasingly showing personality on the field. When a Philadelphia Phillies hurler fired a …

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