St. Louis Cardinals 2022

[pruman91]

My baseball memory only goes back to the end of Aaron, Mays and Clemente’s careers therefore it is hard for me to compare Albert to those legends. He is the best right-handed hitter I ever saw but when I look at the numbers it seems to me Albert is chasing Aaron on most of the records. I have long wondered if Aaron wasn’t the greatest hitter of all-time. Right-handed or left-handed. I guess there is no definitive answer but it makes for interesting debate.

Nuke , I will be 71 at the end of this month and I remember Hammerin' Hank Aaron very well ....It might have been my Cardinals bias in stating that about Albert .......Hank Aaron was a wrist hitter and supposedly had the strongest wrists back then ,,,,that was before the analytic's of today's baseball world , but Aaron and Eddie Mathews , who played 3rd base and was a left handed hitter were always hitting thunderbolts....Add in Joe Adcock , the 1st baseman and Warren Spahn and Lou Burdette pitcher's and Del Crandall as the catcher .....wow , that was a dynamite team ...........

Mays and McCovey were another tandem provoking fear into the opponents head.......The list goes on and on .......I guess I need to ratchet down the GOAT on Albert as a right handed batter and just enjoy the memories.......

My American Legion team went to Busch Stadium and saw a doubleheader between the Cardinals and the Pirates...............Clemente hit a homer and threw out a runner at home in the first game and hit 2 homers and threw out 2 runners at home in the second game.....Roberto Clemete was my favorite non-Cardinals player ever ...... I was heartbroken when i heard the news of him being in that plane crash.........

I wish they would of had TV programming back then the way it is now........Great , great players .................

 

[pruman91]

I'm old enough to remember Aaron, Mays, Clemente, and many other greats. The best all-around player, (hitting, fielding, base running) in all the years I've followed baseball is, IMO, Willie Mays. No question.

Fair enough bro...................I remember the back to the plate catch by Mays in the WS....and he pivoted and threw the ball back in the infield in one motion.....

Candlestick park had that chain link fence enclosing the outfield and I remember the fans chasing home runs that Mays and McCovey would hit......

I think Mays said that Bob Gibson was the roughest pitcher for him........OH wait , Frank Robinson who played for the Reds and then the Orioles.....Only player to win an MVP in both leagues ..........Oh wait , and there was.................................................................................................................................................................................

 

[wpr]

Nuke , I will be 71 at the end of this month and I remember Hammerin' Hank Aaron very well ....It might have been my Cardinals bias in stating that about Albert .......Hank Aaron was a wrist hitter and supposedly had the strongest wrists back then ,,,,that was before the analytic's of today's baseball world , but Aaron and Eddie Mathews , who played 3rd base and was a left handed hitter were always hitting thunderbolts....Add in Joe Adcock , the 1st baseman and Warren Spahn and Lou Burdette pitcher's and Del Crandall as the catcher .....wow , that was a dynamite team ...........

Mays and McCovey were another tandem provoking fear into the opponents head.......The list goes on and on .......I guess I need to ratchet down the GOAT on Albert as a right handed batter and just enjoy the memories.......

My American Legion team went to Busch Stadium and saw a doubleheader between the Cardinals and the Pirates...............Clemente hit a homer and threw out a runner at home in the first game and hit 2 homers and threw out 2 runners at home in the second game.....Roberto Clemete was my favorite non-Cardinals player ever ...... I was heartbroken when i heard the news of him being in that plane crash.........

I wish they would of had TV programming back then the way it is now........Great , great players .................

 

[wpr]

I'm old enough to remember Aaron, Mays, Clemente, and many other greats. The best all-around player, (hitting, fielding, base running) in all the years I've followed baseball is, IMO, Willie Mays. No question.

They were all amazing.

Rank	Player (yrs, age)	Wins Above Replacement	PA	IP	Bats/Throws
1.	Babe Ruth+ (22)	183.1	10626	1221.1	L
2.	Walter Johnson+ (21)	164.9	2534	5914.1	R
3.	Cy Young+ (22)	163.6	3104	7356.0	R
4.	Barry Bonds (22)	162.8	12606		L
5.	Willie Mays+ (23)	156.1	12545		R
6.	Ty Cobb+ (24)	151.5	13103	5.0	L
7.	Henry Aaron+ (23)	143.0	13941		R
8.	Roger Clemens (24)	139.2	213	4916.2	R
9.	Tris Speaker+ (22)	134.7	12020	1.0	L
10.	Honus Wagner+ (21)	130.8	11766	8.1	R
11.	Stan Musial+ (22)	128.6	12721	0.0	L
12.	Rogers Hornsby+ (23)	127.3	9481		R
13.	Eddie Collins+ (25)	124.4	12087		L
14.	Ted Williams+ (19)	122.0	9792	2.0	L
15.	Pete Alexander+ (20)	119.3	1981	5190.0	R
16.	Alex Rodriguez (22)	117.6	12207		R
17.	Kid Nichols+ (15)	116.3	2264	5067.1	B
18.	Lou Gehrig+ (17)	113.6	9665		L
19.	Rickey Henderson+ (25)	111.1	13346		R
20.	Mel Ott+ (22)	110.8	11347		L
21.	Mickey Mantle+ (18)	110.2	9910		B
22.	Tom Seaver+ (20)	109.9	1552	4783.0	R
23.	Frank Robinson+ (21)	107.2	11744		R
24.	Nap Lajoie+ (21)	106.9	10471		R
25.	Lefty Grove+ (17)	106.8	1580	3940.2	L
	Mike Schmidt+ (18)	106.8	10062		R
27.	Greg Maddux+ (23)	106.6	1812	5008.1	R
	Christy Mathewson+ (17)	106.6	1900	4788.2	R
29.	Randy Johnson+ (22)	101.1	691	4135.1	R
30.	Albert Pujols (22, 42)	100.8	12950	1.0	R

 

[Nuke Dukem]

I'm old enough to remember Aaron, Mays, Clemente, and many other greats. The best all-around player, (hitting, fielding, base running) in all the years I've followed baseball is, IMO, Willie Mays. No question.

I have heard so many old-timers say Mays was the greatest all-around player that I have just accepted it as fact. I was just comparing numbers as a hitter when talking about Aaron but I can only imagine what a special time it must have been to be a baseball fan in the ‘50s and ‘60s. I vaguely remember ‘67-‘68 Cardinals but better remember how happy they made my older relatives.

 

[pruman91]

They were all amazing.

Rank	Player (yrs, age)	Wins Above Replacement	PA	IP	Bats/Throws
1.	Babe Ruth+ (22)	183.1	10626	1221.1	L
2.	Walter Johnson+ (21)	164.9	2534	5914.1	R
3.	Cy Young+ (22)	163.6	3104	7356.0	R
4.	Barry Bonds (22)	162.8	12606		L
5.	Willie Mays+ (23)	156.1	12545		R
6.	Ty Cobb+ (24)	151.5	13103	5.0	L
7.	Henry Aaron+ (23)	143.0	13941		R
8.	Roger Clemens (24)	139.2	213	4916.2	R
9.	Tris Speaker+ (22)	134.7	12020	1.0	L
10.	Honus Wagner+ (21)	130.8	11766	8.1	R
11.	Stan Musial+ (22)	128.6	12721	0.0	L
12.	Rogers Hornsby+ (23)	127.3	9481		R
13.	Eddie Collins+ (25)	124.4	12087		L
14.	Ted Williams+ (19)	122.0	9792	2.0	L
15.	Pete Alexander+ (20)	119.3	1981	5190.0	R
16.	Alex Rodriguez (22)	117.6	12207		R
17.	Kid Nichols+ (15)	116.3	2264	5067.1	B
18.	Lou Gehrig+ (17)	113.6	9665		L
19.	Rickey Henderson+ (25)	111.1	13346		R
20.	Mel Ott+ (22)	110.8	11347		L
21.	Mickey Mantle+ (18)	110.2	9910		B
22.	Tom Seaver+ (20)	109.9	1552	4783.0	R
23.	Frank Robinson+ (21)	107.2	11744		R
24.	Nap Lajoie+ (21)	106.9	10471		R
25.	Lefty Grove+ (17)	106.8	1580	3940.2	L
	Mike Schmidt+ (18)	106.8	10062		R
27.	Greg Maddux+ (23)	106.6	1812	5008.1	R
	Christy Mathewson+ (17)	106.6	1900	4788.2	R
29.	Randy Johnson+ (22)	101.1	691	4135.1	R
30.	Albert Pujols (22, 42)	100.8	12950	1.0	R

Great post .......

 

[pruman91]

I have heard so many old-timers say Mays was the greatest all-around player that I have just accepted it as fact. I was just comparing numbers as a hitter when talking about Aaron but I can only imagine what a special time it must have been to be a baseball fan in the ‘50s and ‘60s. I vaguely remember ‘67-‘68 Cardinals but better remember how happy they made my older relatives.

I was 13 years old when the Cardinals played the Yankees in the 1964 World Series....The principal of the grade school gathered all the 7th and 8th grades in the gym and had a set up for us to watch the games...Back then all the games were played during the day.....I was clapping and cheering my butt off....
More memories...wow

 

[BillyBob1]

I was 13 years old when the Cardinals played the Yankees in the 1964 World Series....The principal of the grade school gathered all the 7th and 8th grades in the gym and had a set up for us to watch the games...Back then all the games were played during the day.....I was clapping and cheering my butt off....
More memories...wow

Was that on the big screen in HD?

 

[GILL-INOIS]

Heard some random stories about Mays in the day and even a few years ago.

I was at a sports card/memorabilia show in St Louis years ago listening to one of the dealers talk. Not sure what year this happened but he was one of the bigger dealers at the signing show and Mays was there signing. Random collector/fan walked up with a Mickey Mantle autographed baseball and wanted Mays signature on the same ball. Mays signed right over the Mantle signature on purpose. Talk about a D*ck move!

 

[pruman91]

Was that on the big screen in HD?

Lol

Black & white 19 inch TV
But I enjoyed every second
I really really did.....

 

[illiniguy]

Lol

Black & white 19 inch TV
But I enjoyed every second
I really really did.....

 

[pruman91]

Cardinals’ second-half charge similar to last year, but cast of characters has changed

Only 13 players are on 28-man roster now who were on it last year at this time.

www.stltoday.com

Rick Hummel

Much to the consternation of Cardinals fans, their heroes were a middling 50-44 at the All-Star break this season, just slightly above their 44-46 record last season before the break. But a run of 26-11 since the break this year has vaulted the Cardinals into a large lead in the National League Central Division, akin to the Cardinals capturing a wild-card spot last year after finishing 46-26, including a winning streak of 17 games in September.
What is different this year, however, is the roster. Of the 28 players who will be on it Friday night when the Cardinals open a three-game set here with the Chicago Cubs, only 13 Cardinals were on the active roster at this time last season.
Just four of them are pitchers — Adam Wainwright, Miles Mikolas, Giovanny Gallegos and the rediscovered Jake Woodford, who was a mainstay in the September run of last year.

The other nine players on both clubs on this date are Paul Goldschmidt, Nolan Arenado, Yadier Molina, Tyler O’Neill, Tommy Edman, Paul DeJong, Dylan Carlson, Andrew Knizner and Lars Nootbaar.
The manager is different — Oliver Marmol rather than Mike Shildt. But the hitting coach and president of baseball operations are the same in Jeff Albert and John Mozeliak. And, at least for the moment, there is little of the caterwauling often heard concerning the extensions of their employments.
Yes, the Cardinals’ batsmen managed to go nothing for 17 with men in scoring position against a mediocre, ragged Reds staff on Wednesday. But the Cardinals’ offense ranks third among the 30 teams in the majors in OPS at .759, fifth in batting average at .258 and tied for sixth in home runs at 164.

 

[pruman91]

Minor-league report: Top prospect Jordan Walker homers as a part of three-hit game

Cardinals’ top prospect Jordan Walker on Thursday homered for the 18th time this season and singled twice against Wichita.

stlpinchhits.com

Daniel Guerrero
Having gone seven consecutive games without a home run entering Thursday, Jordan Walker ended that drought during his second at-bat against the Wind Surge. The Cardinals’ top prospect unloaded his swing on a 1-0 pitch left over the plate, sending it 106 mph off his bat and soaring a projected 419 feet over the center fielder’s head for a solo home run.
That homer — Walker’s 18th of the season — was just one part of the former first-round pick’s night against Wichita. The 20-year-old finished Springfield’s 12-8 loss three-for-four that included a pair of singles and a walk.
Along with Walker’s three-hit game, these are some of the notable performances from Cardinals minor-leaguers:

Hits

Third baseman/Outfielder Jordan Walker, Class AA Springfield: Starting as Springfield’s designated hitter, Walker’s raised his average to .311 and OPS to .931 with the multi-hit performance. The performance marked Walker’s 12th game this year during which he collected three or more hits. The 20-year-old leads all Springfield hitters in average and OPS. He is also sixth among Texas League hitters in bother average and OPS.

 

[pruman91]

Minor-league report: Outfield prospect Alec Burleson collect three hits, four RBIs

Alec Burleson’s three-hit game against Nashville improved his average to a league-leading .325.

stlpinchhits.com

Daniel Guerrero
Through what has been a year of consistency at the plate for the Alec Burleson, the 23-year-old’s latest showing with the bat came in the form of a three-for-four Wednesday night that included a double and four RBIs in Class AAA Memphis’ 9-3 win over Nashville.
Burleson’s productive night furthered his International League lead in average (.325) and hits (135). The four runs he pushed across raised his season total to 84, putting him one shy of the league lead.
Along with Burleson’s multi-hit and multi-RBI game, these are some of the notable performances from around the Cardinals minor-leagues:
Hits

Outfielder Alec Burleson, Class AAA Memphis: The left-handed-hitting outfielder got his productive game started early when he smacked an opposite-field double on the first pitch he saw from Brewers prospect Ethan Small in the first inning. He followed that by jumping on the first pitch of his second at-bat vs. Small and grounding an RBI single up the middle in the third inning. Then in the fourth, after Burleson fouled off the first pitch Small delivered, the 23-year-old lined a ball to center field for a two-out two-RBI single. The multi-hit game was Burleson’s sixth of August.

 

[Boomauer]

I was 13 years old when the Cardinals played the Yankees in the 1964 World Series....The principal of the grade school gathered all the 7th and 8th grades in the gym and had a set up for us to watch the games...Back then all the games were played during the day.....I was clapping and cheering my butt off....
More memories...wow

I was also a 13 year old die hard Cards fan in 64...was lucky enough to have a grandfather and uncle take me to St. Louis the night before the first World Series game. We stood in line all night to buy standing room only seats to the game Gibson vs. Whitey Ford.

 

[IlliniFaninHoosierLand]

Hudson "temporarily" out of the rotation with Flaherty set to return on Labor Day and start again the following Saturday in Pittsburgh. Hudson will go into a reliever role for the time being and could be available as early as Saturday. Next time they could potentially use him as a starter would be in the doubleheader against the Reds on September 17th.

 

[jmwillini]

Watching 6'6" lefty Montgomery pitch reminds me of a former Cardinal that had an excellent first year before injuries derailed his career, Mark Mulder.

 

[wpr]

I was 13 years old when the Cardinals played the Yankees in the 1964 World Series....The principal of the grade school gathered all the 7th and 8th grades in the gym and had a set up for us to watch the games...Back then all the games were played during the day.....I was clapping and cheering my butt off....
More memories...wow

A few teachers let us listen on a transistor radio in 67. In 68 it was old news and wasting their class period. Nuns. SMH.

 

[wpr]

Watching 6'6" lefty Montgomery pitch reminds me of a former Cardinal that had an excellent first year before injuries derailed his career, Mark Mulder.

I only remember how frustrated I was with Mulder. I completely forgot that his first year was pretty good.

 

[pruman91]

I was also a 13 year old die hard Cards fan in 64...was lucky enough to have a grandfather and uncle take me to St. Louis the night before the first World Series game. We stood in line all night to buy standing room only seats to the game Gibson vs. Whitey Ford.

wow..........that's so cool.............I'm glad you posted this as I was in the dumpster after that FB game......if you want to call it that......

 

[pruman91]

Quick hits: Cardinals' Jordan Montgomery runs his scoreless innings streak to 22 against Cubs

Nootbaar, Edman homer and O'Neill drives in two with single in 8-0 romp.

www.stltoday.com

Rick Hummel
Whether the venue has been Yankee Stadium, Wrigley Field or Busch Stadium, the result has been the same this year when left-hander Jordan Montgomery faces the Chicago Cubs.
He had blanked them for seven innings in a June 11 start in New York when he was still a Yankee. After coming to the Cardinals on Aug. 2, Montgomery blanked the Cubs on one hit for his first shutout in Chicago on Aug. 22. On Friday, the Cubs did only a tad better.
Chicago managed just three hits to the outfield off Montgomery, who shut them out again on seven hits overall, this time for six innings, in an 8-0 Cardinals rout before a sellout paid crowd of 44,491 at Busch. In 22 innings against the Cubs this season, Montgomery has begrudged them 13 hits and two walks.

He is 5-0 in his six starts with the Cardinals and 8-3 for the season.
Tyler O’Neill drove in two runs in the first inning and scored another in the sixth as the Cardinals won for the 24th time in their past 31 games. Lars Nootbaar crushed a two-run homer in the seventh, his first against a lefthander (Sean Newcomb), out of the 11 homers Nootbaar has hit this season. He had one of his five off a southpaw last year.
Tommy Edman ripped his fourth homer in his past 10 games, rifling a three-run drive to left off Newcomb in the eighth,

 

[Ryllini]

Was just able to catch up on MLB.tv and holy smokes Arenado is unreal. That play in the first was crazy. We all know it, but I hope we all step back and appreciate what we have there. Also, awesome for the home town kid.

 

[pruman91]

With devastating fastball-slider combination, Cardinals’ Jordan Hicks has made his way back

Reliever fans three men in a row while game is on the line. Montgomery wins third straight against Cubs in three different parks. Nootbaar and Edman homer.

www.stltoday.com

Rick Hummel
Jordan Hicks has been a prime-time player for the Cardinals, piling up 20 saves in 2018-2019 before his arm betrayed him. Now, he serves as an understudy but he might be as good as ever or even better.
“I think so,” said catcher Yadier Molina, who worked Hicks masterfully in a show-stopping seventh inning Friday night in an 8-0 rout of the Chicago Cubs at Busch Stadium.
That one-sided final wasn’t reflective of the situation Hicks inherited in the seventh, relieving Jordan Montgomery with runners at first and third and nobody out and the Cardinals ahead only 3-0. As is his wont, Hicks threw half a dozen fastballs at 100 miles an hour or above. He got three strikeouts in succession as the Cubs didn’t score. All of them, however, came on crackling sliders which may or may have not been strikes but the Cubs’ batsmen didn’t have much time to decide.

“You’ve got to get the bat moving if you’re going to hit 100,” said pitching coach Mike Maddux. “You can’t sit there and wait on it.”
It has been a rollercoaster ride for the 25-year-old Hicks, who began the year as a starter — as was his preference — but suffered a forearm strain as he went 1-4 with a 5.02 earned run average, then was left in the minors for a while after initially being on an injury rehabilitation option. When he was brought back, it was sooner than it might have been because starting was not on the table anymore and relief was. But it wasn’t necessarily high-leverage relief, at least not for a while.

 

[pruman91]

Cardinals notebook: Jack Flaherty is ready for 'opening day, round two' on Monday

Hudson will go to bullpen in pitching shuffle.

www.stltoday.com

Rick Hummel


Monday is Labor Day, a holiday for many. But not for Cardinals right-hander Jack Flaherty, a day of work he has looked forward to for much of the summer.
Flaherty, with his second rehabilitation — a lengthy one — for his troublesome right shoulder behind him, will make his fourth start of the season for the Cardinals on Monday against Washington. It will be his first start since June 26.
“It will be exciting,” he said Friday night, comparing it to opening day. “Opening day, round two.”
Actually, it might be opening day, round three, but Flaherty was not active for the actual April 7 opener.
Flaherty hiked his pitch count to 102 in his final of five rehab starts when he pitched for Class AA Springfield on Wednesday and then had to buy yet another postgame spread for the minor leaguers as big leaguers are supposed to do when they’re on temporary minor league assignments.

He hadn’t thrown 102 pitches in a game since May 16, 2021, when he threw 105 in six innings against Pittsburgh in his eighth consecutive win, an 8-5 triumph. He rejoins a team now which has built a big cushion in the National League Central Division race.
“Everybody’s done a really good job,” Flaherty said. “It’s been fun to watch but it will more fun to a part of.”
Flaherty called the Cardinals’ 22-7 August “relentless. Last year, winning 17 straight was fun and all but there’s a type of relentlessness that’s going on, no matter the situation we get into. Everybody’s contributing. Everybody’s doing something.”

----------------------------------------------------

I hope Flaherty stay's injury free for the rest of the year and is with the Cardinals for a full season next year.....He's had a lot of injuries for a young pitcher and I have my concerns long term on just how long he is with the Cardinals.....Yhe articles I have read over the last couple of years leads me to my own personal belief that Flaherty bolts to the Dodgers at his earliest chance .....I'm sure the Dodgers would welcome him with both arms wide open , especially since their run of pitching ailments has been concerning.........

Just my opinion so take it with a grain of salt , but I doubt Flaherty is a life long Cardinal and that's sad ......It really really is..................

 

[IlliniFan85]

Cardinals notebook: Jack Flaherty is ready for 'opening day, round two' on Monday

Hudson will go to bullpen in pitching shuffle.

www.stltoday.com

Rick Hummel


Monday is Labor Day, a holiday for many. But not for Cardinals right-hander Jack Flaherty, a day of work he has looked forward to for much of the summer.
Flaherty, with his second rehabilitation — a lengthy one — for his troublesome right shoulder behind him, will make his fourth start of the season for the Cardinals on Monday against Washington. It will be his first start since June 26.
“It will be exciting,” he said Friday night, comparing it to opening day. “Opening day, round two.”
Actually, it might be opening day, round three, but Flaherty was not active for the actual April 7 opener.
Flaherty hiked his pitch count to 102 in his final of five rehab starts when he pitched for Class AA Springfield on Wednesday and then had to buy yet another postgame spread for the minor leaguers as big leaguers are supposed to do when they’re on temporary minor league assignments.

He hadn’t thrown 102 pitches in a game since May 16, 2021, when he threw 105 in six innings against Pittsburgh in his eighth consecutive win, an 8-5 triumph. He rejoins a team now which has built a big cushion in the National League Central Division race.
“Everybody’s done a really good job,” Flaherty said. “It’s been fun to watch but it will more fun to a part of.”
Flaherty called the Cardinals’ 22-7 August “relentless. Last year, winning 17 straight was fun and all but there’s a type of relentlessness that’s going on, no matter the situation we get into. Everybody’s contributing. Everybody’s doing something.”

----------------------------------------------------

I hope Flaherty stay's injury free for the rest of the year and is with the Cardinals for a full season next year.....He's had a lot of injuries for a young pitcher and I have my concerns long term on just how long he is with the Cardinals.....Yhe articles I have read over the last couple of years leads me to my own personal belief that Flaherty bolts to the Dodgers at his earliest chance .....I'm sure the Dodgers would welcome him with both arms wide open , especially since their run of pitching ailments has been concerning.........

Just my opinion so take it with a grain of salt , but I doubt Flaherty is a life long Cardinal and that's sad ......It really really is..................

Or Angels. But I am with you. He isn't a Cardinal long term.