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St. Louis Cardinals 2022
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<blockquote data-quote="pruman91" data-source="post: 1799302" data-attributes="member: 3916"><p>[URL unfurl="true"]https://www.stltoday.com/sports/baseball/professional/birdland/poof-cardinals-magic-season-vanishes-in-sweep-their-next-trick-is-up-to-new-core/article_c112c4db-9a8d-5b53-b7f0-28cbb0df97cc.html[/URL]</p><p></p><p><a href="https://www.stltoday.com/users/profile/dgoold" target="_blank">Derrick Goold</a></p><p>As he walked to the plate with a chance to push the game one hit deeper into the night, the season one game further into the weekend, and his career one day longer into October, Yadier Molina paused and whispered a prayer.</p><p>He refused to be the last out of his last game.</p><p>“I was concentrating to not be,” he said.</p><p>A 19-year career spent entirely with one organization and annually chasing one trophy, Molina stepped into the batter’s box with two outs in the ninth inning Saturday night at Busch Stadium. He did then what he had done more than any player in National League history – delivered a base hit in the playoffs, for the 102nd time. With the final swings of their major-league careers, Molina and Albert Pujols delivered singles and then yielded first base to a pinch-runner. They were the in dugout when the Cardinals’ season unceremoniously ended in the glove of a former teammate, the Phillies’ Edmundo Sosa securing a 2-0 victory Saturday and a sweep in the wild-card series at Busch Stadium.</p><p>At 10:54 p.m. St. Louis time, sundown on a Cardinals era.</p><p></p><p>Careers that spanned a combined 41 seasons, 20 All-Star appearances, 12 Gold Glove awards, and 5,498 games, including 194 in the postseason, ended in the blink of 18 innings.</p><p>The long goodbye had the shortest ending.</p><p>“It’s the end of the Pujols-Molina era,” chairman Bill DeWitt Jr. said, walking into the clubhouse after the loss. “It’s been a nice winning era, that’s for sure.”</p><p>“You’re just expecting the story to continue, to be what it’s always been,” manager Oliver Marmol said.</p><p>“It wasn’t meant to be for us this year,” Pujols said.</p><p>In the clubhouse after the loss, players exchanged hugs. Some packed their gear. Several players, like Nolan Arenado, were on the verge of tears or coming back from taking the plunge. Molina’s voice snagged when describing the ovation he received from fans as he left the field for the final time. He shared a moment with backup catcher Andrew Knizner, just as rookie Juan Yepez walked with Pujols as he left the clubhouse for the final time. The transition from one generation – one with two championships, Molina’s four pennants, and 15 consecutive winning seasons – to the next, newer Cardinals core was underway.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="pruman91, post: 1799302, member: 3916"] [URL unfurl="true"]https://www.stltoday.com/sports/baseball/professional/birdland/poof-cardinals-magic-season-vanishes-in-sweep-their-next-trick-is-up-to-new-core/article_c112c4db-9a8d-5b53-b7f0-28cbb0df97cc.html[/URL] [URL='https://www.stltoday.com/users/profile/dgoold']Derrick Goold[/URL] As he walked to the plate with a chance to push the game one hit deeper into the night, the season one game further into the weekend, and his career one day longer into October, Yadier Molina paused and whispered a prayer. He refused to be the last out of his last game. “I was concentrating to not be,” he said. A 19-year career spent entirely with one organization and annually chasing one trophy, Molina stepped into the batter’s box with two outs in the ninth inning Saturday night at Busch Stadium. He did then what he had done more than any player in National League history – delivered a base hit in the playoffs, for the 102nd time. With the final swings of their major-league careers, Molina and Albert Pujols delivered singles and then yielded first base to a pinch-runner. They were the in dugout when the Cardinals’ season unceremoniously ended in the glove of a former teammate, the Phillies’ Edmundo Sosa securing a 2-0 victory Saturday and a sweep in the wild-card series at Busch Stadium. At 10:54 p.m. St. Louis time, sundown on a Cardinals era. Careers that spanned a combined 41 seasons, 20 All-Star appearances, 12 Gold Glove awards, and 5,498 games, including 194 in the postseason, ended in the blink of 18 innings. The long goodbye had the shortest ending. “It’s the end of the Pujols-Molina era,” chairman Bill DeWitt Jr. said, walking into the clubhouse after the loss. “It’s been a nice winning era, that’s for sure.” “You’re just expecting the story to continue, to be what it’s always been,” manager Oliver Marmol said. “It wasn’t meant to be for us this year,” Pujols said. In the clubhouse after the loss, players exchanged hugs. Some packed their gear. Several players, like Nolan Arenado, were on the verge of tears or coming back from taking the plunge. Molina’s voice snagged when describing the ovation he received from fans as he left the field for the final time. He shared a moment with backup catcher Andrew Knizner, just as rookie Juan Yepez walked with Pujols as he left the clubhouse for the final time. The transition from one generation – one with two championships, Molina’s four pennants, and 15 consecutive winning seasons – to the next, newer Cardinals core was underway. [/QUOTE]
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