Birthdays
Larry McWiliams played for the Cardinals in 1988. (born February 10, 1954), is a former professional baseball player who pitched in the Major Leagues from 1978-1990. He was drafted by the Atlanta Braves in the 1st round (6th pick) of the 1974 amateur draft. McWilliams was the winning pitcher when the Atlanta Braves stopped Pete Rose’s 44-game hitting streak in 1978, his rookie season. McWilliams made what was probably the key play to stop the streak when Rose, in his second at-bat of the game, lined a pitch up the middle that McWilliams dove and caught.
McWilliams’ best seasons were 1978, his rookie season, when he went 9-3, and 1983, when he posted a 15-8 record with 8 complete games, 4 shutouts, and a 3.25 ERA with the Pittsburgh Pirates. He was nicknamed Spaghetti by Pirates catcher Tony Pena. “That’s what I call him. Take a look at his legs. They look like spaghetti. Real thin.” said Pena during a postgame interview in 1982.
On September 2, 1989, McWilliams was traded from the Phillies to the Royals for catcher Jeff Hulse.
Alberto Castillo (born February 10, 1970) is a retired Major League Baseball catcher. Castillo was born in San Juan de la Maguana, Dominican Republic. Between 1995 and 2007, Castillo played for the New York Mets (1995–1998), St. Louis Cardinals (1999), Toronto Blue Jays (2000–2001), San Francisco Giants (2003), Kansas City Royals (2004–2005), Oakland Athletics (2005), and Baltimore Orioles (2007). He batted and threw right-handed.
In a twelve-season career, Castillo posted a .220 batting average with 12 home runs and 101 RBI in 418 games played. His longest tenure with one team was the New York Mets, who he played with for four seasons.
Lance Berkman (born February 10, 1976), nicknamed “Big Puma”, is a former American professional baseball outfielder and first baseman. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Houston Astros, New York Yankees, St. Louis Cardinals and Texas Rangers. He was under contract with the Cardinals for the 2011 and 2012 seasons.
On July 5, 2011, Berkman hit his 350th career home run, and his long-ball was the second farthest home run ever hit in the new Busch Stadium.
2011 became a comeback year for Berkman, as he was one of the team leaders in batting average, home runs and RBIs. He was named the NL Comeback Player of the Year.
Berkman made key contributions in Game 6 of the 2011 World Series vs the Texas Rangers. He hit his first home run in a World Series game in the first inning and in the ninth, with St. Louis down to their final strike before elimination, Berkman was driven home followed by Albert Pujols after a game-tying 2-run triple by David Freese.[24] After Texas scored two runs in the top of the tenth and Ryan Theriot hit a run-scoring groundout, Berkman hit a two-out two-strike RBI single scoring Jon Jay to tie the game. Berkman won his first World Series championship as the Cardinals defeated the Texas Rangers in the series in 7 games.
On April 22, 2012, Berkman was placed on the disabled list due to a calf injury. On May 21, 2012, Berkman was again placed on the disabled list due to right knee injury. An MRI revealed that there was significant cartilage damage to both sides of the knee and a torn meniscus, requiring arthroscopic surgery. Berkman returned on July 14, 2012. He was then placed on the 15-day disabled list on August 3, 2012 due to knee inflammation. It was the third time Berkman went on the DL in the 2012 season. On September 10, 2012, he was again put on the disabled list after having to go for a secondary meniscus surgery in the same knee. On October, 3rd, 2012, Berkman had his last at bat as a Cardinal. He spent the 2012 postseason on the physically unable to perform list as the Cardinals won the 2012 NLDS against the Washington Nationals but lost the 2012 NLCS against the San Francisco Giants
Cesar Izturis born February 10, 1980) is a Venezuelan former professional baseball shortstop. He is the half-brother of shortstop Maicer Izturis. On November 30, 2007, Izturis signed a one-year, $2.85 million deal with the St. Louis Cardinals for the 2008 season.