Cardinals History
Baseball Events
2000– After a 15-year big league career, first baseman Will Clark announces his retirement. ‘The Thrill’ ends his playing days with the McGwire-less Cardinals, supplying the Redbirds with much needed offense (.345, 12 HRs and 42 RBIs) in a two-month span after being traded from Baltimore.
Trades and Transactions
The following players’ were granted FREE AGENCY in 2015:
Matt Belisle
Jonathan Broxton
Randy Choate
Jason Heyward
John Lackey
Mark Reynolds
Carlos Villanueva
- Ozzie Smith was granted free agency in 1992.
- The Chicago White Sox traded Carey Selph and Jack Rothrock to the Cardinals for Evar Swanson. in 1932.
Birthdays
Otto Williams 1877- an infielder he played for the St. Louis Cardinals in 1902 and 1903 and had a .203 lifetime batting average. He made his major league debut on October 5. 1902 and played his last game on June 9,1906 for the Washington Senators.
Red Jones 1911 made his major league debut on April 16,1940 and played his last game on May 14,1940 both in a Cardinals uniform.was a professional baseball player. He was an outfielder for one season (1940) with the St. Louis Cardinals. For his career, he compiled a .091 batting average in 11 at-bats, with one run batted in.
Dick Sisler 1920 born in St Louis, he made his MLB debut with the Redbirds on April 16, 1946, spending a full season for the eventual National League and World Series champions. In his playing career, he played for St. Louis Cardinals (1946–1947), Philadelphia Phillies (1948–1951), Cincinnati Reds (1952), St. Louis Cardinals (1952–1953). He played his final game on August 1, 1953, for the St. Louis Cardinals
Career numbers:Batting average .276 Home runs 55 Runs batted in 360
Ron Reed 1942- a pitcher that was in the Cardinals organization for a short time.He was traded from the Braves to the St. Louis Cardinals for Ray Sadecki and Elias Sosa on May 28, 1975. Bob Gibson’s Hall of Fame career was in its twilight when the Cardinals acquired Reed to replace him in the rotation.[ His first start with his new club came against his former franchise, and he allowed two runs (0 earned) over seven innings to pick up the victory.[14] He went 9–8 with a 3.23 ERA his only season in St. Louis. Between the Braves and the Cards, Reed pitched 250.1 innings, faced 1067 batters, and surrendered only five home runs
Willie McGee 1958- finish with a .295 batting average and an All Star selection four times.
McGee came to the St. Louis Cardinals from the Yankees’ farm system on October 21, 1981, in a trade for pitcher Bob Sykes. In 1982, he was briefly assigned to the AAA Louisville Redbirds prior to being called up to St. Louis. In his rookie year, McGee batted .296, with 4 home runs and 56 runs batted in during the regular season.
I don’t know if anyone has ever played a better World Series game than Willie. If he doesn’t make that catch in the ninth, Mr. Sutter’s in trouble. In Game 3 of the 1982 World Series, McGee hit two home runs and made a leaping catch of a would-be ninth-inning Gorman Thomas home run that secured the Cardinals 6–2 victory. McGee became the third rookie to hit two home runs in a World Series game, joining two New York Yankees: Charlie Keller and one of the announcers for the 1982 Series, Tony Kubek. (Andruw Jones joined them in Game 1 of the 1996 World Series, and Michael Conforto joined them in Game 4 of the 2015 World Series.) McGee was an integral part of the Cardinals’ unlikely Series win over the power-hitting Milwaukee Brewers, who were nicknamed “Harvey’s Wallbangers” after team manager Harvey Kuenn.
During the 1980s, McGee, along with Cardinals teammates Ozzie Smith, Tom Herr, and Vince Coleman, exemplified “Whiteyball”, a style of baseball named after Cardinals manager Whitey Herzog. This style of baseball took advantage of St. Louis’ spacious Busch Stadium and placed strong emphasis on fundamentals, pitching, defense, speedy baserunning, and smart situational in-game play.
McGee hit for the cycle on June 23, 1984, in a classic Cardinals vs. Cubs matchup at Wrigley Field.[5] The game was televised as NBC’s Game of the Week. As the Cards led going into the bottom of the 9th, McGee was announced as NBC’s “Player of the Game.” After Chicago’s Ryne Sandberg hit two home runs—in the ninth and tenth innings, propelling the Cubs to a 12–11 victory—NBC reported that McGee and Sandberg would share the honor.
In 1985, McGee ranked first in the National League in batting average (.353, which is the second highest mark by a switch hitter in NL history), hits (216), and triples (18). He also ranked third in the National League in runs scored (114) and stolen bases (56). Additionally, he earned a Gold Glove Award and a Silver Slugger Award and was voted to the National League All-Star team. For his superb offensive and defensive performance, McGee was named the 1985 NL Most Valuable Player. His .353 batting average was the highest for a National League player since Bill Madlock hit .354 ten years earlier; between 1975 and 1993, McGee’s .354 average also was second only to Tony Gwynn’s 1987 NL average (.370).[6] McGee’s efforts helped propel the Cardinals into the postseason, where St. Louis defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers in the NL Championship Series. However, St. Louis came up short in the 1985 World Series, as the Kansas City Royals defeated the Cardinals in seven games. The Series was known as the “I-70 Series,” named after Interstate 70, the highway that connects St. Louis to Kansas City.
In 1987, Cardinals manager Herzog moved McGee to 5th in the batting order. McGee responded well to the move and drove in a career-high 105 runs. Again, McGee was a key component to the Cardinals’ success as they enjoyed another fine season finishing as Eastern Division champs. After defeating the San Francisco Giants in a heated NL Championship Series, Herzog’s Cardinals found themselves in their third World Series contest of the 1980s; the Minnesota Twins defeated the Cardinals in the 1987 World Series in seven games. McGee himself made the last out of the seventh game of the series, grounding out to third base.
Sidney Ponson 1976 A long pitching career for Ponson but only season in a Redbirds uniform. On December 21, 2005, Ponson signed a one-year contract with the St. Louis Cardinals calling for a $1 million salary with the ability to earn an additional $1.5 million in incentives. Although his season started promisingly, Ponson struggled with stamina and rarely went more than five innings in his starts. On July 7, 2006, the Cardinals designated Ponson for assignment, ending his stint with the team.
Deaths
Bill Bailey 1926
Freddy Parent 1972