By the end of the 1991 season, the St. Louis Cardinals knew they once again would be in the market for a power-hitting first baseman. At 35 years old, Pedro Guerrero had just completed his third season on the Busch Stadium Astroturf, and the wear and tear had begun to impact his numbers. In his…
All posts in November 2020
November 20, 1981: Cardinals trade for Lonnie Smith
The day after the Cardinals, Phillies, and Indians agreed on a three-team deal that sent Lonnie Smith to St. Louis, Philadelphia Daily News reporter Bill Conlin wrote that it “was a deal filled with marvelous paradoxes.”[1] The Cardinals already had outfielders George Hendrick, David Green, Dane Iorg, and Sixto Lezcano on the roster, and had…
November 16, 1999: Cardinals trade for Darryl Kile
In November 1999, it was no secret that the Colorado Rockies were looking to shop Darryl Kile and his $8 million salary. In two seasons in Colorado, the former Astros ace had gone just 21-30 with a 5.84 ERA, including a career-high 17 losses in 1998. It was a far cry from the success Kile…
How Bill White, Curt Flood, and others integrated Cardinals spring training
Fourteen years after Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier with the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947, Bill White, a four-time all-star and the defending National League Gold Glove Award winner at first base, arrived in St. Petersburg, Florida, for spring training with the St. Louis Cardinals. While some of the Cardinals’ star players, such as Stan…