The St. Louis Cardinals, still searching for consistent middle-of-the-order thunder in the post-Whitey Herzog years, took a calculated swing when they acquired Guerrero from the Los Angeles Dodgers for left-hander John Tudor in August 1988.

Guerrero’s path to St. Louis was never conventional. Born June 29, 1956, in San Pedro de Macorís, Dominican Republic, he grew up in circumstances that demanded adult responsibilities early. As a teenager, he left school to help support his family, working in the island’s rum industry and cutting cane for wages that underscored how far removed his world was from major-league stadium lights. Baseball, like it was for so many young players in the Dominican Republic, offered a different kind of possibility.

Latin scouting pioneer Reggie Otero, then working for the Cleveland Indians, saw a wiry teenager with broad shoulders and room to grow, and he signed Guerrero with a modest bonus. Not long after, the Dodgers obtained Guerrero in an April 1974 trade for minor-league left-hander Bruce Ellingsen, a deal that became a defining heist for Los Angeles.

For years, the Dodgers let that bat ripen in the minors, not because Guerrero lacked ability, but because the major-league roster was stacked and Los Angeles had the luxury of patience. Guerrero hit everywhere he went, flashing both average and power, and even when a fractured ankle in 1977 disrupted his timeline, he kept advancing through the Dodgers’ system. He reached the majors late in 1978, collected his first hit in a pinch-hitting appearance, and began carving out a role that quickly expanded beyond a bench spot.

By 1981, Guerrero was no longer a curiosity. With an opening in right field and his offensive numbers surging, he became a central figure on a Dodgers club that navigated a strike-split season, survived October pressure, and won the World Series. Guerrero’s defining moment came in Game 6 against the Yankees, when he drove the offense with a triple, a homer, and a bases-loaded single. By the end of the night, he had amassed five RBIs and eight total bases, and he shared World Series MVP honors with teammates Ron Cey and Steve Yeager.

Over the next several seasons, Guerrero established himself as a rare hitter who could pair impact power with a threatening batting average. In 1982, he won a Silver Slugger and became the first Dodger to hit 30 home runs and steal 20 bases in a season, then repeated the 30/20 combination again in 1983. His peak as a pure offensive force arrived in the mid-1980s, when he was capable of carrying a lineup for weeks at a time.

His 1987 season, his last full campaign in Los Angeles, underscored that he remained an elite offensive force. Guerrero hit .338 with 27 home runs, 89 RBIs, and a .955 OPS, ranking among the league’s best. Even as injuries had interrupted earlier seasons, his bat had not diminished.

He carried that impact into 1988. In 59 games with the Dodgers before the August trade, Guerrero was hitting .298 with five home runs and 35 RBIs, continuing to profile as a productive middle-of-the-order presence despite battling injury. After the trade to St. Louis, he hit .268 with five home runs and 30 RBIs in 44 games for the Cardinals.

The trade itself reflected two teams chasing different solutions. The Dodgers were pushing toward another postseason run and wanted rotation stability; Tudor, an accomplished left-hander, offered that. The Cardinals, sliding out of contention, chose to turn pitching into offense and acquired Guerrero, who arrived with the unusual profile of a player who had already been a postseason centerpiece and was still producing at a high level.

Guerrero’s time with the Cardinals effectively began in earnest in 1989, and it was the season that defined his St. Louis chapter. Installed primarily at first base, he delivered what the club had hoped it was buying: a long, productive summer of run production and authoritative contact. He hit .311, drove in a career-high 117 runs, and tied for the National League lead with 42 doubles. St. Louis did not win the division, but the Cardinals stayed relevant deep into the year, and Guerrero’s at-bats were central to that push.

Teammates and opponents alike understood what kind of hitter he was in that season’s biggest moments. Joe Magrane, a left-handed pitcher on that 1989 club, later described Guerrero as one of the best clutch hitters he had seen with two strikes, a player who could spoil borderline pitches, work himself back into a count, and then flick a slider the other way for a single when a defense was desperate for an out. That ability to extend an at-bat and still do damage was part of what made Guerrero so valuable to St. Louis in 1989: the Cardinals had seen plenty of sluggers over the years, but fewer who could blend power with situational discipline in the middle of the lineup.

The numbers reinforced the feel of it. The 42 doubles led the National League and showed how often Guerrero squared the ball up and drove it with authority, turning good contact into extra bases and run-scoring opportunities. His 117 RBIs that season marked a career best.

In 1990, Guerrero’s production was a step down from his 1989 peak, but it was far from a collapse. He hit .281 with 13 home runs and 80 RBIs, and those 80 RBIs led the Cardinals that season.

In 1991, Guerrero continued to contribute, hitting .272 and driving in 70 runs, though the physical toll became harder to ignore. A collision with Cardinals catcher Tom Pagnozzi on a foul ball resulted in a hairline fracture in Guerrero’s right leg, and even though he pushed through the moment to deliver late-inning run production in that game, the larger season reflected a player fighting his body as much as opposing pitching. By 1992, shoulder trouble limited him to just 43 games, and the end came quietly: one home run, a .219 average, and the understanding that his time in the majors was complete.

Across four-plus seasons in St. Louis, Guerrero hit .282 with 44 homers and 313 RBIs.

Guerrero arrived as a proven star who was still performing at a high level, delivered one of the most productive seasons of his career in 1989, and remained the club’s leading run producer into 1990 before injuries gradually narrowed his impact. His Cardinals years may have been shorter than his Dodgers tenure, but they were neither accidental nor ceremonial. For several seasons, Pedro Guerrero was exactly what St. Louis had hoped for: a veteran hitter with the ability to drive in runs in an offense that was otherwise light on middle-of-the-order bats.

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Born October 17, 1970, in Chesapeake City, Maryland, Mabry graduated from Bohemia Manor High School before playing three seasons of Division I baseball at West Chester University of Pennsylvania. There, he emerged as a prototype multi-position defender with a developing bat. The Cardinals selected him in the sixth round of the 1991 amateur draft, launching a professional career that ultimately spanned 14 major league seasons.

Mabry made his major league debut on April 23, 1994, against Houston, collecting his first career hit—a double—and driving in a run while playing right field. Though he appeared in only six games that season, he hit .304 and positioned himself for a larger role. That opportunity arrived in 1995, when he became the Cardinals’ primary first baseman and one of the National League’s most productive rookies. He batted .307 with a .347 on-base percentage but slugged only .405, reinforcing the early assessment of him as a hitter for average rather than power. Of his 119 hits that year, 92 were singles. Even so, he finished fourth in Rookie of the Year voting, establishing himself as a dependable everyday presence.

His most complete season followed in 1996, a pivotal year for both Mabry and the Cardinals. Under manager Tony La Russa, St. Louis captured the National League Central Division title and advanced to the National League Championship Series. Mabry logged career highs in games (151) and at-bats (543), led the club with 161 hits, and added 30 doubles, two triples, 13 home runs, and 74 RBIs while hitting .297 with a .342 on-base percentage. Defensively, he ranked among the National League’s most reliable first basemen with a .994 fielding percentage, complementing a lineup anchored by Ray Lankford, Brian Jordan, and Gary Gaetti.

Mabry’s signature Cardinals moment came on May 18, 1996, at Coors Field. Entering the game with only one career triple and six home runs, he was an unlikely candidate to hit for the cycle. Yet he opened the second inning with a single, doubled down the right-field line in the fourth, tripled over the head of Rockies center fielder Larry Walker in the fifth, and capped the night with a two-run homer in the seventh. The feat made him just the 18th Cardinal in franchise history to hit for the cycle and the first since Lankford in 1991. Mabry admitted afterward that he had not even realized what he had accomplished, believing teammates were simply congratulating him on the home run.

His offensive growth continued in 1997 under hitting coach George Hendrick, who encouraged him to attack first-pitch fastballs. From May 19 through June 9, Mabry compiled a 20-game hitting streak, batting .418 and raising his average from .240 to .309. The streak, which included 10 multi-hit games, was the longest by a Cardinal since Willie McGee in 1990. During that stretch, La Russa remarked that Mabry was “seeing that ball like it’s huge,” while Mabry characteristically deflected the praise.

After the 1998 season, Mabry became a free agent and signed with the Seattle Mariners on December 30, 1998. His departure marked the end of his first Cardinals chapter. He was later traded by Seattle to the San Diego Padres in July 2000 and granted free agency that October.

In January 2001, Mabry returned to St. Louis on a free-agent contract, rejoining the organization that had drafted and developed him. However, his reunion proved brief. Just days into the season, the Cardinals faced a roster squeeze. Veteran Bobby Bonilla was returning from the disabled list, and the club was determined to keep rookie first baseman Albert Pujols on the major league roster rather than send him to the minors. With limited flexibility, the Cardinals sent Mabry to the Florida Marlins on April 9, 2001, for cash considerations.

Mabry continued his career with the Marlins, Philadelphia Phillies, Oakland Athletics, and a return stint with Seattle before signing again with St. Louis prior to the 2004 season. That third Cardinals chapter proved meaningful. Transitioning into a highly valued bench role, Mabry hit 13 home runs in part-time duty for the 2004 club that won the National League pennant. Though the Cardinals were swept in the World Series, Mabry’s veteran presence and left-handed power provided depth to a roster loaded with star talent.

He returned again in 2005, serving primarily as a pinch-hitter and finishing the season batting .265 in that role. In total, Mabry played eight seasons with St. Louis across three stints (1994–98, 2001, and 2004–05), hitting .281 with 53 home runs and 272 RBIs while wearing the Birds on the Bat—18 points above his .263 career average. Over 14 major league seasons, he accumulated 898 hits, 96 home runs, and 446 RBIs while also playing for the Mariners, Padres, Marlins, Phillies, Athletics, Cubs, and Rockies.

After his playing career, Mabry spent a season as a television analyst before returning to the Cardinals in 2012 as assistant hitting coach under manager and former teammate Mike Matheny. He was promoted to hitting coach later that season and helped guide Cardinals offenses through multiple postseason runs, including a National League pennant in 2013. His coaching philosophy emphasized preparation, situational awareness, and attacking hittable pitches: principles shaped by his own development under La Russa and Hendrick.

Mabry remained with the Cardinals until 2018 and later held coaching roles with the Kansas City Royals, Miami Marlins, and Baltimore Orioles. In November 2025, he became assistant hitting coach for the Los Angeles Angels.

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Though Matheny replaced Marrero as the starter in 2000, Marrero deserves to be remembered as more than just one of the players included in the trade that acquired Adam Wainwright from the Atlanta Braves.

Over a nine-season Major League career, Marrero appeared in 724 games, batting .243 with 463 hits, 66 home runs, 261 RBIs, and 56 stolen bases. He was a former catcher who became a true utility regular—capable of contributing offensively while moving around the diamond—and his baseball identity was shaped in St. Louis, where the St. Louis Cardinals drafted him, developed him, and relied on him during a transitional era.

Before injuries and role changes defined his big-league career, Marrero was one of the Cardinals’ most highly regarded prospects of the late 1990s.

In 1997, Baseball America ranked Marrero as the No. 4 prospect in the Cardinals system, trailing only pitchers Matt Morris and Braden Looper, along with infield prospect Dmitri Young. Nationally, Marrero ranked 37th overall—an impressive placement given the depth at the top of that list, which included future stars such as Andruw Jones, Vladimir Guerrero, Todd Helton, Scott Rolen, Nomar Garciaparra, Kerry Wood, and Paul Konerko.

That ranking made Marrero the top catching prospect in baseball entering the 1997 season—a reflection of both his defensive reputation and the belief that his bat would play at the major-league level.

Marrero entered spring training in 1998 with a clear goal. At age 24, he hoped to win a job in St. Louis and begin converting prospect status into an everyday Major League role.

Instead, a routine physical revealed a growth at the base of his neck. Tests showed malignant cells. On March 6, 1998, Marrero underwent surgery in St. Louis to have his thyroid removed.

Two days later, he was back at the Cardinals’ spring training complex in Jupiter, Florida – a comeback that resonated throughout the clubhouse.

After Marrero’s fifth game back in April – a night in which he singled, doubled, stole third base, and repeatedly blocked balls in the dirt – teammate Mark McGwire shifted the spotlight away from himself and toward Marrero.

“It’s really remarkable. It’s a great story,” McGwire said. “I wish the nation would be aware of what happened to him. People talk about the things I do. They should be talking about the story of Eli Marrero. That’s a little more important. It’s a life-and-death situation.”

At a time when baseball’s national attention was consumed by the home run chase, Marrero’s return served as a reminder that perseverance matters.

Marrero did go on to play several more seasons with the Cardinals, but the path never unfolded the way prospect rankings once suggested.

Following his bout with thyroid cancer, it was noted in several accounts that Marrero struggled at times to maintain his stamina over the course of a full season. He appeared in more than 100 games for St. Louis only twice, and he never fully established himself as the club’s long-term starting catcher.

Instead, manager Tony La Russa used Marrero in the way he often used intelligent, adaptable players: everywhere. Catcher. First base. Left field. Right field. Marrero bounced between positions depending on matchups, injuries, and roster needs.

On September 3, 2001, Marrero was behind the plate for Bud Smith’s no-hitter, one of the most unexpected masterpieces in Cardinals lore. For a former top catching prospect whose career had evolved into something different, it was a fitting reminder that his defensive foundation still mattered.

Over his Cardinals tenure from 1997 through 2003, Marrero appeared in 525 games, batting .238 with 43 home runs, 187 RBIs, 70 doubles, and 46 stolen bases. His most complete season came in 2002, when he provided steady right-handed power and defensive flexibility while moving around the diamond.

The following season brought one of his most significant offensive contributions on the postseason stage. In Game 3 of the 2002 National League Championship Series at Pacific Bell Park, the Cardinals trailed the San Francisco Giants two games to none. After St. Louis built an early lead, Barry Bonds tied the game in the fifth inning with a dramatic three-run splash hit into McCovey Cove. The score stood 4–4 entering the sixth. Leading off the inning against reliever Jay Witasick, Marrero launched a solo home run that restored the Cardinals’ advantage. It proved to be the decisive run in a 5–4 victory, with Jason Isringhausen closing the door in the ninth. Marrero’s swing gave St. Louis the lead for good and cut the Giants’ series deficit to 2–1. In a postseason often defined by marquee names, it was Marrero who delivered the pivotal blow that night.

The 2003 season marked his final year in St. Louis. As the roster evolved and younger pieces emerged, Marrero’s playing time diminished. That December, the Cardinals traded Marrero and outfielder J.D. Drew to the Atlanta Braves in exchange for Jason Marquis, Ray King, and pitching prospect Adam Wainwright. Marrero was not the centerpiece of the deal, but he was part of the package that delivered one of the most important pitchers in modern Cardinals history. His departure became quietly intertwined with the franchise’s next era of success.

Freed from the daily uncertainty of role shifts, Marrero produced the finest offensive season of his career in 2004 with Atlanta. He hit .320 with a .374 on-base percentage and a .520 slugging percentage, demonstrating what his bat could accomplish with consistent at-bats. He later played for Kansas City, Baltimore, Colorado, and the New York Mets, appearing in 724 Major League games across nine seasons and finishing with a .243 batting average, 66 home runs, 261 RBIs, and 56 stolen bases.

In 2007, Marrero returned to the Cardinals organization, though he did not make the club out of spring training and appeared in just one game with Triple-A Memphis before being released. He concluded his playing career internationally in the Puerto Rican Winter League and the Caribbean Series before transitioning into coaching.

Eli Marrero’s Cardinals tenure may not align perfectly with the trajectory once projected for him in the late 1990s. He did not become the franchise catcher for a decade. Yet his story in St. Louis remains layered and meaningful. He was a top prospect in a loaded era. He overcame a life-threatening illness. He adapted when his role shifted. He caught a no-hitter in 2001. He delivered a decisive home run in the 2002 NLCS. He provided power, speed, and versatility during a period of transition. And he played a part—quiet but significant—in a trade that reshaped the franchise’s future.

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A second-round draft pick out of UCLA in 1986, Zeile entered the 1990 season ranked as baseball’s No. 7 prospect by Baseball America. In 1989, he showcased his potential by hitting .289 with 19 home runs and 85 RBIs for Triple-A Louisville. That performance earned him a brief stint in the majors, where he hit .256 with one home run and eight RBIs in 93 at-bats.

Heading into 1990, the Cardinals had high hopes for Zeile and the team, believing they could contend for the NL East crown. Instead, St. Louis stumbled out of the gate and sank to the bottom of the standings. In June, with the team sitting at 33-47, manager Whitey Herzog abruptly resigned.

As a rookie on a struggling team, Zeile faced typical ups and downs. During the first half of the season, he hit .227 with eight homers and 30 RBIs – respectable numbers for a catcher, but below the lofty expectations of Cardinals fans. Compounding the frustration, Zeile’s defense behind the plate was inconsistent, further magnifying the team’s struggles.

With veteran catcher Tom Pagnozzi playing well, interim manager Red Schoendienst began resting Zeile more frequently. Rumors suggested that Zeile might be destined for third base, where Terry Pendleton was playing out the final year of his contract.

On August 1, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch’s Dan O’Neill highlighted the criticism Zeile was facing, writing that “open season” had been declared on the rookie.

“Load up and take your best shot – the fans are, broadcasters are, even teammates,” O’Neill wrote. “Rip him up one side about not blocking the plate, then rip him down the other side about leaving runners on base. Talk about playing him at third base. Talk about playing him in the outfield. Talk about not playing him at all.

“Talk about a bunch of nonsense. Last season around this time, St. Louisans were clamoring for the Cardinals to bring up Zeile … the savior … the franchise … the future. Now, many of the same are disillusioned because the rosy, best-case scenario they envisioned hasn’t materialized. Now, after Zeile has played in fewer than 100 games, they’re ready to give up on him.”[1]

On the same day that O’Neill’s column was published, the Cardinals announced that Joe Torre would take over as manager. Torre, who had transitioned from catcher to third base during his own playing career with the Cardinals, was open to exploring a similar move for Zeile.

“I’ve heard he can play there, and if that’s the case, I’m going to take a look at him there,” Torre said. “If he has the ability to be the offensive player that I’ve heard, it will further his career. It did for me.”[2]

The possibility created a stir in St. Louis and left Zeile unsure of his future. After all, nobody with the team had said anything to him about changing positions.

“He was concerned because everybody was asking him if (third base) was going to be his full-time job,” Torre said. “I tried to explain to him there’s no plan for playing him full time at third base. I told him, ‘Maybe down the road, you might want that, but not now.’”[3]

Zeile echoed the sentiment.

“I think the whole thing about me playing third base got blown out of proportion,” Zeile said. “I’m not here to be a third baseman.”[4]

Still, the idea gained traction, especially as Pagnozzi continued to excel behind the plate. In 69 games in 1990, Pagnozzi hit .277 and played stellar defense, generating 2.1 wins above replacement (WAR) despite limited playing time.

To prepare Zeile for the potential position switch, Torre enlisted George Kissell, the legendary Cardinals instructor who helped Torre make his own transition years earlier.

“I’m just looking at what the flexibility is for me to do certain things,” Torre said. “In certain situations, instead of a day off, he’ll play third base. That’s like a day off from catching, believe me. I convinced him that’s the way we want to go, and he seems more relaxed about it.”[5]

While Zeile was willing to learn the position, he made it clear he considered himself a catcher.

“It just doesn’t seem rational or make a whole lot of sense to play me at third except for on a part-time basis or on a day off from catching once in a while,” he said. “I think I have the potential to be a very good catcher. I’m a better catcher than I am a third baseman. You don’t have a lot of opportunity to get a decent catcher in this league. So I went in and asked (Torre) why they would even talk about doing that.”[6]

Post-Dispatch columnist Bernie Miklasz offered an explanation, noting that the Cardinals lacked an obvious successor to Pendleton at third base for 1991. Additionally, he suggested that Zeile’s offensive production might improve if he moved to a position with fewer demands.[7]

In August, Zeile began splitting time between catcher and first base, appearing in nine of his final 10 games that month at first. On September 5, he made his debut at third base in a 6-2 loss to the Expos, and Torre announced that Zeile would finish the season there.

“What are my options?” Zeile said. “I’m a rookie, and they’re going to do what they think is best for the team. There’s not a lot I can do about it.”[8]

Torre was true to his word, starting Zeile at third base in each of his final 24 games of the season. With Zeile at third, Pendleton was moved to a bench role.

“I called Terry in and explained what we’re going to do,” Torre said. “He wasn’t happy about it, but he’s a trouper.”[9]

Pendleton echoed the frustration. “It’s been one of those unfortunate years,” he said.[10]

Meanwhile, Zeile continued to believe his best path forward lay at catcher.

“If they have (given up) and they don’t feel I can handle it as a catcher, I wouldn’t mind catching somewhere else,” he said. “But I don’t want to, by any means. I’m happy as heck here. And I’m not saying that if I did play third, I wouldn’t be happy. There are worse positions to be in than starting third baseman for the St. Louis Cardinals. By far.”

In his first 10 games at the hot corner, Zeile made three errors.

“I don’t feel uncomfortable at all,” he said. “They’ve been avoiding me. I thought they’d be laying down more bunts.”[11]

Zeile finished the season with a .244 batting average and 57 RBIs. His 25 doubles and 15 homers were the most by a Cardinals rookie since Ken Boyer totaled 27 doubles and 18 homers in 1955. Zeile finished sixth in the NL Rookie of the Year Award voting.

“I had all those expectations this year, and early in the year when I struggled, I got bashed pretty hard by the press and the fans,” Zeile said. “The way they built me up, there was almost no way they could not be disappointed in me the way I started. I finally got to the point where I could handle catching and my offense. I thought next year was going to be great. I’d be coming into a totally relaxed atmosphere. I would have all this stuff behind me in the first year. Then, all of a sudden, I’m thrust into a new spot. I think that’s what threw me at first.”[12]

Ahead of the 1991 season, the Cardinals made the move permanent, moving Zeile to third base and handing the catching duties to Pagnozzi. Pagnozzi won the first of three Gold Glove awards that season.

Zeile played third base throughout the remainder of his 16-year MLB career. Before he retired at the end of the 2004 season, Zeile made two final starts at catcher for the Mets, his first appearances at the position in more than 14 seasons.

After the Cardinals traded him to the Cubs in 1995, Zeile went on to play for the Phillies, Orioles, Dodgers, Marlins, Rangers, Mets, Rockies, Yankees, and Expos. After 2,158 career games, he retired with 253 homers, 1,110 RBIs, and a .265 career batting average.

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[1] Dan O’Neill, “Zeile Bashers Take Note: Give Him A Break,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, August 1, 1990.

[2] Dan O’Neill, “Zeile Has Help For A Possible Move To Third,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, August 2, 1990.

[3] Dan O’Neill, “Torre Assures Zeile That He’s No. 1 Catcher,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, August 8, 1990.

[4] Dan O’Neill, “Torre Assures Zeile That He’s No. 1 Catcher,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, August 8, 1990.

[5] Dan O’Neill, “Torre Assures Zeile That He’s No. 1 Catcher,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, August 8, 1990.

[6] Bernie Miklasz, “Zeile At Home Behind Plate, Not At Third,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, August 10, 1990.

[7] Bernie Miklasz, “Zeile At Home Behind Plate, Not At Third,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, August 10, 1990.

[8] Rick Hummel, “Zeile’s Position: Confusion,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, September 18, 1990.

[9] Jeff Gordon, “Cardinals Hope Zeile Will Catch On At Third,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, September 6, 1990.

[10] Jeff Gordon, “Cardinals Hope Zeile Will Catch On At Third,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, September 6, 1990.

[11] Rick Hummel, “Zeile’s Position: Confusion,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, September 18, 1990.

[12] Rick Hummel, “Zeile’s Position: Confusion,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, September 18, 1990.

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A first-round pick (30^th overall) in the 1988 MLB draft, Jordan found minor league at-bats hard to come by, largely due to his professional football career. Jordan’s contract with the Atlanta Falcons called for him to report to football training camp in July, cutting each baseball season short.

Despite limited playing time, Jordan moved quickly through the Cardinals’ ranks. After being drafted, he appeared in 19 games with Low-A Hamilton. In 1989, he played 11 games with Class A St. Petersburg. The following year, he played nine games with St. Petersburg before being promoted to Double-A Arkansas, where he appeared in 16 games.

With 55 pro games under his belt, Jordan was assigned to Triple-A Louisville for the 1991 season. There, he hit .264 with four homers, 24 RBIs, and 10 stolen bases in a career-high 61 games.

Ahead of the 1992 season, Jordan told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that he was wearing himself out playing pro sports year-round and might have to choose between baseball and football. If so, the Cardinals would need to make it worth it for Jordan to quit an NFL career that paid him $400,000 in 1991 and could reach as much as $1 million per year.

“I’ve had three good years, and they rate me as one of the top safeties in the league,” he said. “I want to get paid like the top safeties in the league.”[1]

As a Cardinals minor leaguer, Jordan was making just $1,850 per month. Even if he made the majors, he was due to earn $109,000, the major league minimum.[2] Cardinals general manager Dal Maxvill believed he knew which sport Jordan would choose.

“He’s going to play football just because of the (salary) numbers,” Maxvill said.[3]

Jordan’s lack of pro baseball experience made it impossible for the Cardinals to offer him the kind of money it would take to pull him away from football, Maxvill said.

“He’s only got 400 at-bats in four years,” Maxvill said. “How does he know what he can do? We don’t know what he can do. We’re kind of between a rock and a hard place.”[4]

Maxvill added, “Hopefully, he’ll get another 250 at-bats, stay healthy, and have a good year. If he wants to come back next year after playing football and do it again, we’d do it again – but with not much of an investment. If he goes down there and gets 250 at-bats and hits 13 home runs and has 60 RBIs, it’s a different story.”[5]

Instead, injuries provided Jordan an opportunity in the early days of the 1992 season. Despite being assigned to Triple-A Louisville to open the season, Jordan was called up and made his big-league debut on April 8, going 2-for-5 with four RBIs and a stolen base.

By the time Jordan suffered a strained left hamstring on May 22, he was batting .233 with five homers, 21 RBIs, and six stolen bases in 37 games.

“Everyone talks about Deion Sanders,” Cubs scout Hugh Alexander said, referring to the Braves’ two-sport star. “This kid, Jordan, doesn’t sell himself, but he’s better than Deion already. This kid is gonna put up some kind of numbers.”[6]

The Cardinals agreed. On June 16, they signed Jordan to a three-year contract worth approximately $2.2 million. The deal called for Jordan to play baseball exclusively, ending his NFL career in favor of a guaranteed baseball payday. Per the agreement, which included the 1992 season, Jordan would receive a $1.5 million signing bonus to be paid over the three years. His base salary would be $109,000 for 1992, then increase to $160,000 in 1993, with the opportunity to earn $230,000 with incentives. In 1994, Jordan would make $300,000 with incentives based on games played.[7]

Jordan said the signing bonus was enough to convince him to give up football.[8]

“It was a tough decision, but I talked it over with my wife, and this is a good business decision,” Jordan said. “Hopefully, I’ll play this game for 15 years; in football, you never know what’s going to happen with injuries.”[9]

The signing bonus also gave Jordan the guaranteed money he was seeking. He said the Falcons weren’t very aggressive in trying to sign him to a contract for 1992.

“I guess they didn’t think I was going to sign with St. Louis,” he said. “I got tired of messing around.”[10]

Jim Turner, Jordan’s baseball agent, said contract talks with the Cardinals moved quickly.

“I think both sides decided it was best to step across the line, stop posturing, and talk about the bottom line,” he said. “What I really think transpired was that Brian Jordan committed to the St. Louis Cardinals, and the St. Louis Cardinals definitely made a commitment to the fans.”[11]

Jordan’s football agent, Jim Steiner, said the Falcons were looking to offer Jordan somewhere between $400,000 to $500,000 annually on a series of non-guaranteed contracts.

“The (Falcons) sensed the urgency,” Steiner said. “They knew what the numbers (for the Cardinals) were, and there was no way they were ever going to offer Brian the type of money it would take to keep him in football. There are no hard feelings.”[12]

Jordan admitted that he might have some regrets about leaving football.

“You’re always going to have those in the back of your mind,” he said, “… but I can play baseball longer than football, and it gives me a chance to rest my body and vacation during the offseason. Right now, my body is just tired.”[13]

While the news left Atlanta in need of a new starting strong safety, the outlook in St. Louis was suddenly much brighter.

“What the Cardinals have done is show they have a lot of confidence in me by investing the money in me, and now I want to go out and be the best I can be,” Jordan said.[14]

Catcher Tom Pagnozzi, playing in his sixth season with the Cardinals, said, “We haven’t developed a power hitter in a long time in this organization. I hate to put the pressure on the guy, but he has the capability of being that type of player. He runs well, he’s a pretty good outfielder, and one thing to remember is that he is going to get better because he hasn’t played (much) baseball.”[15]

St. Louis Post-Dispatch columnist Bernie Miklasz wrote that Jordan’s contract marked a bold move for the franchise.

“The Cardinals could have stalled,” he wrote. “The Falcons hadn’t made a substantial offer to Jordan yet. The Cardinals could have been arrogant and let Jordan walk. Instead, the front office made the dramatic play, took that leap of faith, and did the right thing.”[16]

Jordan played primarily as a reserve throughout that three-year contract, playing in 175 MLB games from 1992-94 while also playing stints in the minors. In 1995, however, the Cardinals traded right fielder Mark Whiten to the Red Sox, opening up a starting job for Jordan.

That season, Jordan played in 131 games and led the Cardinals with 145 hits while batting .296. His 22 homers and 81 RBIs were second on the team to Lankford, and his 24 stolen bases tied Lankford for the team lead.

Playing on a new, $10 million contract, Jordan was even better in 1996, batting .310 with 17 homers, 104 RBIs, and 22 stolen bases to finish eighth in the NL MVP voting. In that fall’s NLDS against the Padres, he went 4-for-12 with a home run, three RBIs, and a stolen base. Facing the Braves in the NLCS, he hit .240 with a double, triple, homer, and two RBIs.

After injuries limited him to just 47 games in 1997, Jordan enjoyed the best season of his career in 1998. Batting behind Mark McGwire throughout the burly first baseman’s run to 70 home runs, Jordan was pretty impressive himself, batting .316 with 25 homers, 91 RBIs, and 17 stolen bases for a 7.0-WAR (wins above replacement) season.

That November, Jordan signed a five-year, $40 million contract with the Braves.

As he predicted in 1992, Jordan played 15 big-league seasons, retiring after the 2006 season at the age of 39. He finished with a career .282 batting average to go with 184 homers, 821 RBIs, and 119 stolen bases, good for a 32.9 career WAR.

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[1] Rick Hummel, “Cost Conscious: Cards Leery To Spend On 2-Sport Man,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, March 2, 1992.

[2] Rick Hummel, “Cost Conscious: Cards Leery To Spend On 2-Sport Man,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, March 2, 1992.

[3] Rick Hummel, “Cost Conscious: Cards Leery To Spend On 2-Sport Man,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, March 2, 1992.

[4] Rick Hummel, “Cost Conscious: Cards Leery To Spend On 2-Sport Man,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, March 2, 1992.

[5] Rick Hummel, “Cost Conscious: Cards Leery To Spend On 2-Sport Man,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, March 2, 1992.

[6] Bernie Miklasz, “Check It Out! Cardinals Spent To Keep Jordan,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, June 17, 1992.

[7] Rick Hummel, “Safety First: Jordan Takes Cards’ Offer,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, June 17, 1992.

[8] Rick Hummel, “Safety First: Jordan Takes Cards’ Offer,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, June 17, 1992.

[9] Joe Ostermeier, “Cards, Jordan agree to exclusive contract,” Belleville News-Democrat, June 17, 1992.

[10] Rick Hummel, “Safety First: Jordan Takes Cards’ Offer,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, June 17, 1992.

[11] Rick Hummel, “Safety First: Jordan Takes Cards’ Offer,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, June 17, 1992.

[12] Chris Mortensen, “Brian Jordan Leaves Falcons In a Bind,” Los Angeles Times, June 25, 1992.

[13] Rick Hummel, “Safety First: Jordan Takes Cards’ Offer,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, June 17, 1992.

[14] Rick Hummel, “Safety First: Jordan Takes Cards’ Offer,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, June 17, 1992.

[15] Rick Hummel, “Safety First: Jordan Takes Cards’ Offer,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, June 17, 1992.

[16] Bernie Miklasz, “Check It Out! Cardinals Spent To Keep Jordan,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, June 17, 1992.

The post Brian Jordan: Why he gave up his NFL career first appeared on STLRedbirds.com.

After just 406 minor league at-bats, Jordan got his first big-league opportunity on April 8, 1992, going 2-for-5 with four RBIs and a stolen base in a 15-7 win over the Mets.

A first-round pick (30^th overall) in the 1988 MLB draft, Brian Jordan found minor-league at-bats hard to come by, largely due to his professional football career. Jordan’s contract with the Atlanta Falcons called for him to report to football training camp in July, cutting each baseball season short.

Despite limited playing time, Jordan moved quickly through the Cardinals’ ranks. After being drafted, he appeared in 19 games with Low-A Hamilton. In 1989, he played 11 games with Class A St. Petersburg. The following year, he played nine games with St. Petersburg before being promoted to Double-A Arkansas, where he appeared in 16 games.

With 55 pro games under his belt, Jordan was assigned to Triple-A Louisville for the 1991 season. There, he hit .264 with four homers, 24 RBIs, and 10 stolen bases in a career-high 61 games.

Brian Jordan entered the 1992 season as a candidate to make the major-league roster. However, with Pedro Guerrero, Ray Lankford, and Felix Jose slated to start in the outfield, and Milt Thompson and Bernard Gilkey available as reserves, there wasn’t much playing time available with the Cardinals. Though Jordan hit .292 with a home run in spring training, he was assigned to Triple-A Louisville on April 1. Cardinals manager Joe Torre broke the news to him.

“He took it all right,” Torre said. “I told him, ‘You’re very close. You could make the team, but you wouldn’t play, and we want you to play, to get some at-bats.’ I think he understood. He shook my hand and thanked me for the opportunity. There’s no question in my mind that he can be a major-league player, but he just needs to get some playing time in.”[1]

Despite the Cardinals’ initial plans, that playing time came in the majors due to a slate of early-season injuries. Right fielder Felix Jose suffered an injury in spring training, then the Cardinals lost second baseman Jose Oquendo and first baseman Andres Galarraga in the first two games of the season.

It was the injury to Galarraga that created Jordan’s opportunity. When the Cardinals’ new first baseman suffered a fractured wrist that was expected to keep him in a cast for 5-6 weeks[2], Guerrero moved from left field back to his old position at first base. To fill the outfield vacancy left by Guerrero, the Cardinals promoted Brian Jordan to the majors.

“If Jordan is the exciting combination of speed and power he was in spring training, he gives the lineup a different dimension,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch columnist Dan O’Neill wrote. “But for one who has had only 406 professional at-bats at any level, that’s a large if.”[3]

On April 8, Brian Jordan made his debut in the Cardinals’ lineup, batting fifth behind Ray Lankford, Ozzie Smith, Todd Zeile, and Guerrero.

Mets starter Sid Fernandez struck out Jordan in the rookie’s debut at-bat in the first inning. Two frames later, Cardinals starting pitcher Bryn Smith was forced to exit the game due to elbow pain.

“I felt it in my last start (in spring training), but (trainers) Brad Henderson and Gene Gieselmann did a good job in getting me to the point where I could go out there and try it,” he said. “I went out and gave it a try. But it was still there. It hasn’t gone away.”[4]

The game proved to be Bryn Smith’s only start of the season. When he returned in September, he was assigned to the bullpen and finished the year with just 21 1/3 innings pitched. After the season, he signed a free-agent contract with the Rockies.

Cardinals reliever Mike Pérez took the mound and retired Bill Pecota for the final out of the third before the Mets lost their own starter in the bottom of the inning. After Ozzie Smith singled and Zeile drew a walk, Fernandez left the game with inflammation in his right knee.

Facing Mets reliever Paul Gibson, Jordan came through with the first hit of his career, a two-out single that drove home two runs.

“That really took a lot of pressure off,” he said.[5]

Already ahead 4-2, the Cardinals took a four-run lead when Zeile and Guerrero hit back-to-back home runs in the fifth inning. Batting after Guerrero, Brian Jordan struck out to end the inning.

“After seeing those guys, I was so pumped up, I went up there and tried to hit one out of the stadium,” he said.[6]

The Cardinals put the game away with a five-run rally in the sixth. Ozzie Smith hit a two-run single to chase Gibson from the game. After Lankford scored on a passed ball, Guerrero drove in a run with a single and Jordan added an RBI double.

“I’ll take it,” Brian Jordan said. “I just hope it continues. I was very excited about being here. I got that first game under my belt and that should help me relax.”[7]

Pérez, who threw 3 1/3 innings, earned the win in relief. Guerrero finished the game with three hits and three RBIs, while Zeile and catcher Tom Pagnozzi each drove in a pair of runs. Gilkey, who was making his first start of the young season, finished with three hits – including two doubles – and scored three times.

“It’s just a good opportunity right now and players are stepping up and helping the team,” Gilkey said.[8]

Brian Jordan not only collected his first major league hit, extra-base hit, stolen base, and RBI, but he also impressed a future Hall of Fame manager in Torre.

“The football player did a pretty good job playing baseball tonight,” Torre said. “We’d like to get it where we can say the baseball player does a pretty good job playing football.”[9]

Actually, the Cardinals wanted to say that the baseball player was no longer playing football. In June, they signed Jordan to a three-year contract worth $2.2 million. The contract called for him to play baseball exclusively, ending his NFL career.

“It was a tough decision, but I talked it over with my wife and this is a good business decision,” Jordan said. “Hopefully, I’ll play this game for 15 years; in football, you never know what’s going to happen with injuries.”[10]

Brian Jordan played primarily as a reserve for the first three years of his career, playing in 175 games from 1992-94. In 1995, Jordan was named the starting right fielder. He played in 131 games and led the Cardinals with 145 hits while batting .296. His 22 homers and 81 RBIs were second on the team to Lankford, and his 24 stolen bases tied Lankford for the team lead.

Brian Jordan was even better in 1996, batting .310 with 17 homers, 104 RBIs, and 22 stolen bases to finish eighth in the NL MVP voting. In that fall’s NLDS against the Padres, he went 4-for-12 with a home run, three RBIs, and a stolen base. Facing the Braves in the NLCS, he hit .240 with a double, triple, homer, and two RBIs.

After injuries limited him to just 47 games in 1997, Jordan enjoyed the best season of his career in 1998. Batting behind Mark McGwire throughout the burly first baseman’s run to 70 home runs, Jordan was pretty impressive himself, batting .316 with 25 homers, 91 RBIs, and 17 stolen bases for a 7.0-WAR (wins above replacement) season.

That November, Brian Jordan signed a five-year, $40 million contract with the Braves.

As he predicted in 1992, Jordan played 15 big-league seasons, retiring after the 2006 season at the age of 39. He finished with a career .282 batting average to go with 184 homers, 821 RBIs, and 119 stolen bases, good for a 32.9 career WAR.

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[1] Dan O’Neill, “Status of Terry, Cormier Clouds Cards’ Pitching Picture,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, April 2, 1992.

[2] Rick Hummel, “Cards Settle A Royal Score,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, April 8, 1992.

[3] Dan O’Neill, “Cardinals’ Most Immediate Need: An Insurance Adjuster,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, April 9, 1992.

[4] Dan O’Neill, “Cards Reserve A Blowout Victory,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, April 9, 1992.

[5] Dan O’Neill, “Cards Reserve A Blowout Victory,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, April 9, 1992.

[6] Dan O’Neill, “Cards Reserve A Blowout Victory,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, April 9, 1992.

[7] Dan O’Neill, “Cards Reserve A Blowout Victory,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, April 9, 1992.

[8] Dan O’Neill, “Cards Reserve A Blowout Victory,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, April 9, 1992.

[9] Dan O’Neill, “Cards Reserve A Blowout Victory,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, April 9, 1992.

[10] Joe Ostermeier, “Cards, Jordan agree to exclusive contract,” Belleville News-Democrat, June 17, 1992.

The post Brian Jordan makes his MLB debut: April 8, 1992 first appeared on STLRedbirds.com.

“I’ll do anything to win a game,” Lankford said. “It’s not that I want to hurt anybody or anything, but I’ll do whatever I have to do to score.”[i]

Lankford’s decisive score capped a five-run Cardinals comeback as starting pitcher Ken Hill lasted just 2 2/3 innings. In a five-run third, three of the Phillies’ four singles failed to reach the outfield, but those hits combined with a walk, an error, a wild pitch, and two sacrifice flies to give Philadelphia a 5-0 lead.

After the Cardinals got on the scoreboard in the third, Phillies shortstop Dickie Thon made the score 6-1 with an RBI double. For the Phillies, who had won just four of their first 12 games of the season, it felt like a bright spot in an otherwise dismal start to the season.

However, after starting pitcher José de Jesús walked Ozzie Smith to lead off the seventh (it was his sixth walk of the game), the Phillies’ bullpen failed to hold the lead. Lankford, who already singled in the first inning and doubled in the fifth, greeted lefthanded reliever Joe Boever with an RBI triple. Felix Jose followed with an RBI single, and Perry drew a walk to chase Boever from the game.

“I felt I had my best stuff all year,” Boever said. “The pitch I threw to Lankford was up, but then I broke Felix Jose’s bat, and he ends up with a base hit. Then I threw four pitches to Perry, all down, and none were called strikes. Good morning, good afternoon, good night, have a nice day. I just didn’t catch a break.”[ii]

Enter the Phillies’ next reliever: Roger McDowell. With runners on first and second, McDowell was looking for a double-play ball and he got it when Craig Wilson hit a grounder to Randy Ready at second base. However, the ball skipped under Ready’s glove, allowing Jose to score and cutting Philadelphia’s lead to 6-4. By the time McDowell got the third out of the inning, the Phillies held a one-run lead.

That slight advantage disappeared in the ninth. With Phillies closer Mitch Williams on the mound, Jose singled and Perry drove him home with a triple into the right-field gap. That crucial run tied the game 6-6 and forced extra innings.

With one out, Williams (who wasn’t known as “Wild Thing” for nothing) walked Lankford. After Williams nearly picked him off, Lankford stole his third base of the year. The Phillies countered by intentionally walking Jose, bringing Perry to the plate.

On the fifth pitch of the at-bat, Perry hit the ball hard between first and second. John Kruk made a nice pick and threw smoothly to second to force out Jose. However, when Thon looked to throw to first, neither Kruk nor Williams were there. He paused for a moment before he realized that Lankford had never stopped at third and was barreling home.

“Lankford was hustling,” Phillies second baseman Randy Ready said. “He never stopped at third. I started screaming at Dickie to throw home, but he was still looking toward first.”[iii]

“From the start, I just decided I was going,” Lankford said. “I’m not sure if the third base coach (Bucky Dent) was waving me on or not. I was going whether he was or not.”[iv]

Thon’s throw reached Daulton before Lankford, but the former running back lowered his shoulder and slammed into the Phillies catcher at full speed. Daulton flew backward from the impact and the ball rolled out of his glove. Lankford celebrated with his teammates as Daulton remained on his knees and tried to regain his bearings.

“Your first instinct is to go for the double play,” Thon said, “but when I looked over there, I only saw the coach and (Perry). Then I saw the runner and threw to the plate. He made a good play. He never stopped, but he would have been out if (Daulton) had been able to hold onto the ball. We just didn’t execute, and that’s the name of the game.”[v]

Daulton was still woozy when he spoke to reporters afterward.

“I was left out to dry, and he got me pretty good,” he said. “I saw him out of the corner of my eye and then I don’t remember. They tell me I had the ball and it fell out of my glove.”[vi]

From the on-deck circle, Wilson had a good view of the play.

“Daulton wasn’t really in too good of a position and Ray just put his shoulder down and ran right into his sternum,” Wilson said. “Ouch! Daulton is going to be sore tomorrow.”[vii]

“He doesn’t have to wait until tomorrow,” Cardinals outfielder Bernard Gilkey added. “He’s sore right now.”[viii]

With the win, the Cardinals improved to 7-6 on the young season. The Phillies, meanwhile, fell to 4-9.

“When it rains, it pours,” Ready said. “We’re not getting away with anything, and when that happens, there’s nothing you can do. You just have to try to play through it.”[ix]

The Phillies did play through it, but they did so without the services of manager Nick Leyva, who was fired ahead of Philadelphia’s next game and replaced with Jim Fregosi. Under Fregosi, the Phillies recovered enough to finish third in the NL East at 78-84.

The Cardinals, meanwhile, finished second with an 84-78 record. Lankford, who hit .301 with nine homers, 69 RBIs, 44 stolen bases, and a league-leading 15 triples, placed third in that season’s NL Rookie of the Year balloting behind Houston’s Jeff Bagwell and Pittsburgh’s Orlando Merced.

Lankford went on to play 14 major league seasons, including 13 with St. Louis. His 1,479 hits as a Cardinal rank 16^th in franchise history. He also ranks fifth in homers (228), eighth in stolen bases (250), ninth in runs scored (928), 10^th in doubles (339) and RBIs (829), and 20^th in triples (52). He was elected to the Cardinals Hall of Fame in 2018.

For his career, Lankford hit .272 with 238 homers, 874 RBIs, and 258 stolen bases.

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[i] Dan O’Neill, “Cards Win In Crunch Time,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, April 22, 1991.

[ii] Dick Polman, “Phils stumble to another loss,” Philadelphia Inquirer, April 22, 1991.

[iii] Dick Polman, “Phils stumble to another loss,” Philadelphia Inquirer, April 22, 1991.

[iv] Dan O’Neill, “Cards Win In Crunch Time,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, April 22, 1991.

[v] Paul Hagen, “Leyva looks to be on the way out,” Philadelphia Daily News, April 22, 1991.

[vi] Paul Hagen, “Leyva looks to be on the way out,” Philadelphia Daily News, April 22, 1991.

[vii] Dan O’Neill, “Cards Win In Crunch Time,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, April 22, 1991.

[viii] Dan O’Neill, “Cards Win In Crunch Time,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, April 22, 1991.

[ix] Paul Hagen, “Leyva looks to be on the way out,” Philadelphia Daily News, April 22, 1991.

The post Ray Lankford runs over Darren Daulton: April 21, 1991 first appeared on STLRedbirds.com.

“I think it serves Texas’ needs for this year because they’re getting Royce and Todd, who can help them try to win the West Division,” Cardinals manager Tony La Russa said. “It really helps us too. I think we’ll be good for the next couple of months and in the future.”[1]

The 51-57 Cardinals were 13 ½ games out of first place in the National League Central at the time of the trade. With four players slated to become free agents after the season – Stottlemyre, Clayton, Brian Jordan, and Delino DeShields – the Cardinals had been at the center of trade rumors, particularly around Stottlemyre and Jordan.

Meanwhile, Jocketty was seeking to improve the Cardinals’ pitching and obtain a third baseman to replace 39-year-old Gary Gaetti.

“Those are the real glaring needs,” he said.[2]

Ahead of the trade deadline, Rangers general manager Doug Melvin was in Denver to watch Todd Stottlemyre pitch against the Rockies.[3]

“There have probably been six clubs that have shown interest” in Stottlemyre, Jocketty said. “Just about every club that’s in the race – with different degrees of interest.”[4]

The trade was part of a busy day for the Rangers, who also sent two prospects to the Marlins for former Cardinal Todd Zeile.

“I think it’s going to help our ballclub and there’s no doubt what we did today is an effort to win our division and go beyond,” Melvin said.[5]

In Stottlemyre, the Rangers welcomed a veteran right-hander who had won 35 games since signing with St. Louis ahead of the 1996 season. Jocketty and Stottlemyre had been negotiating a possible long-term deal, but Stottlemyre was reportedly seeking four years while the Cardinals would not go past their three-year, $21 million offer.[6]

“We think very highly of Todd, and we’d love to have him back, and we may have him back, but this allowed us to get a few pieces to help our situation,” Jocketty said.[7]

Both the Cardinals and Stottlemyre expressed a willingness to continue negotiations after the season ended.

“This has been a great experience,” Stottlemyre said. “When I was traded (from Oakland), they told me it was a great baseball town. They were wrong. It was the best. The fans are real special. The times they gave me standing ovations when I was walking off the mound? Awesome.”[8]

The Rangers turned to Stottlemyre after their negotiations to acquire Roger Clemens from the Blue Jays failed to gain traction. Sources said the Jays wanted left fielder Rusty Greer, Oliver, and a premier prospect.[9]

“He’s a real competitor,” Melvin said of Stottlemyre. “I told him he was probably pitching against Boston next weekend and he said, ‘Good.’”[10]

“I go from a club that was 13 ½ games out to a club that’s in the pennant race,” Stottlemyre said. “From that standpoint, it’s pretty exciting. For the next two months, going out and pitching with that kind of pressure, it’s what every player wants.”[11]

Clayton was all too familiar with pressure, having come to St. Louis in a December 1995 trade that made him the heir apparent to Ozzie Smith. In Clayton’s first season in St. Louis, Clayton and Smith split time at the position, creating a tense situation that was only resolved when Smith announced his retirement effective at the end of the season.

After hitting .277 with six homers, 35 RBIs, and 33 stolen bases in his debut season in St. Louis, Clayton earned All-Star recognition in 1997, batting .266 with nine homers, 61 RBIs, and 30 stolen bases. His 1998 campaign, however, was disappointing, and at the time of the trade he was batting just .234.

“I didn’t think anything was going to happen,” Clayton said. “I thought things had pretty much subsided when you don’t hear your name, but there’s no doubt in my mind that I’m going to help this team.”[12]

Clayton was taking the place of Kevin Elster, whom the Rangers released upon completing the trade. Elster had helped Texas win the AL West in 1996, but when he returned ahead of the 1998 season, the Rangers found that the 33-year-old had lost a step.

“Of all the priorities we had, improving at shortstop was No. 1,” Rangers manager Johnny Oates said. “Shortstop is such an important position defensively. A good one makes your pitching better, makes your outfielders better by cutting down on their throws. I talked to Tony La Russa at length this afternoon, and he’s very high on (Clayton). He said we’ll like him, that the ball jumps off his bat, that he has good range and a good arm, and that he likes to play and play hard. Those were all the things we were looking for.”[13]

“I’m just happy to be part of an organization that is trying to better itself,” Clayton said. “This team showed they will do what it takes to help the ballclub – not to say that they needed help, because I personally felt like Texas had a great team to start with.”[14]

St. Louis Post-Dispatch columnist Bernie Miklasz considered the Cardinals’ trade of Clayton to be addition by subtraction.

“Clayton represented everything wrong with this disappointing team: moodiness and stubbornness,” Miklasz wrote. “He pouted when he didn’t bat leadoff. He never embraced the suggestions to hit smarter with two strikes. Clayton never tried to hit the ball the opposite way, no matter how many lectures he heard from batting instructor Dave Parker. So before firing Clayton, the Cardinals exchanged him for Tatis, who could be their third baseman for many summers. Jocketty made it clear to Rangers GM Doug Melvin that he wouldn’t trade Stottlemyre for Oliver unless the deal was expanded to include the swap of Clayton for Tatis. Because of his tough posture, Jocketty got Tatis as a bonus.”[15]

A native of the Dominican Republic, the 23-year-old Tatis made his debut the previous year, batting .256 with eight homers and 29 RBIs in 241 plate appearances. At the time of the trade, he was batting .270 with three homers and 32 RBIs through 95 games.

“We don’t like giving him up because we really think he’ll be an All-Star third baseman,” Melvin said.[16]

“The guy we liked is Tatis,” Jocketty said. “We needed to find a third baseman, and he was the best guy available.”[17]

Oliver, 27, had been in the Rangers organization since they drafted him in the third round in 1988. In his previous two seasons with the Rangers, he won 27 games and threw 375 innings. At the time of the trade, however, he was struggling through a down year and was just 6-7 with a 6.53 ERA.

“We’ve had good reports on Oliver,” Jocketty said. “He’s a solid third or fourth starter and probably better than that. He gives us a little depth in our rotation. A couple of clubs have called about him, but we’re going to hold onto him.”[18]

“He’s very deceptive,” said Mark McGwire, who had played against Oliver in the American League. “He’s got a very smooth delivery. Great demeanor on the mound. You wouldn’t know if he had given up five runs or that he had a no-hitter going.”[19]

Oliver’s contract ran through the 1999 season, making him a rotation piece the Cardinals could count on in the upcoming season.

The Rangers, however, were clearly focused on that fall.

“We’re the front-runners now,” Texas second baseman Mark McLemore said.[20]

Indeed, the Rangers went on to pass Anaheim in the AL West race, going 37-23 in August and September to win the division with an 88-74 record, three games ahead of the Angels. Stottlemyre went 5-4 with a 4.33 ERA in 10 starts while Clayton hit .285 with five homers and 24 RBIs in 186 at-bats.

In the playoffs, the Rangers’ surge came to an abrupt halt, as the Yankees swept them in a three-game AL Division Series. Stottlemyre took the loss in Game 1 despite holding New York to two runs over eight innings (David Wells and Mariano Rivera combined for a shutout in the Yankees’ 2-0 win).

Clayton went 2-for-9 in the series with four strikeouts.

That December, Clayton signed a four-year, $18 million contract to return to the Rangers. He played two seasons of that contract before he was traded to the White Sox. Clayton spent two years in Chicago before playing for the Brewers, Rockies, Diamondbacks, Nationals, Reds, Blue Jays, and Red Sox over the next five seasons.

After the 1998 season, Stottlemyre signed a four-year, $32 million deal with the Diamondbacks. Unfortunately, Stottlemyre’s time in Arizona was plagued by injury. He threw 101 1/3 innings in 1999, followed by 95 1/3 innings in 2000. In 2001, he missed the entire season with shoulder and elbow injuries, and his attempt at a comeback at age 37 lasted just 20 1/3 innings. He retired after the 2002 season with a 138-121 record and a 4.28 career ERA.

Tatis hit .287 with eight homers and 26 RBIs down the stretch for the Cardinals in 1998. In April 1999, Tatis set a record that is unlikely ever to be broken, as he hit two grand slams in one inning against Dodgers pitcher Chan Ho Park.

Tatis posted career highs that season as he batted .298 with 34 homers, 107 RBIs, and 21 stolen bases. The following year, his numbers dipped as he batted .253 with 18 homers and 64 RBIs. That December, the Cardinals traded Tatis and pitcher Britt Reames to the Expos for Dustin Hermanson and Steve Kline.

Oliver went 4-4 with a 4.26 ERA for the Cardinals during the remainder of the 1998 season. He made 30 starts for St. Louis in 1999, going 9-9 – again posting a 4.26 ERA – before signing with the Rangers ahead of the 2000 season. In 2004, Oliver was converted to a relief pitcher, a move that allowed him to continue pitching as a left-handed specialist through his age-42 season.

Oliver was in his third stint with the Rangers in 2011 when the Cardinals met them in the World Series; he earned the win in Game 5 after throwing a scoreless eighth inning.

After being named as the fifth player in the trade, Little joined the Cardinals and appeared in seven games, posting a single in 12 at-bats. He did not return to the majors again until 2001, when he hit .341 in 85 at-bats with the Rockies. Little played parts of four big-league seasons with the Cardinals, Rockies, Mets, Diamondbacks, and Indians.

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[1] “Cards trade Stottlemyre, Clayton,” Belleville News-Democrat, August 1, 1998.

[2] Rick Hummel, “Jocketty is confident he’ll swing a deal,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, July 28, 1998.

[3] Rick Hummel, “Jocketty is confident he’ll swing a deal,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, July 28, 1998.

[4] Rick Hummel, “Jocketty is confident he’ll swing a deal,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, July 28, 1998.

[5] Johnny Paul, “Real Deals For Rangers, Astros,” Fort Worth Star-Telegram, August 1, 1998.

[6] Bernie Miklasz, “Cards GM salvaged some future options in trade with Texas,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, August 2, 1998.

[7] Rick Hummel, “Cards trade Stottlemyre, Clayton to Texas for pitcher, third baseman,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, August 1, 1998.

[8] Rick Hummel, “Cards trade Stottlemyre, Clayton to Texas for pitcher, third baseman,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, August 1, 1998.

[9] Johnny Paul, “Real Deals For Rangers, Astros,” Fort Worth Star-Telegram, August 1, 1998.

[10] “Cards trade Stottlemyre, Clayton,” Belleville News-Democrat, August 1, 1998.

[11] J. Douglas Foster, “New acquisitions elated to join Rangers for a drive to playoffs,” Fort Worth Star-Telegram, August 2, 1998.

[12] Rick Hummel, “Cards trade Stottlemyre, Clayton to Texas for pitcher, third baseman,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, August 1, 1998.

[13] Jim Reeves, “Rolls Royce is driving key in this deal,” Fort Worth Star-Telegram, August 1, 1998.

[14] J. Douglas Foster, “New acquisitions elated to join Rangers for a drive to playoffs,” Fort Worth Star-Telegram, August 2, 1998.

[15] Bernie Miklasz, “Cards GM salvaged some future options in trade with Texas,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, August 2, 1998.

[16] Bernie Miklasz, “Cards GM salvaged some future options in trade with Texas,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, August 2, 1998.

[17] Rick Hummel, “Cards trade Stottlemyre, Clayton to Texas for pitcher, third baseman,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, August 1, 1998.

[18] Rick Hummel, “Cards trade Stottlemyre, Clayton to Texas for pitcher, third baseman,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, August 1, 1998.

[19] Rick Hummel, “Cards trade Stottlemyre, Clayton to Texas for pitcher, third baseman,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, August 1, 1998.

[20] Jim Reeves, “Rolls Royce is driving key in this deal,” Fort Worth Star-Telegram, August 1, 1998.

The post Cardinals trade Todd Stottlemyre, Royce Clayton: 7/31/1998 first appeared on STLRedbirds.com.

“It’s hard to explain the feeling … I’ve been ready for this for 17 years,” Cepeda said. “When they told me I was selected, I lost my mind.”[1]

The phone call informing Cepeda of his election came from his former Giants teammate, Juan Marichal, a newcomer to the Veterans Committee.

“Juan was crying with me,” Cepeda said.[2]

“As a rookie on the Veterans Committee, I’m glad Orlando got in in my first year,” Marichal said. “He was a good human being, and he was the type of player who had no fear, the type of player you wanted playing behind you.”[3]

Cepeda’s 17-year major-league career began with the Giants, where he won the National League Rookie of the Year Award in 1958. Three years later, he finished second in the MVP voting as he led the NL with 46 homers and all of baseball with 142 RBIs. In 1962, Cepeda and the Giants won the NL championship but fell to the Yankees in seven games.

The following spring, Cepeda suffered a preseason knee injury. Though he played through the pain with a .316 batting average, 34 homers, and 97 RBIs, Cepeda’s knee injury ultimately led to his trade to St. Louis. With Willie McCovey also on the roster, the Giants had two future Hall of Fame first basemen, and Cepeda’s knee made it impossible for Cepeda to serve as a long-term solution at another position, like the outfield.

On May 8, 1966, the Giants agreed to send Cepeda to St. Louis for left-handed pitcher Ray Sadecki. Cepeda hit .303 with 17 homers and 58 RBIs for the Cardinals that season, but made his biggest impact in 1967, when he hit 25 homers and led the National League with 111 RBIs on his way to unanimous MVP honors.

“Orlando loved being a Cardinal,” Bob Gibson wrote in 2015. “For one thing, he was allowed to play his countless Latin records and speak Spanish—although Julian Javier was the only one who could speak it back—in the clubhouse. Those things had been forbidden in San Francisco’s. Nor was our clubhouse divided into ethnic cliques like San Francisco’s.”[4]

During the Cardinals’ 1967 world championship campaign, Cepeda was the heart and soul of the team he affectionately referred to as “El Birdos.” As George Vecsey described it:

He was more than the trusted cleanup hitter. Orlando was the life of the party.

The Cardinals would club somebody into submission and troop back into their clubhouse. First thing you knew, Orlando’s soul music was blasting from the phonograph and Cepeda was standing on a chair.

Who wins the game?” he would shout.

“El Birdos,” the Cardinals would respond in their pidgin Spanish.^[5]

In 1968, dubbed “the year of the pitcher” due to the dominance of hurlers such as Bob Gibson, Cepeda’s numbers dipped. He hit just .248 with 16 homers and 73 RBIs, and on March 17, 1969, the Cardinals traded Cepeda to the Braves for Joe Torre.

“In 2 ½ years (in St. Louis), I accomplished so much,” Cepeda said. “I came to identify with the Cardinals.”[6]

Cepeda went on to play six more seasons with the Braves, Athletics, Red Sox, and Royals. After the 1974 season, Cepeda retired with a .297 career batting average, 2,351 hits, 379 home runs, and 1,365 RBIs. Altogether, he had been named an All-Star 11 times.

Based on his on-field performance, Cepeda likely would have been voted into the Hall of Fame much more quickly, but in 1975, he was arrested while trying to pick up 160 pounds of marijuana in his native Puerto Rico. He spent 10 months in jail.[7]

“I think that probably did prevent him from being voted in by the writers,” said Allen Lewis, a retired sportswriter and member of the 1999 Veterans Committee. “Sure, he made a mistake and served time, but since he got out, he’s spent most of his time helping people.”[8]

The incident not only damaged Cepeda’s reputation in the United States but also turned many of his Puerto Rican fans against him.

“I think one of the reasons people got so down on him was that in the 1970s, when all that happened, there were only two main guys in Puerto Rico, Roberto Clemente and my dad,” said Orlando Cepeda Jr. “I was just a little kid, but my uncle told me that every day he played, the radio stations down there would report how he did, so his problems really affected people.”[9]

It certainly seemed to affect Hall of Fame voters. The closest Cepeda came to being elected by the Baseball Writers Association of America was in 1994, when he missed election by seven votes. It was his final year on the BBWAA ballot.

“Orlando is a good human being,” Marichal said. “I felt so bad when he missed by seven votes … because I know what this means to him.”[10]

Finally, in 1999, it took a Veterans Committee that included former Cardinals stars Stan Musial and Bill White to place Cepeda among baseball’s immortals. He was elected alongside pitcher “Smokey” Joe Williams, 19^th-century manager Frank Selee, and former American League umpire Nestor Chylak. The Veterans Committee selections were inducted that July alongside Nolan Ryan, George Brett, and Robin Yount, who were elected by the Baseball Writers Association of America.

“I didn’t know this would be so great,” Cepeda said. “I’m no saint, but people will get to know me as a person now. That’s very important to me.”[11]

Indeed, the people who already knew Cepeda were happy to see him elected to the Hall.

“He’s been a long time waiting. It should have happened a long time ago,” Gibson said. “I don’t know the rhyme or reason for any of this stuff. Sometimes I wonder why I got put in the way I was, but better late than never. I tried to call him today, but I couldn’t get him. He probably was running up and down the street with no clothes on, yelling and screaming like that kid in ‘Home Alone.’”[12]

“Everything he accomplished, he did so by driving through those injuries,” Cardinals broadcaster Jack Buck said. “He had to work harder than anyone else on the field because of the condition of his knees. In addition to being a leader on that ’67 club, he was one of the most fearless hitters at the plate I’ve seen since I’ve been broadcasting.”[13]

In San Francisco, the Giants marked the occasion by announcing the retirement of Cepeda’s No. 30 jersey. Cepeda’s plaque in the hall depicted him wearing a Giants cap.

“I’ve had a lot of good things and bad things happen in my life, but this is the moment that erases everything,” Cepeda said. “It’s a great day for baseball, the Cepeda family, and Puerto Rico.”[14]

Cepeda joined Clemente as just the second Puerto Rican elected to the Hall of Fame.

Enjoy this post? Then you’ll love The Trades That Made The St. Louis Cardinals, available now on Amazon.

[1] Associated Press, “Cepeda at last voted to Baseball Hall of Fame,” Belleville News-Democrat, March 3, 1999.

[2] Dwight Chapin, “Giant push gets Cha-Cha in Hall,” San Francisco Examiner, March 3, 1999.

[3] Dwight Chapin, “Giant push gets Cha-Cha in Hall,” San Francisco Examiner, March 3, 1999.

[4] Bob Gibson with Lonnie Wheeler (2015), Pitch by Pitch: My View of One Unforgettable Game, Kindle Android Version, Retrieved from Amazon.com, Page 53.

[5] George Vecsey, “Now Cepeda Has His Vindication,” Newsday, November 8, 1967.

[6] Mike Eisenbath, “Cepeda savors Hall of Fame selection,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, March 3, 1999.

[7] Associated Press, “Cepeda at last voted to Baseball Hall of Fame,” Belleville News-Democrat, March 3, 1999.

[8] Associated Press, “Cepeda at last voted to Baseball Hall of Fame,” Belleville News-Democrat, March 3, 1999.

[9] Dwight Chapin, “Cepeda took bumpy road to Hall,” San Francisco Examiner, July 23, 1999.

[10] Associated Press, “Cepeda at last voted to Baseball Hall of Fame,” Belleville News-Democrat, March 3, 1999.

[11] “Cepeda continues to turn life around,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, July 23, 1999.

[12] Rick Hummel, “Cepeda deserved honor long ago, Bob Gibson says,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, March 3, 1999.

[13] “Cepeda continues to turn life around,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, July 23, 1999.

[14] Mike Eisenbath, “Cepeda savors Hall of Fame selection,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, March 3, 1999.

The post How Orlando Cepeda finally was elected to the Hall of Fame first appeared on STLRedbirds.com.

The recognition, announced on November 26, 1991, came at the end of Pagnozzi’s first season as the Cardinals’ starting catcher. It had been a challenging journey for the 28-year-old backstop.

Drafted in the eighth round out of the University of Arkansas, Pagnozzi had seemed destined to top out as a backup catcher, as the Cardinals traded for Tony Peña, then, after  Peña signed with the Red Sox after the 1989 season, designated Todd Zeile as their catcher of the future.

Though manager Whitey Herzog announced a spring training competition between Zeile and Pagnozzi for the starting job heading into 1990, Zeile always had the inside track on the job.

“Going into camp last year, they said it was open, but it wasn’t,” Pagnozzi said.[1]

However, after Herzog resigned midway through the 1990 season, new manager Joe Torre – a former catcher who was transitioned to a corner infielder – moved Zeile to third base and installed Pagnozzi as the starting catcher for the final two months of the season. Pagnozzi responded by throwing out 46% of attempted base stealers. He also hit .293 after the all-star break to finish the year with a .277 batting average.

When the Cardinals arrived at spring training in February 1991, this time it was Pagnozzi who had the starting job locked up.

“This year, I came into camp knowing it was mine,” he said.[2]

Pagnozzi responded with another strong defensive year, including a .991 fielding percentage and just seven errors at catcher. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported that he caught 65 of 149 (43.6%) would-be base thieves that season, while Baseball-Reference.com statistics show that he caught 70 of 156 (44.9%).

“I thought I had a good defensive year when you consider the major-league average is 29 or 30%,” Pagnozzi said.[3]

Nonetheless, Pagnozzi didn’t expect to be in contention for a Gold Glove Award. That May, he mentioned that he rarely heard people discussing him among the league’s best defensive catchers.

“I guess not enough people have seen me,” he said. “It’s going to take some time to show people what I can do, but I know a lot of players have come up and told me.”[4]

As a result, Pagnozzi was stunned to learn that he had wrested the award from Padres catcher Benito Santiago, who had been recognized with a Gold Glove each of the previous three seasons.

“I was totally shocked,” Pagnozzi said. “To take it away from him is something special in my mind. It seems like once you get it, it’s tough to take it away, especially for a first-year player. I think it takes a year or two to establish yourself.”[5]

The award was voted upon by managers, with a rule disallowing them from voting for their own players.

“That really makes me feel good that I impressed enough managers and coaches to vote for me, especially when I came from the bench a year ago,” Pagnozzi said.[6]

Torre admitted that he was surprised to see Pagnozzi win as well.

“I really didn’t think he would win, but his numbers were just so glaring as far as throwing people out,” Torre said. “He’s burned enough clubs.”[7]

Pagnozzi continued to burn clubs for years to come, winning another Gold Glove in 1992. After the Giants’ Kurt Manwaring won the award in 1993, Pagnozzi won his third career Gold Glove in 1994 despite playing in just 70 games.

Pagnozzi played 12 seasons in the big leagues, all in St. Louis. For his career, he hit .253 with 44 homers and 320 RBIs, and at the time of his retirement he ranked fourth in club history with 827 games at catcher.[8] As of December 2023, he ranked 10^th all-time in franchise history in Baseball-Reference.com’s career defensive WAR (wins above replacement) with 10.1, ranking only behind Yadier Molina (28.0) among Cardinals catchers.[9]

“If you look at my tools, it’s not like I’m a superstar,” he said in 1998. “For me to spend 11 ½ years in one spot, that’s an accomplishment to me.”[10]

Tony La Russa, who replaced Torre as manager in 1996, called Pagnozzi “a real pro.”

“He’s an excellent defensive catcher and has a good feel for pitchers and for opposing hitters,” La Russa said. “He’s got the guts to be imaginative. He’s creative when something is not working for a pitcher and he’s a tough guy. I saw him get beaned once and go back in there the next day.”[11]

Pagnozzi’s nephew, Matt Pagnozzi, made his major-league debut with the Cardinals in 2009. He played two seasons in St. Louis as part of a five-year major-league career.

Enjoy this post? Find similar stories listed by decade or by player.

[1] Vahe Gregorian, “Secure Pagnozzi Plays Long Ball,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, May 2, 1991.

[2] Vahe Gregorian, “Secure Pagnozzi Plays Long Ball,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, May 2, 1991.

[3] Rick Hummel, “Gold Glove A Surprise To Pagnozzi,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, November 27, 1991.

[4] Rick Hummel, “Pagnozzi Awaits Challenge Of Facing Ex-Card Coleman,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, May 23, 1991.

[5] Rick Hummel, “Gold Glove A Surprise To Pagnozzi,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, November 27, 1991.

[6] Rick Hummel, “Gold Glove A Surprise To Pagnozzi,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, November 27, 1991.

[7] Rick Hummel, “Gold Glove A Surprise To Pagnozzi,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, November 27, 1991.

[8] Mike Eisenbath, “Pagnozzi’s career as a Cardinal ends,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, August 17, 1998.

[9] St. Louis Cardinals Top 10 Career Batting Leaders, https://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/STL/leaders_bat.shtml.

[10] Mike Eisenbath, “Pagnozzi’s career as a Cardinal ends,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, August 17, 1998.

[11] Mike Eisenbath, “Pagnozzi’s career as a Cardinal ends,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, August 17, 1998.

The post How Tom Pagnozzi won his first Gold Glove in 1991 first appeared on STLRedbirds.com.