Walt Jocketty wasn’t quite sure what he was purchasing when the Cardinals announced the signing of their first Japanese-born player, 32-year-old outfielder So Taguchi, to a three-year contract on January 9, 2002. After all, Jocketty had never even seen the 10-year veteran of the Japan Pacific League play. Neither had Tony La Russa. Instead, the […]
How So Taguchi became the Cardinals’ first Japanese-born player Read More »
Admittedly, this story about Chris Carpenter’s 2005 Cy Young Award-winning season got quite a bit longer than I originally intended. As a result, this is the fourth in a four-part series of articles. You can find the other parts here: Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 On September 8, Chris Carpenter earned win No.
How Chris Carpenter won the 2005 Cy Young Award (Part 4) Read More »
Admittedly, this story about Chris Carpenter’s 2005 Cy Young Award-winning season got quite a bit longer than I originally intended. As a result, this is the third in a four-part series of articles. You can find the other parts here: Part 1 Part 2 Part 4 On July 11, Tony La Russa announced that
How Chris Carpenter won the 2005 Cy Young Award (Part 3) Read More »
Admittedly, this story about Chris Carpenter and his 2005 Cy Young Award-winning season got quite a bit longer than I originally intended. As a result, this is the second in a four-part series of articles. You can find the other parts here: Part 1 Part 3 Part 4 Chris Carpenter’s father, Bob, knew by
How Chris Carpenter won the 2005 Cy Young Award (Part 2) Read More »
Admittedly, this story about Chris Carpenter and his 2005 Cy Young Award-winning season got quite a bit longer than I originally intended. As a result, this is the first in a four-part series of articles. You can find the other parts here: Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 For years, Chris Carpenter and his
How Chris Carpenter won the 2005 Cy Young Award (Part 1) Read More »
Even before Chicago Cubs left-hander Glendon Rusch threw the game’s first pitch to St. Louis Cardinals leadoff batter Tony Womack, tensions were high in Wrigley Field. The previous night, the fireworks started when Jim Edmonds hit a two-run home run off Chicago’s Carlos Zambrano. The fiery Cubs right-hander felt that Edmonds spent too long admiring
July 20, 2004: Albert Pujols goes 5-for-5 with three home runs in Cardinals’ comeback Read More »
When Rick Ankiel arrived at Busch Stadium III on August 9, 2007, it had been almost seven years since he’d thrown five wild pitches in Game 1 of the National League Division Series and tied a 110-year-old record. It had been almost three years since he’d been in the majors, and 2 ½ years since
August 9, 2007: Rick Ankiel homers in his return to the majors – as an outfielder Read More »
Heading into the game that came to define his career, 21-year-old rookie left-hander Rick Ankiel wasn’t nervous. “I was not hurt. I was not afraid. I was not sick or distracted or particularly anxious,” he wrote 17 years later. “In game one of the National League Division Series, on a warm and sunny afternoon with
Rick Ankiel develops the yips: October 3, 2000 Read More »