Shortstop Edgar Renteria signed with Boston. Catcher Mike Matheny went to the Giants, second baseman Tony Womack signed with the Yankees, and pitcher Woody Williams returned to the Padres on a free-agent deal.

“You lose the guy who started Game 1 of the World Series (Woody Williams), you lose your catcher, your leadoff guy, your shortstop. Fans are saying, ‘Are we going to do anything? What’s happening? What’s happening?’ I think we knew at one point, something good was going to happen,” Cardinals manager Tony La Russa said.^[1]

General manager Walt Jocketty made his big move on December 18, 2004, trading starting pitcher Dan Haren, reliever Kiko Calero, and prized catching prospect Daric Barton to the A’s for Mulder.

The A’s, who emerged as American League contenders behind a pitching staff led by Mulder, Tim Hudson, and Barry Zito, had traded Hudson to the Braves three days earlier. Jocketty indicated that the Cardinals had the option to pursue either Mulder or Hudson, and preferred the 6-foot-6 left-hander from South Holland, Ill.

“This is something we’ve been working on for two or three weeks,” Jocketty said. “We’ve been going back and forth between Hudson and Mulder and we felt like in our case, we had control of Mulder for an extra year. Given his age, we knew it was going to be a steep price. Both are quality, top-of-the-rotation starters.”[2]

Mulder was due $6 million for the 2005 season with a $7.25 million club option in 2006.

“Given the sticker prices going around this winter, Mulder is a relative bargain,” the St. Louis Post-Dispatch’s Dan O’Neill wrote.[3]

A second-round pick of the A’s in the 1998 draft, Mulder raced to the majors, making 27 starts for Oakland as a 22-year-old in 2000. He enjoyed a breakout season the following year, winning a league-high 21 games with a 3.45 ERA in 229 1/3 innings. He placed second in the Cy Young Award voting behind Roger Clemens.

“I’m not a guy who goes out there and tries to get the strikeout,” said Mulder, who ranked second in the league in groundouts in 2004. “If I can get three pitches and three outs, that’s the way I’ll do it.”^[4]

From 2001 through 2004, Mulder’s 72 wins trailed only Curt Schilling’s 74 for the most in the majors.^[5] During that span, he led the American League twice in complete games (2003 and 2004) and shutouts (2001 and 2003).

“(Mulder) is the top-of-the-rotation-type pitcher we’ve been working hard to obtain this offseason,” Jocketty said. “It was difficult to part with the three players we traded, but to acquire someone like Mulder, we felt that this deal worked for us in several ways.”^[6]

Both Jocketty and La Russa indicated that the deal would not have been possible had the Cardinals not lost Renteria to free agency. The team offered the shortstop a four-year contract worth $36 million, but instead he accepted a four-year, $40 million offer from the Red Sox.[7]

“I really think we did the right thing,” La Russa said. “Edgar was more than we should spend. If we had signed Edgar, I don’t know that we could have made this trade. We would not have been able to address this first priority. Here we are now, and we have five legitimate starters.”^[8]

With the addition of Mulder, the Cardinals’ rotation was slated to include Chris Carpenter, Jason Marquis, Jeff Suppan, and Matt Morris, though Morris had recently undergone shoulder surgery and wasn’t projected to return until May.^[9] Rick Ankiel provided additional depth for the rotation.

“I can take my hat off to Walt and (Cardinals chairman of the board Bill DeWitt),” La Russa said. “After what’s taken place the past few days, we didn’t panic. We didn’t get into, ‘We’re not trying,’ or whatever the perception might have been. We said, ‘Let’s be patient, let’s do the smart thing.’”^[10]

Jocketty admitted that the Cardinals strategically kept the potential deal under the radar until it was finalized.

“We knew if the word got out that Oakland was willing to trade Mulder, and we were trying to close in on it, other teams would get involved and it would become a feeding frenzy,” he said. “So we tried to keep it quiet.”^[11]

The deal did, however, come with a question mark: Mulder’s health. On Aug. 24, the left-hander became the first pitcher in baseball to win his 17^th game of the season, but he failed to win again in his next seven starts, going 0-4 with 47 hits and 33 runs allowed in 28 2/3 innings. During that span, his ERA climbed from 3.72 to 4.43.

“There will be some concern because he struggled a little toward the end of the season,” La Russa said, “but I’ve talked to the Oakland people and we know that mentally and physically, he’s ready to go.”^[12]

Jocketty said trainer Barry Weinberg, who also previously worked with the A’s, spoke to Oakland’s trainers and doctors and reviewed all of Mulder’s records. Instead, Jocketty suggested that Mulder was simply trying to do too much during the season’s stretch run.

“He put a lot of pressure on himself,” Jocketty said. “The A’s lost Hudson to an injury for a while and Zito was having a rough year, so it fell on Mulder to carry the load of the entire rotation and he tried to do too much. It happens. It might have helped him to go through something like that. He’ll know how to handle it better from now on.”^[13]

“I wasn’t hurt at all,” Mulder said. “Whether I got tired, I don’t know. … There was nothing wrong with me and there is nothing wrong with me, it was just one of those things where I just flat-out struggled. I have never struggled like that in my career. More than anything, it was embarrassing for me. I was in a funk.”^[14]

Even after Hudson was traded, Mulder anticipated that he would be able to rebound the following season in Oakland. When Jocketty called to welcome Mulder to the Cardinals, the left-hander admitted that he was still shocked.

“I feel bad,” Mulder said. “I didn’t really sound excited when I talked to (Jocketty). … I am. I am excited about it.”^[15]

Mulder called Cardinals closer Jason Isringhausen, who was with the A’s during Mulder’s first two seasons. His message was simple: “What’s up, teammate?”

Isringhausen said, “I called him just to talk before the trade: How he was doing, what he was thinking and blah, blah, blah. I knew Walt was trying to get him, and it happens to everybody at some point in Oakland. He’ll be a good fit.”^[16]

Meanwhile, the A’s once again found themselves rebuilding.

“We’ve had to reinvent ourselves every year,” A’s general manager Billy Beane said. “This is probably the most drastic. … There’s certainly some sadness losing first Tim and then Mark from a personal standpoint. Unfortunately, this is something we’ve had to deal with. We’re still the Oakland A’s. We’re still going to go on.”^[17]

Haren, the Cardinals’ second-round draft choice in 2001, had appeared in 28 games for the Cardinals the past two seasons, going 6-10 with a 4.85 ERA.

Calero had established himself as a key member of the Cardinals’ bullpen during their 2004 pennant run, posting a 2.78 ERA over 45 1/3 innings. In two seasons in St. Louis, he was 4-2 with a 2.80 ERA.

Barton was the potential prize of the deal. The Cardinals’ 2003 first-round choice, Barton hit .294/.420/.424 as a 17-year-old in the Appalachian League that year. In 2004, he hit .313/.445/.511 with 13 homers and 77 RBIs in Class A Peoria.

“Even though he’s a long way off, this guy is a hell of a hitter,” Jocketty said. “The question is where is he going to play. But he’s a left-handed hitter with power and he’s got a bright future. He should do well in the American League.

“It’s difficult to give up these young players, it really is. But we thought it was necessary to get Mulder, who can pitch at the top of the rotation, who fits in well with what we need and what we’re trying to accomplish. He’s an intelligent guy, a great athlete, a great fit.”^[18]

Mulder’s first season in St. Louis was almost everything Jocketty could have asked for, as he went 16-8 with a 3.64 ERA over 205 innings. Mulder got off to a strong start in 2006, going 5-1 with a 3.69 ERA in his first nine starts.

After throwing 8 1/3 shutout innings in a 1-0 win over the Mets on May 17, however, Mulder’s career was never the same. He won just one of his next six starts and his ERA climbed from 3.69 to 6.09 before he was shut down in June with shoulder issues. Though Mulder returned for two more starts in August, the shoulder required surgery.

Despite the injury, the Cardinals re-signed Mulder to a two-year, $13 million contract with a club option for a third year. Mulder was never healthy during the length of that contract, pitching just 12 2/3 innings and losing all three of his decisions. The Cardinals bought out his option for $1.5 million and Mulder retired after the season.

“We had very high expectations that Mark would come back and throw to the capabilities he had when we acquired him from Oakland,” said John Mozeliak, who had replaced Jocketty as Cardinals general manager. “That didn’t happen.”[19]

In 2014, Mulder briefly attempted a comeback with the Angels but tore his Achilles tendon on the second day of spring training and was released.

Each of the three players the Cardinals sent to Oakland in the deal went on to have successful major-league careers.

Barton debuted with the Athletics in 2007 and appeared in eight major-league seasons, all with the A’s. In 551 career games, the first baseman batted .247/.356/.365 with 30 homers and 184 RBIs, establishing himself as a patient hitter with a high on-base percentage but relatively little power.

After the 2014 season, he signed a free-agent deal with the Blue Jays but never appeared for the major-league club. He spent three seasons in the Mexican League, playing his final pro game in 2019.

Calero pitched four seasons for the A’s, posting a 3.96 ERA over 159 innings. He made three appearances in the 2006 NLCS for Oakland, throwing two scoreless innings against the Tigers.

The A’s released Calero in June 2008. He spent the 2009 season with the Marlins, appearing in 67 games with a 1.95 ERA. Strangely enough, given his success with the Marlins, he spent the 2010 season with the Mets’ and Dodgers’ Triple-A teams and did not return to the majors. He ended his career with a 3.24 ERA over 302 2/3 innings.

Of the three players Oakland received in the trade, Haren had the most successful career. In three seasons with the A’s, Haren was the model of consistency, starting 34 games each season and winning 14, 14, and 15 games, respectively. During that span, he posted a 43-34 record with a 3.64 ERA. In 2007, his final season with the A’s, he made the first all-star appearance of his career, posting a 3.07 ERA over 222 2/3 innings.

That December, Beane traded Haren and Connor Robertson to the Diamondbacks for Brett Anderson, Chris Carter, Aaron Cunningham, Dana Eveland, Carlos Gonzalez, and Greg Smith. In Arizona, Haren enjoyed the best seasons of his career, earning all-star nods in 2008 and 2009. In 2009, his 14-10 record and 3.14 ERA placed him fifth in the Cy Young Award balloting.

Haren’s 13-year career included stints with the Angels, Nationals, Dodgers, Marlins, and Cubs. He retired after the 2015 season with a 153-131 career record and 3.75 ERA.

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[1] Dan O’Neill, “Cards land Oakland’s Mulder,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, December 19, 2004.

[2] Dan O’Neill, “Cards land Oakland’s Mulder,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, December 19, 2004.

[3] Dan O’Neill, “Cards land Oakland’s Mulder,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, December 19, 2004.

[4] Derrick Goold, “Mulder says trade was quite a shock,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, December 21, 2004.

[5] Bernie Miklasz, “Jocketty moves under the radar,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, December 19, 2004.

[6] Janie McCauley, Associated Press. “Big Three for A’s now is a Zito solo,” Fresno Bee, December 19, 2004.

[7] Ian Browne, “Sox, Renteria make deal official,” MLB.com.

[8] Dan O’Neill, “Cards land Oakland’s Mulder,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, December 19, 2004.

[9] Janie McCauley, Associated Press. “Big Three for A’s now is a Zito solo,” Fresno Bee, December 19, 2004.

[10] Dan O’Neill, “Cards land Oakland’s Mulder,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, December 19, 2004.

[11] Bernie Miklasz, “Jocketty moves under the radar,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, December 19, 2004.

[12] Dan O’Neill, “Cards land Oakland’s Mulder,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, December 19, 2004.

[13] Bernie Miklasz, “Jocketty moves under the radar,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, December 19, 2004.

[14] Derrick Goold, “Mulder says trade was quite a shock,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, December 21, 2004.

[15] Derrick Goold, “Mulder says trade was quite a shock,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, December 21, 2004.

[16] Derrick Goold, “Mulder says trade was quite a shock,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, December 21, 2004.

[17] Janie McCauley, Associated Press. “Big Three for A’s now is a Zito solo,” Fresno Bee, December 19, 2004.

[18] Dan O’Neill, “Cards land Oakland’s Mulder,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, December 19, 2004.

[19] Derrick Goold, “Cards decline to exercise Mulder option,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, October 21, 2008.

The post How Mark Mulder was traded to the Cardinals first appeared on STLRedbirds.com.

On December 14, the Cardinals traded pitchers Braden Looper and Armando Almanza and shortstop prospect Pablo Ozuna to the Marlins for Renteria. Just 13 months earlier, Renteria’s 11^th-inning RBI single off Charles Nagy won Game 7 of the World Series.  

“We have the No. 1 guy we really wanted,” Cardinals general manager Walt Jocketty said.[1]

Renteria inherited a shortstop position that previously had been filled by Royce Clayton. In December 1995, the Cardinals traded Doug Creek, Rich DeLucia, and Allen Watson to the Giants for Clayton and a player to be named later. With the 41-year-old Ozzie Smith still on the roster for his final season in 1996, Clayton received the bulk of the playing time at shortstop, batting .277/.321/.371 with six homers, 35 RBIs, and 33 stolen bases.

In 1997, Clayton enjoyed the only all-star season of his career, batting .266/.306/.398 with nine homers, 61 RBIs, and 30 stolen bases. The following year, however, Clayton’s numbers dipped, as he hit just .234/.313/.327 in 90 games before the Cardinals traded him to the Rangers alongside Todd Stottlemyre for Darren Oliver, Fernando Tatis, and a player to be named later (Mark Little).

“Clayton represented everything wrong with this disappointing team: moodiness and stubbornness,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch columnist Bernie 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.”[2]

With Clayton gone, Luis Ordaz received the bulk of the playing time at shortstop and hit .203/.261/.235 for the year. Clearly, the Cardinals needed to find a replacement.

Discussions with the Marlins began months before the trade was finalized. Marlins general manager Dave Dombrowski wanted both Looper and Ozuna included.

“To Dave’s credit, he held out till the end till he got us to cave,” Jocketty joked after the trade was announced.[3]

In November, Reds shortstop Barry Larkin, the 1995 National League MVP and a nine-time all-star, called a Dayton Daily News reporter ahead of the winter meetings and criticized the Reds’ trade of second baseman Bret Boone to Atlanta and the team’s seeming disinterest in competing for a pennant.[4] Soon afterward, Larkin’s agent, Eric Goldschmidt, gave the Reds a list of teams to whom Larkin would accept a trade: the Dodgers, Cardinals, Padres, Rangers, and Cubs.[5]

One deal rumored to be in the works would have sent Larkin and Reggie Sanders to the Dodgers for Raul Mondesi and Mark Grudzielanek.[6]

“Barry’s No. 1 objective is to stay in Cincinnati if the team has a chance to compete in 1999,” Goldschmidt said. “Depending on what their budget is and other moves Jim is allowed to make, then Barry would like to stay. If the team is basically in a rebuilding stage leading up to the new stadium, then Barry has asked to be traded.”[7]

However, Reds general manager Jim Bowden indicated he would need to be blown away by a trade offer for the team’s franchise shortstop and that the chances of Larkin opening the 1999 season as a Red were “99.9 percent.” [8]

“To move him just to move him would make absolutely no sense for Cincinnati,” Bowden said. “If we were able to move him to a club where he wanted to be and that club was willing to give equal value back or more, certainly we would have to consider that, but that has never happened in the last year and a half.”[9]

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch’s Rick Hummel noted that in any event, the Cardinals probably preferred to obtain the 23-year-old Renteria (Baseball-Reference.com now lists his age at the time as 22) at a salary slightly above $2 million rather than trade for the 34-year-old Larkin and his $5.3 million salary.[10]

The Marlins were in the midst of dismantling their 1997 World Series winner, and with the trade of Renteria just four players from that World Series 25-man roster remained: Cliff Floyd, Livan Hernandez, Craig Counsell, and Antonio Alfonseca.[11]

Renteria broke into the majors in 1996 and found immediate success, batting .309/.358/.399 while placing second in the National League Rookie of the Year balloting. In 1997, he hit .277/.327/.340 with four homers, 52 RBIs, and 32 stolen bases, then went 9-for-31 (.290) with two doubles and three RBIs in the World Series.

By the time the 1998 season began, however, many of Renteria’s teammates were gone, including Moises Alou, Devon White, Jeff Conine, and Al Leiter. As the season progressed, Bobby Bonilla, Charles Johnson, and Gary Sheffield were traded to the Dodgers, and Mike Piazza, who arrived in the same trade, was dealt in turn to the Mets.

As the Marlins limped to a 54-win season, Renteria continued to play well, batting .282/.347/.342 with 41 stolen bases. Nonetheless, he was frustrated by the Marlins’ decision to break up a winning team.

“This year I feel like nothing,” he said. “It was hard to play this year knowing we had no team to compete. I feel bad growing up in the organization. We win the World Series and the next year they broke the team up.”[12]

“When you’re on the Marlins team, you never know what’s going on,” Renteria continued. “This year, I said they’d never trade Charles Johnson. When they did, I said, ‘I’m next.’ That happens in baseball. I have no control over that. I want to play for the Cardinals. I want to show the fans I can play hard for a team that can win.”[13]

Dombrowski agreed that Renteria would likely play even better in the Cardinals’ winning environment.

“He had such highs with what we did in 1997 that it was tough for him last year,” Dombrowski said.[14]

The Marlins were willing to trade Renteria because they had another shortstop prospect on the verge of the majors in Alex Gonzalez. The 22-year-old Gonzalez hit .277 with 10 homers and 51 RBIs in 1998 for Triple-A Charlotte, and the Palm Beach Post reported that, “Many in baseball believe Gonzalez has the potential to be at least as good if not better than Renteria in the future. He’s already a slick fielder with a big-league-ready glove, and even though he needs to develop as a hitter, he has encouraging power, and the Marlins feel his offensive development isn’t far away.”[15]

As additional insurance, the Marlins drafted Benji Gil in the Rule V draft on December 14.

When Cardinals manager Tony La Russa called the Columbian-born Renteria to welcome him to the team, La Russa spoke in Spanish. Renteria answered in English. “I know Tony can speak good Spanish,” Renteria said, “but I try to speak good English. I know English a little bit.”[16]

La Russa planned to bat Renteria leadoff with rookie J.D. Drew batting second and Mark McGwire batting third.

“I know Renteria is a classic No. 2 hitter,” La Russa said. “The way he puts the ball in play and hits the ball to the right side … with whoever’s on first (base), it’s first and third or first and home.”[17]

However, by batting Renteria in the leadoff spot, that allowed Drew plenty of protection from McGwire and cleanup hitter Ray Lankford. La Russa then envisioned Eric Davis batting fifth and Tatis hitting sixth, followed by Eli Marrero, the pitcher’s spot, and the second baseman.

“I think I’ve got a good chance to steal many more bases with Big Mac behind me,” Renteria said. “Big Mac can do a lot of things. I respect him a lot for what he did for baseball last year.”[18]

To get Renteria, the Cardinals gave up a talented shortstop prospect and drew from their pitching depth.

Looper was the team’s first-round draft choice out of Wichita State University. The 6-foot-4 right-handed reliever had spent the 1998 season with the Cardinals’ Triple-A affiliate in Memphis, where he posted a 3.10 ERA with 43 strikeouts in 40 2/3 innings.

Jocketty said that while the Cardinals valued Looper’s upside, they felt they had depth at the position with Juan Acevedo and Ricky Bottalico.

“We felt it was a strength that we could deal from,” Jocketty said. “Looper’s got a chance to be a dominating closer someday. On the other hand, we think Acevedo does too.”[19]

Almanza, a left-handed reliever, was a 21^st-round draft pick in 1993 out of New Mexico Junior College. He split the 1998 season between Double-A Arkansas and Triple-A Memphis, posting a 3.16 ERA and 91 strikeouts over 68 1/3 innings.

The 23-year-old Ozuna, a cousin of future Cardinal Marcell Ozuna, led the Cardinals organization with a .357 batting average and 122 runs scored in 1998 for Class A Peoria. He also stole 62 bases in 133 games.

“(Ozuna) was the toughest one to give up,” Jocketty said.[20]

“We would like to have all of our top kids end up in St. Louis with us, but when you can get a value like Renteria, I don’t have a problem with that,” said Mike Jorgensen, Cardinals director of player development. “Ozuna played low Class A ball last year. He has tools, but it’s so difficult to project young shortstops. We were able to get Renteria, who’s already established, and because Renteria is young, we have some flexibility. We can start moving some of the other (shortstop) prospects to other positions.”[21]

The trade certainly worked out for the Cardinals. Renteria played six seasons in St. Louis, batting .290/.347/.420. In 2000, he hit .278 with 16 homers, 76 RBIs, and 21 stolen bases to earn an all-star nod and win his first Silver Slugger Award. He won the Silver Slugger again in 2002 and 2003, posting the best season of his Cardinals career in ’03 when he hit .330/.394/.480 with 13 homers, 100 RBIs, and 34 stolen bases.

In 2004, he earned another all-star bid and helped the Cardinals capture the National League pennant. Following the season, he signed a free-agent contract with the Red Sox.

Looper went on to play 12 years in the majors. After five seasons with the Marlins, he played two years with the Mets before signing a free-agent deal with the Cardinals. He pitched in St. Louis from 2006 through 2008. After Looper went 9-3 with a 3.56 ERA in 2006 and helped the Cardinals win their 10^th World Series championship, the Cardinals converted him to a starting pitcher. Looper retired following the 2009 season with a 72-65 career record and 103 career saves.

Almanza played seven major-league seasons, compiling a 14-13 record and 4.82 ERA over 214 2/3 innings. After five seasons with the Marlins, he appeared with the Braves and Diamondbacks. The Cardinals signed him in August 2005 but released him the following month.

Ozuna carved out a career as a utility player, appearing in 309 major-league games over seven seasons. In November 2002, the Marlins traded Ozuna to the Rockies, where he appeared in 17 games in 2003. In 2005 he returned to the majors with the White Sox. He appeared in 208 games with the White Sox over four seasons before ending his major-league career with the Dodgers in 2008.

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[1] Rick Hummel, “Cardinals acquire shortstop Renteria,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, December 15, 1998.

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

[3] Rick Hummel, “Cardinals acquire shortstop Renteria,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, December 15, 1998.

[4] Chris Haft, “Larkin trade 99.9% unlikely,” Cincinnati Enquirer, December 12, 1998.

[5] John Erardi, “Bowden: Larkin talks ‘casual’” Cincinnati Enquirer, November 14, 1998.

[6] John Erardi, “Bowden: Larkin talks ‘casual’” Cincinnati Enquirer, November 14, 1998.

[7] John Erardi, “Bowden: Larkin talks ‘casual’” Cincinnati Enquirer, November 14, 1998.

[8] Chris Haft, “Larkin trade 99.9% unlikely,” Cincinnati Enquirer, December 12, 1998.

[9] Chris Haft, “Larkin trade 99.9% unlikely,” Cincinnati Enquirer, December 12, 1998.

[10] Rick Hummel, “Dodgers sign Brown for $105 million,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, December 13, 1998.

[11] Dan Graziano, “Series hero Renteria traded to Cardinals,” Palm Beach Post, December 15, 1998.

[12] Rick Hummel, “Pitchers are likely to hit 8^th again,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, December 16, 1998.

[13] Rick Hummel, “Pitchers are likely to hit 8^th again,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, December 16, 1998.

[14] Rick Hummel, “Cardinals acquire shortstop Renteria,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, December 15, 1998.

[15] Dan Graziano, “Series hero Renteria traded to Cardinals,” Palm Beach Post, December 15, 1998.

[16] Rick Hummel, “Pitchers are likely to hit 8^th again,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, December 16, 1998.

[17] Rick Hummel, “Pitchers are likely to hit 8^th again,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, December 16, 1998.

[18] Rick Hummel, “Pitchers are likely to hit 8^th again,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, December 16, 1998.

[19] Rick Hummel, “Pitchers are likely to hit 8^th again,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, December 16, 1998.

[20] Rick Hummel, “Pitchers are likely to hit 8^th again,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, December 16, 1998.

[21] Bernie Miklasz, “Cardinals must grow talent on the farm, hunt for bargains,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, December 16, 1998.

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