On paper, the Game 1 matchup between Justin Verlander and Anthony Reyes certainly seemed lopsided. Though just 23, Verlander had been the No. 2 overall draft pick just two years ago and was coming off a regular season that would earn him American League Rookie of the Year honors and a seventh-place finish in the […]
How Anthony Reyes won Game 1 of the 2006 World Series Read More »
Less than six months after they signed him to a five-year, $87.5 million contract to replace Yadier Molina as the franchise’s starting catcher, the Cardinals stunned everyone by announcing that Willson Contreras was changing positions. The move came just 23 starts into Contreras’s tenure as the team’s catcher. With Contreras batting third and serving as
May 6, 2023: Cardinals announce that Willson Contreras is changing positions Read More »
In a 2022 season that saw Albert Pujols eclipse 700 home runs and the Cardinals win the National League Central Division, nothing surpassed the image of Pujols, Yadier Molina, and Adam Wainwright walking side by side as they left the playing field at Busch Stadium together for the final time in their careers. The Cardinals’
October 2, 2022: Cardinals bid farewell to Pujols and Molina Read More »
On the day they set a record more than 15 years in the making, Adam Wainwright and Yadier Molina were determined not to come up short. On September 14, 2022, Wainwright and Molina, both age 40, broke a major-league record even older than they were. With their 325th start together, they topped the 324 games
With 10 days remaining before the Cardinals’ 2022 season opener, Adam Wainwright was in the clubhouse taking a pregame nap when suddenly he was jolted awake by a “giant man on top of me giving me the biggest hug ever.”[1] Albert Pujols was back with the Cardinals. On March 28, 2022, after 10 seasons on
How Albert Pujols returned to the Cardinals Read More »
The pitching matchup between Cardinals starter Jeff Weaver and Tigers right-hander Justin Verlander certainly appeared lopsided on paper. But in Game 5 of the 2006 World Series, Weaver outpitched that season’s American League Rookie of the Year, needing just 99 pitches to get through eight innings in a 4-2 win that clinched the 10th world
Less than three months after the Cardinals lost Albert Pujols to free agency, they ensured that Yadier Molina remained a franchise cornerstone with a five-year, $75 million contract. “I’m happy to be a Cardinal for 5-6 more years,” Molina said. “This is a great organization. I grew up here, I feel good here. It was
March 1, 2012: Cardinals and Yadier Molina agree to a five-year contract extension Read More »
With three home runs in Game 3 of the 2011 World Series, Albert Pujols didn’t just correct course after an 0-for-6 start to the Fall Classic, or turn attention away from the brief controversy that came after he didn’t speak to the media after the Cardinals’ 2-1 loss in Game 2 of the series. With
October 22, 2011: Albert Pujols slugs three home runs in Game 3 of the World Series Read More »
On September 24, 2020, Yadier Molina joined the 2,000-hit club. The milestone came during the COVID-shortened 2020 season, so Molina became the only Cardinal to collect his 2,000th career hit without fans in attendance. Instead, his teammates had to do their best to fill in for the fans, offering a standing ovation for their unofficial
Yadier Molina gets his 2,000th career hit Read More »
When defending Cy Young Award winner Chris Carpenter was scratched from his May 24 start against the Giants with inflammation of a bursa sac located between his right shoulder and rib cage, the 2006 Cardinals pitching staff was dealt a blow. In Carpenter’s place, the St. Louis pitching staff started dealing some blows of its own,
May 24, 2006: Adam Wainwright homers in his first MLB at-bat Read More »