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Well, yours truly will be in attendance today for the regular season finale. In some sense, there’s a nostalgia that laps over the shores of my mind every early October as the steady ebb and flow of the season draws to an end. The regular season is like that constant companion… comfortable and steadying every day as you know there’s gonna be a Cardinals game to follow.
Don’t get me wrong, the playoffs are a whole other level of excitement, but it’s more of a sprint and there’s no certainty that we won’t be eulogizing the entire 2022 campaign in a week’s time. This season has brought us all a glimpse of the past and the future in a way that the Cards haven’t done for at least 7-10 years, for me.
Baseball, to me, has always been about the companionship…the crack of the bat and the thump of the ball in the mitt, from February to October. Every day, good, bad or indifferent, there’s a game to immerse yourself in for an hour or two or three, and to revel in the memories of childhood joys and adult hopes and dreams. The game connects families, friends and strangers in a way that I don’t think any other sport can truly match. Football may be familiar, but baseball makes for instant bonds when you recognize another fanatic.
I was still in high school when I recall a Cardinals rookie taking St Louis by storm. Albert may have left at some point, but I think all of us have been taken back 20 years this season by the magic of The Machine. It’s been a true pleasure to witness. I recall the days of my most fervent fanhood…my hopes rising and falling with every pitch as I watched from my college dorm in 2004 and 2005, seeing the young phenom Yadier Molina command the catching position like few have ever done it. I had a college degree and fewer hopes for the Cards in 2006, yet they surprised and it all came together for that incredible run. Who can forget Waino punching out Beltran to close the NLCS and Inge to win the series? I think my head nearly hit the ceiling from jumping so high.
I have so many memories from the rest of the Cardinal years that many of you probably do as well and I may need to list only a name or a date…even a season…to remind you of Albert and Yadi, Furcal and Freese, Waino and the Matts, 2011, 12, 13, 19, 21, 22. The sepia tones have returned to color as I have absorbed the reminders of greatness past, present and future in 2022.
So today marks such a broad and general change that I’ve hardly noticed it, yet the seasons have marched steadily on. I’ll turn 40 this year…which doesn’t bother me, although it’s a time that usually brings with it introspection. I do not have children…not because I haven’t wanted to, but because the Lord hasn’t opened that door yet. If I’m so blessed in the future, one of the things I’ll tell them about is the fact that I saw the great Albert Pujols, the great Yadier Molina, the great Adam Wainwright play…some of them their last regular season game. Even if only metaphorically, they were my “catch partners” every day…every cold, snowy spring day dreaming of the future in high school, to the hot summer evenings of college and young adulthood, to the brilliant October performances that made them legends of the fall (hopefully one more amazing autumn in 2022!).
So thanks for all the wonderful memories, Albert and Yadi (and maybe Waino). I’m really hoping to see your greatness on display one more time today in person. If not…it’s been a tremendous honor to walk the worn path with you, magnifying the greatness of the men (and women beside them) who make The Cardinal Nation behind, current and into the days ahead.
Fantastic post, 25. Enjoy the game. I hope Albert hits one for one you. Or at least has another RBI or two.
Stlcard25,
We’re about the same age then and I remember watching the 04 team in my dorm room too. My roommate was a Cubs fan and it was a fun year. 04 though 08 was the years a watched them the least though as I lived in Northern Indiana then and wasn’t able to get Fox Sports Midwest, but watched ever chance I got though. From 1998-2003 I watched at least 120 games a year, then moved back in 2009 and have watched every game I could since. I remember in 06 I was in my last semester of college and was sick as can be. Had been to the doctor twice and they told me if I continued to get worse to go to the hospital. Finally on Oct 13 my temp was 105 and my girlfriend at the time made me go to the hospital. I remember laying in the bed and the doctor trying to talk to me and I’m ignoring him as Carpenter was getting ripped and I was yelling at the TV. Turned out to be a great playoffs though. By 2011 I had a 2 year old and a less than year old come October. And they were asleep as I was on the edge of my couch in game 6 and when Freese hit the triple I woke the both up in my excitement. Neither of them remember sitting with me falling back asleep in my lap as I watched the Cardinals win the game.
Many, many memories of Cardinals baseball though the years though. And you’re right, people of our age remember baseball without Albert and Yadi, but not near as vividly as baseball with then and the memories of them.stlcard25…Nice post! No question about it. Your term “constant companion” says it all about my favorite game. I always wonder what the heck I’m going to do when the season comes to an end, but I always make it through the long winter in anticipation of another season. I don’t believe it’s at all a coincidence that baseball once again comes alive just at the precise time as everything else. And oh…40 doesn’t bother you? I’d sure trade places with you…Haha! At any rate, enjoy the game and GO REDBIRDS!
Have fun at the game today stl25.
I came of age with the Cardinals in the late 70’s. I have pretty much been glued to a radio, tv, or internet 162 times a year for the last 45 years or so. My first heroes were Simmons, Hernandez, Reitz, and those guys. I also vividly remember listening to the radio the night Brock got his 3000th hit. Of course my fandom really exploded in the 80’s with all of Whitey’s teams. The 1985 team is still my favorite team of all time. Ozzie, Willie, Herr, and Clark will always be Cardinal baseball to me. It is fun to reminisce.
The great comment by “stlcard25” in which he alluded to Albert Pujols reminded me of a thought I’ve often had. I was fortunate to have grown up a Redbird fan and although Musial was a bit before my time, by the late 60’s I was an 11 year old boy who’d been captivated for life by Cardinal baseball. To me, Bob Gibson was the greatest pitcher that had ever toed a mound. Orlando Cepeda was my favorite position player. Lou Brock was Lou Brock, and by the time I was 12, I’d already both seen a Redbird WS championship, and had my heart ripped out as I was situated with my dad and uncle sitting in the RCF bleachers of Busch Memorial Stadium less than 50 ft. from where Curt Flood slipped on Northrup’s two run triple during game 7 of the ’68 WS.
By my mid 20’s, I was regularly attending 30 to 40 games a season as Whitey would hand the baseball to Sutter in the 7th and had Ozzie, Keith, Willie and quite a few others running rampant through the NL for 3 pennants and a WS Championship. These guys were really good and so much fun to watch play my favorite game.
Then after a long drought came Albert Pujols. Even though I’d seen quite a few all-time great Cardinal players, I was always a little envious of other teams that had players with names like Clemente, Mays, Aaron, Schmidt, Rose, Jackson, and even Bonds. Then Albert Pujols stepped into the batter’s box wearing a Cardinal uniform and my favorite team now featured, not only the greatest right-handed hitter that I had ever seen, but also the greatest hitter in the Big Leagues and on the planet! In 11 years, he eclipsed all the others. The stance…the menacing scowl…And especially the way he uncoiled. There was no question that my favoriite team had the most feared hitter in the Big Leagues and I didn’t hesitate to brag about it…Haha!
And oh…It took almost 40 years, but I finally got my revenge for the baseball that Jim Northrup hit off Bob Gibson in that ’68 WS when I was 12. I saw Curtis Granderson slip on the wet turf in CF at the new Busch Stadium on Eckstein’s “double” in the ’06 WS…Haha!
They better get the regulars in this game today and treat it as an important regular season game. Arenado hasn’t played in two days now and he needs to get in there. And Goldschmidt as well, and Edman too. This resting crap has ruined alot of teams in post-season play in alot of different sports.
Would be good for Libby to start and get maybe 5 inngs out of him. Then divide the 4 innings with Woody, Matz and whoever… The move would be to option out Hudson after last night’s efforts, let Libby exhaust his pitches and then return Libby.
This will leave: Q, Miles, Monty, Jack, Waino, Gio, Hels, Andre, Zach, Woody, Matz, Stratton.
leave Hicks, Romero, Hudson on Taxi.Hudson and Romero to AAA. Liberatore recalled and Hicks activated.
1. Nootbaar DH
2. Edman SS
3. Arenado 3B
4. Dickerson LF
5. Yepez 1B
6. Burleson RF
7. Carlson CF
8. Knizner C
9. DeJong 2B
P- LiberatoreGoldy and Albert played yesterday and are resting today.
Arenado and Edman rested yesterday and are playing today.1tough asked:
Anyone know precisely when the post-season roster has to be set?
Generally, the morning of the first game, but it can be adjusted up until the start of Game 1.
What the hell is this goofy lineup? I guess Goldy must still be exhausted from all the heavy hitting he’s been doing lately. Two hits last night launched PDJ back into favor. Better extend him again. Why not just forfeit the game and take everybody out for a coupla beers, it’s a no-counter anyway.
No Albert or Yadi in the lineup today. That’s… disappointing.
Not surprising, but man that stinks, especially the way Albert has been delivering. Maybe you’ll get to see them pinch hit. I have a feeling Oli will have that in mind for the local fans, so don’t leave early!
Oli evidently has a switch he will flip Friday afternoon that will immediately have the Cards producing at full tilt.
Out of all Cardinal hitters who have faced Zach Wheeler, the most successful is Paul Dejong who is 4 for 9 with 2 HR’s. I hope Marmol doesn’t see this…
stlcard25 – nice post!! Great perspective on the Cardinals, past and future. As I push 65, I can link back that history to the late 60s, and the formative series in my young baseball life – the ‘67 World Series. The Cardinals, more than any other team in baseball, in my opinion, have stayed true to the ideals of the game I so much respect – playing the game by the rules, developing quality players, and always pursuing excellence. We are seeing the results of that team-focused culture with the transition from Yadi and Albert to Goldy and Arenado, with Waino still providing continuity. We’re entering a new era, but one just as exciting as the past. Let’s go deep into the post-season!
Since Marmol is only fielding a ghost team in the last game of the regular season, today’s game thread trivia will only feature one question for our elite squad of experts…
1. In terms of something that doesn’t have anything at all to do with Big League or Cardinal baseball, what do Albert Pujols and Red Schoendienst have in common?
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