2023 Hall of Fame Class

My grandpa used to talk about Kurowski hitting a homer that won the 1942 WS, defeating the Yankees, who were considered practically immortal in those days. He was sort of revered in ST. Louis after that.

“So, over 20% of the voters still decline to share their ballots. Why are they afraid of the sunshine?”

I can’t speak for any of the writers, but unlike, say, United States congressmen and women, the baseball writers aren’t representing the general public when they cast their Hall Of Fame votes, so I don’t see the imperative for transparency as many others do. There’s a thin line between criticism and coercion — particularly in the age of relentless so-called social media — so I’m fine with any writer who prefers the privacy of a secret ballot. Just my two centavos, good host.

I’ll always remember McGriff as a Brave simply because he murdered Cardinal pitching while he was there and there wasn’t any inter-league play during the time he played in Canada, but he hung up some nice numbers on the board just about everywhere he manned up at 1B, so I can understand why he’d opt for a blank. In my view, Rolen was an easy lay-up to opt for a Redbirds cap, but you never really know what a guy’s going to do. At any rate, I’m happy he’ll have a cap that features the StL logo.

Yeah, I don’t get too spun up over it either, Willie, but I always think it looks odd when I see an old photo of Brock wearing a Cubs cap…Haha!

I imagine with few players anymore staying with one club most of their career, we will see more non-logo caps in the coming years.

On another note, I hope the Cardinals do not retire #27. I can see retiring a few numbers for iconic players that were overwhelmingly Cardinals during their career. But Rolen spent less than half of his career with our club.

I would not have retired Whitey’s number either, and probably not LaRussa’s 10. But hey, different folks have different takes.

Just a little addendum on jersey numbers…I vividly recall the first time I ever attended a Cardinal game in which the Redbirds faced the SF Giants. The very instant that I saw a jersey with the #24 emblazoned on the back of that jersey take to CF, I immediately thought, “Wow! I just saw Willie Mays…In person!” As a 9 year old boy I genuinely thought that I had then and there experienced everything in the world that was worthwhile. I mean, it was Willie Mays for goodness sake…Haha!

I always remember McGriff as a Padre with a middle of the lineup that had Gwynn, Sheffield and McGriff. I attended a game they beat us 10 or 12-0. Those three guys were all over the bases. Rheal Cormier didn’t get out of the 1st as I remember it. Maybe the worst defeat I ever saw in person.