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That’s a great spot if you can find a space, jj. I was never lucky enough to find a free spot that close during a ballgame. I spent a whole winter about 10 years ago working for a contractor at night from about 6 pm ’til 1 am at the Robert A. Young Federal building which is right near that firehouse. I had a badge clearance to park my truck inside the gate in the back of that building, but quite a few guys I worked with were required to park on the unattended pay parking lot just west of the ballpark. A couple of them said it was a not only a little spooky but freezing cold walking to their vehicles when we were done so me and another guy started carrying them out of the gate in the cargo beds of our trucks and to their vehicles in the lot. In any event, if you find a free parking spot for a ballgame near that firehouse, you’re striking gold…Haha!
Good stuff gents. Back in the ‘70s, as teenagers my buddy’s dad set us up for a home stand and a stay at the old Stouffer’s Riverfront Inn. We took a bus from Denver to St. Louis, and walked from the bus terminal to the hotel.
The opponents, who were the Pirates then the Phillies, stayed at the same hotel. We saw the guys in the lobby and the dining area. When the Phillies were in, Deron Johnson and Steve Carlton sat at the same table we were at. My buddy had the Post Dispatch sports page and Carlton asked if he could look at it.
Times have changed as I doubt the players ever mix with “ordinary folk” like that anymore. Oh, Carlton shut us down in one of the games. What a bad trade, although Rick Wise pitched a great game against Pittsburgh in that series, losing 2-1 on a late run scoring single by another ex-Redbird, Vic Davallio (sp?). I can still see that bouncing ball go through to center field and the Pirates getting a late run that held up. I think former Cardinal Dave Giusti came in to get the save.
A sad time to be a Cardinal fan.
Yeah I parked on Market a few times, even as far up as the post office. Another good spot was on 4th street behind Broadway Oyster Bar. Just a bit of a walk, but it is dark and lonely after a game. Especially if you stop in for beer.
Those were days, BikeMike!…My Phillies story is my son, who was about 8 or 9 at the time, and I attended a weekday afternoon game in the early 90’s when you could still get in the gate about two or even three hours before first pitch and enjoy all the batting practice action. As we were walking to the ballpark I spotted a guy in shorts and t-shirt with a big chaw in his cheek who I happened to recognize. I hollered his name, but he just kept on walking at a pace that was almost a trot. I hollered again and said, “C’mon Lenny, let this kid have an autograph!” Dykstra stopped, turned around and smiled with that beach ball sized chaw in his cheek and signed my boy’s baseball…Haha! And oh…I still have Lolich’s autograph that I snagged outside of the old Chase Park Plaza Hotel when the Tigers were staying there during the ’68 WS. I can’t quite bring myself to burn it…
My sister had a crush on Don Drysdale. She pretended like it was my 12th birthday (only several months away) and for my birthday I wanted a Don Drysdale autograph, so we went down to the Chase hotel and made our request known at the front desk. The Dodgers were in town. A Dodger happened to be walking by, and said that Don was in his room but he would call him to see if he would come down. 10 minutes later Don got off the elevator and came over to introduce himself. He signed my autograph and then sat and talked to my sister. The Cardinal who called him down, said to me “do you want to meet some of the guys, they’re all playing cards in the card room just off the lobby?” We walked in, and he said “I’d like for you to meet Duke Snider. And Gil Hodges, And Pee Wee Reese. And Carl Erskine. And Roy Campanella. And Junior Gilliam. And Carl Furillo. And Sandy Amoros. And Charlie Neal.”
Magical day.
The Dodger who introduced me to all the “guys” was Randy Jackson, also known as “Handsome Ransom Jackson”.
Haha!…That’s awesome, bc! Yeah, all the visiting teams used to make camp at the Chase. It was pretty swanky back then.
I don’t know about anyone else, but I’m ready for some game threads. I’ve got real bad action pains and there’s still a ways to go…Haha!
I remember watching National Lampoon’s Vacation with Chevy Chase driving his family from Chicago to the disney type amusement park in Cali. They stopped in St. Louis and the car was vandalized while they were sitting in it. It still feel bad about that because I went to SLU. The movie came out in 1983, 40 years ago. I’m sure things are much, much worse. It sounds like St. Louis is the next Detroit, and its reputation is worse than Baltimore’s and Oakland’s. It is clearly a shame because they were all beautiful cities at one time. I guess that’s progress today. Even Newark was grand at one time.
Well, one good thing is that with the Nootz and O’Neill participating in the WBC, it should afford Walker a lot more looks. Maybe he’ll rip it up in ST, head North to StL. and then go on to have a rookie season that reads .329/37/130…
Whoops…I thought I was on the WBC thread…E-1TD! I should drink more coffee.
The present conservative nature of the Cardinals is also fueled by the guys they have traded who have done well – Alcantara, Gallen, Arozarena, Garcia, etc. They don’t want to make that mistake again, so they’re riding with O’Neill,
Carlson, Nootbaar, Gorman, Yepez, Burleson, Gomez, etc. in 2023 to see how it plays out.Love those stories! Yeah, my buddy and I went down to breakfast, just a couple of kids in our teens, and they had those big tables that seat maybe 8 people. Carlton, Deron Johnson and another guy I was not familiar with just came over and sat down with us.
Man, what a great story cranny has about meeting all those Dodgers!
I have been thinking more about this entire thread and have a couple of more thoughts.
As someone who works in accounting for a private business I appreciate the Cardinals ability to roll out a pretty good but not great product while still making a healthy profit (I assume), however, as a fan I wish they would be more aggressive. That may sound hypocritical or me just wanting to spend someone else’s money but I think there is some logic behind it.
To me professional franchises (especially the Cardinals) and college programs are not normal businesses. Why? Because they have such an emotional connection with such a large number of people for generations. How many stories have we heard about families coming together each evening during the summer to listen to the Cardinals on the radio or watch them on TV? I have lived that myself. How many stories have we heard about the first time a dad took his son or daughter to a big league game? It can be a magical moment. How many times have millions of people crowded the streets to celebrate a world championship with a ticker tape parade?
Contrast that with other businesses. Not many people get excited when companies like Wal Mart, Apple, IBM, Intel, Amazon, or Netflix announce huge profits or a big milestone. I usually say good for them, thanks for helping our national economy, and move on with my day. No big excitement or ticker tape parades unless maybe if you are an investor. My point is that there isn’t the same emotional attachment or community spirit with companies like that as there are with professional or collegiate teams.
So I get why Steve Cohen is doing what he is doing. It may blow up in his face but I think he is just a fan with more money than he knows what to do with and I bet most Met fans are thrilled to have him after dealing with the bumbling Wilpon family and their association with Bernie Madoff.
So kudos to the Cardinals for having a healthy balance sheet but how about a little more urgency to build a team that can hoist that 12th WS trophy and have that next parade? There are several generations of people who would like to see it.
Watch Steve Cohen's latest 30-second $1.5 million expenditure — the Mets' Super Bowl commercial! https://t.co/MfMxWiLIiM
— NBC New York (@NBCNewYork) February 10, 2023
The Cards may feel like they have what you’re Looking for right now, GS. Consensus among their managers and coaches at all levels plus their scouts.
BC:
You’re right, they’ve been burned too many times and they’re scared to do anything. Though I can sympathize with their reticence, I can only say that pulling in your head because you’re frightened easily is a prescription for failure.
Guess they just want to take a little longer look at guys like Hudson, Liberatore, Gorman, Carlson, Yepez, Burleson, etc.
For me the question becomes when is a little longer too long! Like with DeJong? Are we still wanting a longer look at him? I’ve seen enough! I know it seems like your damned if you do and damned if you don’t, but that’s why they get paid the big bucks! I agree with GS post! Hope we take some bigger chances down the road!
Not too long ago there was an article in the local StL paper, Steve60. The article claimed that Paulie had been diligently working all winter and had “reinvented” his swing. Honestly, it did! I don’t know about anyone else, but after reading that article, I think we should expect big things from DeJong in ’23. I can almost foresee the Redbird field manager replacing Donovan in the 5 slot with DeJong to provide a little added protection for Nado at clean-up…
First day in Jupiter and there are no less that 4 videos from Jupiter on the local StL paper website. We got, Johnny, Ollie, Wainwright and some guy who writes for the paper named Hochman. I haven’t watched them yet, so please, no one tell me what happens…Haha!
I remember seeing that article and deciding not to bother reading it. He worked on his swing the last couple off seasons too.
I couldn’t stand the suspense any longer, so I simply had to watch the interview featuring Johnny who said to expect plenty of innings and PA’s for the prospects due to the WBC. I always enjoy not only listening to what Johnny has to say, but also watching him and affording particularly close attention to his mannerisms and movements…I also couldn’t help but to notice that Johnny is sporting one of those wristwatches that is literally the size of an alarm clock which clearly indicates a couple of things for me…I’ll bet he’s a genuine stickler for showing up to work on time and I’d also be highly surprised if he’s ever late for anything at all…Haha!
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