photo: C.B. Bucknor and Oliver Marmol, 8/21/22 (Bally Sports Midwest)
St. Louis Cardinals news from last week begins with the first two spring training games, including manager-umpire controversy. The team Hall of Fame voting has opened. Our weekly history feature highlights the club’s five best center fielders ever, starting with Jim Edmonds.
Spring Training game recaps
Saturday, February 25 – Cardinals 2, Nationals 3
In the opener of St. Louis’ 2023 Grapefruit League schedule, the Cardinals were edged by the Nationals. Adam Wainwright started and pitched two innings, gave up one run on three hits, struck out two and walked one.
Wainwright was followed on the mound by Jake Woodford, Genesis Cabrera, Packy Naughton, Zack Thompson, James Naile, and Kodi Whitley. Naile and Whitley each gave up a run.
The Cardinals’ two runs were scored on a home run by Brendan Donovan in the third inning. No Cardinal had multiple hits. Paul Goldschmidt, Paul DeJong, and Moises Gomez each doubled.
New catcher Willson Contreras was tagged with catcher interference.
Sunday, February 26 – Cardinals 8 at Marlins 2
The Cardinals defeated the Marlins in the second game of the Grapefruit League. Starter Miles Mikolas pitched two scoreless, hitless innings with three strikeouts.
Following Mikolas on the mound was Dakota Hudson, Ryan Helsley, Jordan Hicks, Connor Lunn, Drew VerHagen, Wilking Rodriguez, and Kyle Leahy. Hicks was responsible for the Marlins’ two runs.
The Cardinals scored five of their eight runs in the first inning. A single by Nolan Gorman plated two runs. Jordan Walker followed with a three-run home run that traveled an estimated 430 feet.
Jordan Walker would like to introduce himself! pic.twitter.com/zhPiBZPMhG
— St. Louis Cardinals (@Cardinals) February 26, 2023
The sixth run scored in the fourth on a double by Tyler O’Neill. Masyn Winn plated a run on a single in eighth, and also in the eighth, Oscar Mercado singled for the eighth and final score.
Walker was 2-for-4 with three RBI. Gorman was 2-for-3 with two RBI. Winn and Moises Gomez were 2-for-2 and Winn drove in a run.
Controversy in Grapefruit League opener
An incident occurred in Saturday’s game between Cardinals manager Oli Marmol and umpire C.B. Bucknor that is being looked into by MLB.
The two men have history dating back to an August 21, 2022, confrontation during a game between the Cardinals and the Diamondbacks (see photo above). Bucknor called a questionable inside strike on Nolan Arenado, then ejected the Cardinals third baseman when he objected. A confrontation between Bucknor and Marmol ensued during which harsh words were exchanged and Marmol was also ejected.
Prior to Saturday’s game with the Nationals, in the pre-game meeting at home plate to exchange lineup cards, Marmol offered Bucknor a handshake, which Bucknor refused. Marmol said the other referees offered handshakes along with an apology for Bucknor’s behavior.
After the incident, Marmol said that Bucknor “lacked class as a man”.
ESPN’s Buster Olney later tweeted that the incident will be reviewed by MLB and later wrote an article to that effect.
2023 candidates for Cardinals Hall of Fame
The Modern Era ballot for the 2023 class of the Cardinals Hall of Fame was announced on Thursday, February 23. Voting began online on Saturday, February 25 at https://www.mlb.com/cardinals/fans/hof-vote?partnerId=redirect-stl-hof .
Returning this year on the ballot, covering players retired between the last three and 40 years, are Steve Carlton, Matt Morris, and Edgar Renteria. Two candidates appear for the first time, Joaquin Andujar and David Freese.
Andujar pitched for the Cardinals from 1981-85. The right-hander won a ring from the 1982 World Series. Andujar received a Gold Glove in 1984 and finished fourth in the Cy Young voting in both 1984 and 1985. He also appeared in two All-Star Games.
Freese played in St. Louis for five seasons from 2009-13. The third baseman is most well-known for his performance in the 2011 postseason. Freese was the NLCS and World Series MVP that season.
A Veteran Era candidate selected by the Red Ribbon Committee and a candidate selected by the Cardinals organization will also be inducted along with the winner of the Modern Era fan vote.
Voting for the Hall of Fame will continue through April 21. The induction ceremony will take place on August 20.
News and Notes from the Offseason and Spring Training
- Tickets for Cardinals 2023 Spring Training games are on sale. There are 15 games on the home schedule, with the final game to be played on March 25 against the Marlins.
Fans can buy tickets online at https://www.mlb.com/cardinals/tickets/spring-training
- Single game tickets for the 2023 season are now on sale. Opening Day will be on March 30 at Busch Stadium against the Toronto Blue Jays. Tickets can be purchased online at https://www.mlb.com/cardinals/tickets/single-game-tickets
- The Grapefruit League games now feature some new rules that include a pitch clock, larger bases, and a ban on the shift. Several players have already been tagged with pitch clock violations across both the Grapefruit League and Cactus League. In Sunday’s game, Ryan Helsley was a victim of the clock once. Both of the first two spring contests were completed in two hours, 26 minutes.
Trade and Acquisition Rumors
There are no trade and acquisition rumors.
Transactions
There are no transactions to report.
Injury Report
There are no new injuries to report.
Looking Ahead
Grapefruit League play has begun. The first game was played on February 25 with Adam Wainwright getting the start. Miles Mikolas took the ball first on Sunday. The Cardinals will play the Mets on Monday with Connor Thomas starting.
The first week of Grapefruit League continues with a contest against the Nationals on Tuesday, with Matthew Liberatore starting, followed by a day off. The Astros are the Thursday opponent, the Marlins are on Friday, the Nationals again on Saturday, and the Mets on Sunday to end the week.
Grapefruit League play will conclude on March 27 with a game against the Orioles at Ed Smith Stadium in Sarasota.
The regular season begins on March 30 with the Cardinals taking on the Blue Jays at Busch Stadium.
The World Baseball Classic will begin on March 8. The Cardinals have 19 players set to play in the WBC from both the major league and minor league rosters.
Four players from the major league roster are set to play for the USA team. They are Paul Goldschmidt, Nolan Arenado, Adam Wainwright, and Miles Mikolas.
Six additional major league roster players will play for other teams. They are Tyler O’Neill (Canada), Tommy Edman (Korea), Lars Nootbaar (Japan), Giovanny Gallegos (Mexico), JoJo Romero (Mexico) and Andre Pallante (Italy).
The ten above named players will be absent from spring training while their team is in the tournament. The Championship Game is scheduled on March 21 in Miami.
Any of the remaining nine players who are either 40-man roster players or non-roster invites will also be absent for spring training during the time their team is playing in the WBC.
Blast from the Past
This week’s Blast from the Past is the eighth installment in a series looking back on the best Cardinals players in history by position. There isn’t enough time and space to go in depth on such a long list of great Cardinals, so this series focuses on five of the best players by position in the history of the franchise. The term “best” is subjective and can encompass an endless number of factors that one would choose to determine who is indeed the best.
This week we look at the five best center fielders in franchise history based on statistical factors. WAR is the primary factor in this determination. The following list is not a ranking but a chronological list.
Pepper Martin would appear in the top five, but because he was among the top right fielders last week, he is not included in this list.
The following are the top five center fielders in franchise history.
Terry Moore – The Cardinals signed Moore in 1932 and he debuted in St. Louis on April 16, 1935. Moore played his entire 11-year major league career with St. Louis.
Moore was a four-time All-Star. His career slash line with St. Louis was .280/.340/.399 with 80 home runs and 513 RBI. Moore was considered an above average defensive center fielder.
Moore was released by the Cardinals in October 1948. Moore’s career WAR with St. Louis was 21.3, fourth highest among center fielders in franchise history.
Curt Flood – Flood is most well-known as the player who took on the MLB reserve clause and paved the way for free agency in baseball. As a player for the Cardinals, Flood was an excellent defensive center fielder.
The Cardinals acquired Flood in a 1957 trade with the Cincinnati Reds. He played for 12 seasons in St. Louis and was part of the 1964 and 1967 World Championship teams. He unfortunately took the blame for an uncaught ball in center that led to the loss of the 1968 World Series to the Detroit Tigers.
Flood received seven Gold Gloves as a Cardinal. He led the National League in Hits with 211 in 1964. He finished fourth in the MVP voting in 1968.
Flood’s 1969 trade to the Phillies was the catalyst for his lawsuit against MLB attacking the reserve clause. He lost the suit, but it was only a few years later that the clause was dismantled by an arbitrator.
Flood’s career slash line in St. Louis was .293/.343/.390 with 84 home runs and 633 RBI. His career WAR with the Cardinals was 36.3, third in franchise history.
Willie McGee – McGee was acquired by the Cardinals in a 1981 trade with the New York Yankees. McGee played for St. Louis over 13 seasons in two separate stints, from 1982-89 and again from 1996-99.
McGee finished third in the Rookie of the Year voting in 1982. He led the NL in hits, triples and average in 1985 and was voted the NL MVP that season. He was a four-time All-Star, won three Gold Gloves and one Silver Slugger Award.
McGee’s career slash line with the Cardinals was .294/.329/.400 with 63 home runs and 678 RBI. His career WAR in St. Louis was 20.8, sixth in franchise history among center fielders. McGee was part of the 2014 inaugural class of the Cardinals Hall of Fame. He is currently on the Cardinals major league coaching staff.
Ray Lankford – The Cardinals selected Lankford in the third round of the 1987 draft. He made his MLB debut on August 21, 1990.
Lankford played 13 seasons in St. Louis. He came in third in the Rookie of the Year voting in 1991 and was an All-Star in 1997. He led baseball in triples in 1991 with 15.
The Cardinals traded Lankford to the Padres in 2001. The Cardinals reacquired him as a free agent for one final season in 2004.
Lankford’s career slash line with the Cardinals was .273/.365/.481 with 228 home runs and 829 RBI. His career WAR in St. Louis was 40.4, second as a center fielder in franchise history. Lankford was elected to the Cardinals Hall of Fame in 2018.
Jim Edmonds – The Cardinals acquired Edmonds in a trade with the Anaheim Angels in March 2000. He played eight seasons in St. Louis, from 2000-07. Edmonds signed a minor league contract to return to the Cardinals on February 4, 2011, but officially retired two weeks later.
As a Cardinal, Edmonds won six Gold Gloves, one Silver Slugger, and made three All-Star Games. His career slash line in St. Louis was .285/.393/.555 with 241 home runs and 713 RBI.
Edmonds career WAR with the Cardinals was 42.4, most among all center fielders in franchise history. He was part of the first elected class to the Cardinals Hall of Fame in 2014.
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