photo: Tommy Edman and Lars Nootbaar (Jeff Curry/USA TODAY Sports)
The list of St. Louis Cardinals planning to play in the World Baseball Classic this March has increased by two with decisions from Tommy Edman and Lars Nootbaar to compete for Korea and Japan, respectively. Our weekly history feature looks at the five best catchers in team history.
Cardinals to play in the World Baseball Classic
Infielder Tommy Edman is the latest St. Louis Cardinals player to commit to playing in the 2023 World Baseball Classic. The WBC is held every four years and in 2023, it will be played from March 8-21. The games will be played in four cities. They are Taichung, Taiwan, Tokyo, Phoenix, and Miami. Semifinals and finals will be held in Miami.
Edman will compete for Team Korea. Though Edman was born and raised in the U.S, his mother is from Korea. Korea’s first game will be played on March 9th in Tokyo against Team Australia.
Also announced as a recent commit to the WBC is Cardinals outfielder Lars Nootbaar. Like Edman, Nootbaar’s mother is of Asian descent, from Japan. Nootbaar will be playing for Team Japan, which is assigned to the same pool as Korea.
Other Cardinals already committed to the WBC are Paul Goldschmidt, Nolan Arenado, Adam Wainwright and Miles Mikolas, who will play for Team USA.
Other players are possibilities to play for other teams but have not yet committed. They include Tyler O’Neill (Team Canada), Giovanny Gallegos (Team Mexico) and Ivan Herrera (Panama). Recent free agent acquisition Willson Contreras was thought to be a possibility to play for Team Venezuela, but it was recently announced that the new catcher will not play in the WBC by request of the Cardinals.
Players will report to Spring Training as scheduled but will leave for the WBC, then return to camp until its conclusion. The Championship Game is scheduled for March 21 in Miami.
News and Notes from the Offseason
- Single-game tickets for Cardinals 2023 Spring Training games have gone on sale. The Spring Training opener is on February 25 at Roger Dean Stadium against the Washington Nationals. There are 15 games on the home schedule, with the final game on March 25 against the Marlins.
Fans can buy tickets online at https://www.mlb.com/cardinals/tickets/spring-training
- Winter Warm-Up autograph tickets are now on sale. The Winter Warm-Up is scheduled for January 14-16 at Busch Stadium and Ballpark Village. Tickets can be purchased online at https://www.mlb.com/cardinals/fans/winter-warm-up
Trade and Acquisition Rumors
There are no trade or acquisition rumors to report. On Sunday, President of Baseball Operations John Mozeliak suggested the team is likely done making major acquisitions this offseason.
Transactions
There are no transactions to report.
Injury Report
There are no new injuries to report.
Looking Ahead
The 2022-23 offseason continues. While many other teams have been active, the Cardinals have been inactive since the signing of Willson Contreras. A month of the offseason still remains.
The next dates on the offseason calendar of note have to do with player arbitration. January 13 is the date when teams and arbitration eligible players must submit salary figures. Prior to that date the parties are free to come to an agreement on the player’s salary for 2023 and avoid arbitration. After January 13, if no agreement is reached, the dispute is scheduled for a hearing to take place sometime in February. The parties may still reach agreement after that date and avoid the hearing.
The Cardinals have 10 players who are arbitration eligible. They are Jordan Montgomery, Jack Flaherty, Chris Stratton, Jordan Hicks, Dakota Hudson, Tyler O’Neill, Tommy Edman, Ryan Helsley, Andrew Knizner, and Genesis Cabrera.
The Cardinals and Stratton have already reached an agreement for the pitcher’s 2023 salary. The parties agreed to a one-year deal for $2.8 million on November 17. Stratton, along with Montgomery, Flaherty, and Hicks, are in their final year of arbitration eligibility.
Hudson and O’Neill are in their second year of eligibility. Edman, Helsley, Knizner, and Cabrera are first year eligible.
- January 14-16 – Cardinals Care Winter Warm-Up.
- January 15 – The new international signing period begins.
- January 24 – The 2023 inductees into the Baseball Hall of Fame are announced.
Blast from the Past
This week’s Blast from the Past will be the first 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 players, so this article will focus 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.
For this exercise, the focus will be on objective statistical factors. The first position to be covered is perhaps the most important position on the field, that of the catcher. It is even more poignant in the sense that 2022 was the final season for one of the most beloved catchers in Cardinals history, Yadier Molina. Molina retired after 19 seasons, so 2023 will be the first season in almost two decades that the icon will not be squatting behind home plate for St. Louis.
The following is a summary of five catchers in Cardinals history who made their mark both offensively and defensively for the team. This is not a ranked list but is presented in chronological order by the period in which they played.
Walker Cooper – Cooper played for the Cardinals for six seasons, from 1940 through 1945 and returned in 1956 and 1957. He made his debut on September 25, 1940. at the age of 25. The Missouri native spent six years in the minor leagues before being called up late in the 1940 season. Cooper was good hitter and a solid defensive catcher.
Cooper’s best season at the plate for the Cardinals was in 1944, when he slashed .317/.352/.504 in 426 plate appearances. Walker finished eighth in the MVP voting that season, after placing second the year before. He made three All-Star Game appearances while with the Cardinals. During his time behind the plate, the Cardinals won World Championships in 1942 and 1944.
Cooper was the brother of Cardinals pitcher Mort Cooper. He played in only four games in 1945 due to military service in World War II and after the 1945 season the Cardinals sold his contract to the New York Giants. Cooper returned to St. Louis to conclude his playing career in 1956 and 1957.
Joe Torre – Torre may be more well known for his years as a manager and executive, but his playing career spanned 18 seasons, six of which were played in St. Louis. Torre played other positions along with catcher, but he was the catcher for his first few seasons in St. Louis. His catching time was sandwiched between Tim McCarver, who was traded away after the 1969 season, and the budding star Ted Simmons, with whom Torre split the catching duties.
Torre was more of an offensive catcher. His best season for the Cardinals was 1971, when he led baseball in hits (230), RBI (137) and average (.363). Torre was voted the NL MVP that season. Torre was named to the All-Star Game four times while with the Cardinals.
Torre was traded to the Mets in 1974, where he ended his playing career. Later, managed the Cardinals from 1990-1995 and is a member of the team’s Hall of Fame.
Ted Simmons – Simmons was the first-round draft pick of the Cardinals in 1967. He debuted in September 1968. 13 of his 21 seasons as a player were with the Cardinals.
Like Torre, Simmons was primarily an offensive catcher. He slashed .332/.396/.491 in 1975 and finished sixth in the MVP balloting. He was a six-time All-Star while in St. Louis before being traded in 1980 to the Brewers.
Simmons’ achievements included leading all catchers in career hits and doubles at the time he retired and he held the NL record for home runs by a switch hitter when he hung up his cleats.
Simmons was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2019.
Darrell Porter – Porter was signed as a free agent by the Cardinals in 1980 after playing 10 seasons with the Brewers and Royals. Cardinals manager Whitey Herzog had managed Porter in Kansas City and signed him following the trade of Simmons to Milwaukee.
Porter was a very good defender with a superior arm. His best offensive seasons were in Kansas City, but his offensive performance in the 1982 postseason led to both the NLCS and World Series MVP Awards, a feat future Cardinal David Freese duplicated in 2011.
Porter was released by the Cardinals in November 1985 and played his last two major league seasons with the Texas Rangers before retiring.
Porter’s baseball career was marred by a substance abuse problem, specifically cocaine. He had reportedly cleaned up his act while playing in St. Louis, but the issue recurred later in life, as he died from an accidental drug overdose in 2002.
Yadier Molina – Molina is arguably the best catcher in Cardinals franchise history. He was drafted by the Cardinals in the fourth round in 2000 and spent his entire major league career in St. Louis. Molina debuted in June 2004 as back up to Mike Matheny, and by the next season was the Cardinals’ primary catcher.
Molina is well-known as one of the best defensive catchers in baseball. He has nine Gold Gloves, six Fielding Bible Awards and four Platinum Gloves. He was named to the NL All-Star team 10 times.
With the bat, Molina has a career slash line of .277/.327/.399. He finished fourth in the NL MVP balloting in 2012 and third in 2013.
Molina retired in 2022 and is widely expected to be elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame when he becomes eligible, if not on the first ballot, soon after.
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