photo: MLB Team – Japan All-Star Series (St. Louis Cardinals)
St. Louis Cardinals Yadier Molina and John Brebbia finished their tour of Japan. In our weekly history feature, the 1981 Ozzie Smith trade with San Diego is remembered.
Cardinals receive votes in player awards
Results of three major player awards were announced this past week and four St. Louis Cardinals received votes.
The National League Rookie of the Year was announced on Monday, and two Cardinals, Jack Flaherty and Harrison Bader, received votes. Flaherty finished in fifth place and Bader was sixth. Flaherty received two third-place votes and Bader received one third-place vote. Ronald Acuna Jr. of the Braves was the recipient of the award
On Wednesday, the CY Young Award winners were announced. Cardinals starter Miles Mikolas finished sixth, earning one third-place vote. Jacob deGrom of the Mets was the winner.
On Thursday, the Most Valuable Players were announced. Christian Yelich of the Brewers was the winner, with Javier Baez of the Cubs finishing second and Nolan Arenado of the Rockies third. Cardinals infielder Matt Carpenter finished ninth.
Japan All Star Series concludes
The six-game Japan All-Star Series concluded this past week with the US team dropping five games. Two Cardinals, Yadier Molina and John Brebbia, participated.
Molina started four of the six games, three as the starting catcher and one as the DH. Molina went 8-for-16 (.500) in the series, with one home run and five RBI.
Brebbia appeared out of the bullpen in two of the six games. The right-hander pitched 1 2/3 innings and gave up two runs on three hits. Brebbia struck out two and walked none.
Winter Warm-Up plans announced
The dates for the Cardinals annual Winter Warm-Up fan festival have been announced. The three-day event will take place on January 19, 20, and 21 at the Hyatt Regency at the Arch in St. Louis.
Admission tickets will go on sale November 23 at 10 a.m. CT. The tickets are $40 for adults and $10 for children and can be purchased online or at the Busch Stadium Box Office.
Paid autograph tickets go on sale December 10, online or at the Busch Stadium Box office. Free autographs tickets will also be available on December 10. Prices will be announced later.
Trade and Acquisition Rumors
There are no new trade or acquisition rumors to report.
Transactions
There are no new transactions to report.
Injury Report
There is no new injury news to report.
Looking Ahead
The deadline for finalization of 40-man rosters in preparation for the Rule 5 draft is Tuesday, November 20 at 7 p.m. CT. The Cardinals’ roster currently stands at 38, leaving room for as many as two minor league prospects to be protected by addition to the roster. Further subtractions could occur prior to the deadline to open up roster spots for more players.
Earlier, Brian Walton shared with TCN members his view of which players may be added to the roster.
Another deadline approaching is the November 30 non-tender deadline. This is when teams must tender contracts to all of their pre-arbitration and arbitration eligible players. Any player not tendered a contract becomes a free agent.
There are three awards left to be given on the slate of November awards.
Nov. 19 – Comeback Players of the Year
Nov. 20 – Designated Hitter of the Year (American League only)
The Winter Meetings are scheduled for December 9-13 in Las Vegas. The Rule 5 draft is scheduled for the morning of December 13.
Blast from the Past
Last week’s history segment covered the 1980 trade of Ted Simmons to the Milwaukee Brewers. One of the players received by the Cardinals in that trade was a part of a major trade a year later. That subsequent trade is the subject of this week’s Blast from the Past.
One of the four players received in the Simmons deal was outfielder Sixto Lezcano. A year later, Lezcano was dealt to the San Diego Padres along with two other players for shortstop Ozzie Smith. This trade is unquestionably one of the best trades in franchise history.
Smith was the fourth-round draft pick by the Padres in 1977, and made his major league debut in 1978. In 1981, Smith and his agent got into a contract dispute with the ownership of the Padres. Meanwhile, the Cardinals, specifically manager and GM Whitey Herzog, were unhappy with their current shortstop Garry Templeton. Templeton had a contentious relationship with Cardinals fans, culminating in Templeton twice making an obscene gesture to fans during a game and being physically removed from the field by Herzog.
During the 1981 Winter Meetings, Padres GM Jack McKeon agreed to a six-player deal with the headliners being Smith to the Cardinals and Templeton to the Padres. Along with both shortstops, Lezcano and a player to be named later were sent to San Diego, while Smith, Steve Mura, and a player to be named later went to St. Louis. The trade was delayed because Smith had no-trade protection in his contract and he initially was inclined to refuse the trade – but agreed to listen to Herzog’s attempts to persuade him. Smith later said Herzog made him feel wanted in St. Louis, so he agreed to the trade.
The deal went through on December 10, 1981 and Smith became a St. Louis Cardinal. Smith remained with the Cardinals until his retirement in 1996. Smith became a fan favorite and appeared in the All-Star Game in 14 of his 15 seasons in St. Louis. Smith also won 11 of his 13 Gold Gloves as a Cardinal.
Smith was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2002. He was also part of the 2014 inaugural class in the Cardinals Hall of Fame. Ozzie continues to live in St. Louis post playing career and is a fixture in many local charity and other events. Smith is a St. Louis icon thanks to the persuasion efforts of another future team Hall of Famer, Whitey Herzog.
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