Quote of the day
Posted: December 19, 2021 Filed under: Quote of the day | Tags: Baseball, Brooklyn Dodgers, Major League Baseball, MLB, Pee Wee Reese, quotes, Rube Walker, sports, St. Louis Cardinals, Stan Musial 2 CommentsWhen we played the Dodgers in St. Louis, they had to come through our dugout, and our bat rack was right there where they had to walk. My bats kept disappearing, and I couldn’t figure it out. Turns out, Pee Wee Reese was stealing my bats. I found that out later, after we got out of baseball. He and Rube Walker stole my bats.
~Stan Musial
RIP Bob Gibson
Posted: October 4, 2020 Filed under: 20th Century, 21st Century | Tags: All-Star Game, Baseball, Bob Gibson, Cy Young Award, Major League Baseball, Major League Baseball Most Valuable Player Award, MLB, National Baseball Hall of Fame, sports, St. Louis Cardinals, World Series Leave a commentI just heard about the passing of Bob Gibson, pitcher for the St. Louis Cardinals for seventeen seasons. Over the course of that career, Gibson collected 251 wins, 3,117 strikeouts, and a 2.91 ERA. He was also a nine-time All-Star, won two World Series championships, and he won two Cy Young Awards and the 1968 NL MVP.
Bob Gibson was elected into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1981. The Cardinals retired his uniform number 45 in September 1975 and inducted him into the team Hall of Fame in 2014.
Gibson died in Omaha, Nebraska on October 2, 2020 from pancreatic cancer.
Rest in peace.
Sports Illustrated
RIP Lou Brock
Posted: September 7, 2020 Filed under: 20th Century, 21st Century | Tags: All-Star Game, Baseball, Lou Brock, Major League Baseball, MLB, National Baseball Hall of Fame, National League, St. Louis Cardinals, Ty Cobb 2 CommentsLou Brock spent the majority of his nineteen-year Major League career as a left fielder for the St. Louis Cardinals. Brock was best known for breaking Ty Cobb’s all-time stolen base record in 1977. He was a six-time All-Star, and he led the National League in stolen bases for eight seasons. Brock led the NL in doubles and triples in 1968, and in singles in 1972. He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1985.
Lou Brock passed away yesterday, September 6, 2020 at the age of 81.
RIP.
Lou Brock as a coach in 2005 (wikipedia)
This day in baseball: Yellow baseballs
Posted: August 2, 2020 Filed under: 20th Century, This day in baseball | Tags: Baseball, Baseball equipment, Brooklyn Dodgers, Ebbets Field, Frederic H. Rahr, history, Larry MacPhail, Major League Baseball, Mickey Cochrane, MLB, sports, St. Louis Cardinals Leave a commentFor the first game of a doubleheader played on August 2, 1938, Larry MacPhail had official baseballs dyed dandelion yellow, and the balls were used in the matchup between the Dodgers and Cardinals at Ebbets Field. The inspiration for this yellow ball came from a New York color engineer named Frederic H. Rahr, who developed it after Mickey Cochrane was severely beaned at the plate the previous year.
“My primary object is to give the hitter more safety and there’s no question that this will be achieved,” said Rahr. “That’s simply because the batter will be striking at a ball he can see instead of at a white object that blurs with the background.”
The Dodgers won that opening game with the yellow baseballs by a score of 6-2. The Dodgers went on to use up their yellow balls in three more games in 1939, but the yellow balls would not get used again after that season.
National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum
This day in baseball: Slim steals home
Posted: July 22, 2020 Filed under: 20th Century, This day in baseball | Tags: Baseball, Brooklyn Dodgers, Brooklyn Superbas, Ebbets Field, history, Slim Sallee, sports, St. Louis Cardinals 2 CommentsSlim Sallee became the first pitcher in Cardinal history to steal home on July 22, 1913 in a game against the Brooklyn Superbas. The Redbird lefty performed the feat in the game’s third inning, scoring the first run in St. Louis’s 3-1 victory over Brooklyn at Ebbets Field.
Slim Sallee in 1911 (Library of Congress)
This day in baseball: Ironman’s double loss
Posted: June 25, 2020 Filed under: 20th Century, This day in baseball | Tags: Baseball, Boston Beaneaters, history, Major League Baseball, MLB, sports, St. Louis Cardinals, Wiley Piatt Leave a commentBoston Beaneaters pitcher Wiley Piatt lost both games of a doubleheader to the St. Louis Cardinals on June 25, 1903. Piatt pitched a complete game in each contest, making him the first pitcher in the 20th century to pitch two complete games in one day and lose them both. Fittingly, Piatt was known as “Ironman” to his teammates.
Wiley Piatt (public domain)
This day in baseball: Kiner’s home run streak
Posted: August 16, 2019 Filed under: 20th Century, This day in baseball | Tags: Baseball, Major League Baseball, MLB, Pittsburgh Pirates, Ralph Kiner, sports, St. Louis Cardinals Leave a commentOn August 16, 1947, Ralph Kiner of the Pittsburgh Pirates hit three home runs in consecutive at-bats to lead the Pirates to a 12-7 win over the Cardinals. With this performance, Kiner matched the major league marks of seven home runs in four games, six in three games, five in two games, and four homers in consecutive at-bats.
sabr.org
This day in baseball: Feller’s first major league appearance
Posted: July 6, 2019 Filed under: 20th Century, This day in baseball | Tags: Baseball, Bob Feller, Cleveland Indians, Major League Baseball, MLB, sports, St. Louis Cardinals Leave a commentIn his first major league appearance on July 6, 1936, seventeen-year-old Indians rookie Bob Feller pitched in an All-Star break exhibition game against the Cardinals’ Gashouse Gang. After the first batter was thrown out trying to bunt, Feller proceeded to strike out eight consecutive batters in three innings.
Wikimedia Commons
This day in baseball: The Cardinals’ first home night game
Posted: June 4, 2019 Filed under: 20th Century, This day in baseball | Tags: Baseball, Brooklyn Dodgers, Joe Medwick, Major League Baseball, MLB, sports, Sportsman's Park, St. Louis Browns, St. Louis Cardinals Leave a commentThe St. Louis Cardinals played their first home night game on June 4, 1940. The Cardinals lost to Brooklyn, 10-1, in spite of a 5-for-5 performance by Joe Medwick, including three doubles. The first evening ballgame in St. Louis, which had taken place on May 24, was actually hosted by the Browns, after the two teams had agreed to split the $150,000 cost of installing lights at Sportsman’s Park.
ballparksofbaseball.com
This day in baseball: Moon is Rookie of the Year
Posted: December 19, 2018 Filed under: 20th Century, This day in baseball | Tags: Baseball, Enos Slaughter, Ernie Banks, Hank Aaron, Major League Baseball, National League, Rookie of the Year, sports, St. Louis Cardinals, Wally Moon 2 CommentsOn December 19, 1954, Wally Moon of the St. Louis Cardinals was selected National League Rookie of the Year. Moon finished his first season in the big leagues with a .304 batting average, 12 home runs, and 76 RBIs. The twenty-four-year-old center fielder, who replaced Enos Slaughter in the St. Louis outfield, collected 17 of the 24 writers’ votes, winning easily over future Hall of Famers Ernie Banks and Hank Aaron.
Moon in 1961 (Wikipedia)
