Pedro Guerrero arrived in St. Louis late in the 1988 season with a résumé few hitters could match: a World Series co-MVP award, multiple All-Star selections, a Silver Slugger, and a reputation as one of the most dangerous right-handed bats of the 1980s. The St. Louis Cardinals, still searching for consistent middle-of-the-order thunder in the […]
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John Mabry occupies a distinctive place in Cardinals history as a versatile professional whose influence spanned two meaningful eras: first as a productive everyday player in the mid-1990s and later as a valuable pinch-hitter for the 2004 National League champions. Born October 17, 1970, in Chesapeake City, Maryland, Mabry graduated from Bohemia Manor High School
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Between 1999 and 2021, only three players could say that they were the starting catcher for the St. Louis Cardinals: Yadier Molina, Mike Matheny, and Eli Marrero. Though Matheny replaced Marrero as the starter in 2000, Marrero deserves to be remembered as more than just one of the players included in the trade that acquired
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When Todd Zeile began his first full big-league season in 1990, he was heralded as the Cardinals’ most promising catching prospect in years. By September, he was the team’s starting third baseman. A second-round draft pick out of UCLA in 1986, Zeile entered the 1990 season ranked as baseball’s No. 7 prospect by Baseball America.
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The St. Louis Cardinals never doubted that Brian Jordan had the talent to become a middle-of-the-order bat. The question was whether Jordan would stick with baseball long enough to get that opportunity. A first-round pick (30th overall) in the 1988 MLB draft, Jordan found minor league at-bats hard to come by, largely due to his
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As a strong safety in the NFL, Brian Jordan built his game around speed and impact. So it’s no surprise that Jordan took a speedy route to his St. Louis Cardinals debut, then made an impact once he got there. After just 406 minor league at-bats, Jordan got his first big-league opportunity on April 8,
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Before the Cardinals made him a third-round draft pick in 1987, Ray Lankford was the first running back in Modesto (Calif.) Junior College history to rush for more than 1,000 yards. On April 21, 1991, he put those skills to good use, running over Phillies catcher Darren Daulton in the 10th inning to score the
Ray Lankford runs over Darren Daulton: April 21, 1991 Read More »
One year after acquiring slugger Mark McGwire at the trade deadline, Cardinals general manager Walt Jocketty found himself as a seller at the 1998 deadline, sending starting pitcher Todd Stottlemyre and shortstop Royce Clayton to the Texas Rangers for starting pitcher Darren Oliver, third baseman Fernando Tatis, and a player to be named later. That
Cardinals trade Todd Stottlemyre, Royce Clayton: 7/31/1998 Read More »
Almost 25 years after his playing career ended, Orlando Cepeda wept with joy when he learned on March 2, 1999, that he had finally been elected to the Hall of Fame by the Veterans Committee. “It’s hard to explain the feeling … I’ve been ready for this for 17 years,” Cepeda said. “When they told
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On the same day that Ozzie Smith won his 12th consecutive Gold Glove Award, another Cardinal “Ozzi,” Tom Pagnozzi, captured the first of his three career Gold Gloves as the National League’s premier defensive catcher. The recognition, announced on November 26, 1991, came at the end of Pagnozzi’s first season as the Cardinals’ starting catcher.
How Tom Pagnozzi won his first Gold Glove in 1991 Read More »