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 professional […]
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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 he wasted little time in making his MLB debut with the St. Louis Cardinals. After just 406 minor league at-bats, Jordan got his first big-league opportunity on April 8, 1992, going 2-for-5 with four
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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
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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
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Almost 25 years after his playing career ended, Orlando Cepeda wept with joy when he learned that on March 2, 1999, that he finally had been elected 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.
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Seventeen years after the Cardinals drafted Gary Gaetti, they finally signed him on December 18, 1995. The native of Centralia, Illinois, was the Cardinals’ fourth-round selection out of Lake Land College in the January 1978 draft, but he chose to transfer to continue his collegiate career after the Cardinals offered him just a $500 bonus
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When the 1990 season ended, Willie McGee was the National League batting champion for the second time in his career – never mind that he had spent the past month as a member of the American League’s Oakland Athletics. On August 29, 1990, the St. Louis Cardinals traded the former National League MVP and four-time
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With his ballclub mired in last place in the National League East and rumors swirling of discontent in the clubhouse, Whitey Herzog called a press conference in San Diego on July 6, 1990, to announce that the St. Louis Cardinals’ Whiteyball era was officially over. Herzog’s resignation came with 2 ½ years remaining on his
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As he started preparing for the 1997 season, Cardinals general manager Walt Jocketty was looking for a second baseman who could hit for power or inherit the top spot in the St. Louis lineup. On November 20, 1996, he opted for the latter, signing Delino DeShields to a one-year contract with a team option for a
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