I am not sure I have encountered a Major League Hall Of Famer that can work a crowd and a room better than Lou Brock.

Over All Star Weekend, I took the opportunity Sunday morning to attend FanFest at Bartle Hall in Kansas City.  The highlight of the schedule, for me, was question and answer sessions with two Hall Of Famers, Andre Dawson and Lou Brock.  The sessions were each 30 minutes long and open to anyone in attendance that wanted to come in and listen.

Dawson was one of my father’s favorite players and a Hall Of Famer that I can attest to having seen play myself.  ”The Hawk” was frank, answered many questions, and was straight forward and candid with his responses.  It was a legitimate look at baseball north of the border, on astroturf, and throughout baseball.  It was not until after Dawson spoke and Brock took center stage that I realized the stark differences.

Lou came into the room to the obvious chants of “Lou” that resounded like boos from the crowd.  He smiled and waved, took his seat and handled questions from the interviewer and then from the crowd.  One fan preceded his question by telling Brock that his son was named Lou after the great basestealer.  The fan’s young son, who was maybe twelve, was with him and Brock invited his namesake to come stand next to him while he answered the young man’s father’s question.  He talked with the young man like he was answering the question just for him, played him up to the crowd for another loud “Lou” response, and sent a family home with a memory they will never forget.

Lou told stories and gave technical advice on base running.  He explained how he got jumps off of pitchers and how he taught young ball players to square up quickly.

He was asked near the end of his interview to compare current Cardinal catcher Yadier Molina to someone from his era.

“Johnny Bench.  The way that Yadi has learned to hit the ball at this point in his career, Johnny Bench is a completely fair comparison.”

One fan asked about Lou’s first All Star Game, his thoughts and memories from that game.  Lou responded (paraphrased):

I arrived early because I did not want to be seen as “big time”.  The last thing I wanted was to arrive when Willie Mays was arriving, I was young and did not want to show disrespect.  The game started at 3:00 p.m., so I got to the stadium at about 9 a.m. that morning.  I was the only one in the clubhouse except the young man clubhouse attendant they had there.  I decided, being an All Star, that I could be a little “big time” and I beckoned the kid over and asked him if he would go get me a Coca-Cola.  The young man returned with my Coca-Cola and then introduced himself, “Hi, I’m Tom Seaver”.  He made me pay for that Coke for about 14 seasons.

The crowd, of course, was eating out of Brock’s hands by this point and Brock went on to share personal stories of his friend, mentor, roommate and father figure, Buck O’Neil.  The stories showed a personal side to a relationship that started between a scout and player.  They showed an emotion that I was unaware of.  The demonstrated a bond that was stronger than most knew.  It was touching, funny and engaging.

Another fan marveled at Brock’s base stealing ability and remembered a game that he was in attendance for that Lou Brock stole home.  He asked Lou if he could recall how many times he achieved the feat of stealing home in his career.  Lou’s response did not disappoint.

Once.  I stole home exactly one time in my career.  The lineup that we had was full of guys that were paid to drive in runs.  Once I stole a base and put myself into scoring position, they would yell out at me “STAY THERE”.  While it was a joke sometimes, the one hard fast rule I was given was not to steal home so the guys behind me could continue to drive in runs.

Finally, Brock was asked about pitchers he once faced and what he thought of all of them.  The key to the question was the wording which contained “who did you see the ball well against.”  Brock, deliberate in his delivery, dropped a few names and then gave us a great quote:

“I saw the ball out of Koufax’s hand very well.  Never hit it, though.”

Listening to a player of Brock’s caliber talk about life and baseball made 30 minutes seem like mere seconds.  It was the highlight of a very full Sunday for me and an opportunity I suggest no one ever pass up on.  FanFest gave us all the opportunity to make a personal connection with larger than life figures, and it’s an opportunity I will never forget.

Power and speed.  Two basic elements that the best of professional athletes posses.

When it comes to baseball, the epitome of power and speed manifest themselves in the players that achieve milestones when they can hit home runs and steal bases in the same season.  The man that can steal 30 bases and hit 30 home runs gets recognized as an all-around player.  Over time, a select few have pushed that limit to 40-40.  Matt Kemp has boldly proclaimed that he wants to be 50-50.

Through all of that, however, the two i70 teams have missed out.  Niether the Kansas City Royals nor the St. Louis Cardinals have ever had a player hit 30 home runs and steal 30 bases in the same season.  Oh, some have come close, but they have narrowly missed.

In the early stages of 2012, the Cardinals have a player, a former Royal no less, that is on pace for a 30-30 season.  No one would have predicted a 30-30 season for Carlos Beltran in 2012, but he grabbed the interest of this writer and caused me to dig a little deeper.

There are 38 members of the 30-30 club in Major League Baseball, twelve of which exist in the American League with the balance of 26 in the National League.  Funny enough, if you dig through the numbers, two players achieved the feat on five separate occasions.  The two most prolific of the group?  Father and son, Bobby and Barry Bonds.

To examine the two i70 teams, we have to take a step back and look at players that have finished with 20 home runs and 20 stolen bases, a feat much more common in baseball though elusive with our favorite clubs.

For as long as the Cardinals have existed, it took quite a while before they found someone that could blend speed and power together.  It was 1967 when future Hall Of Famer Lou Brock would first reach the measurements of balance, clubbing 21 home runs and stealing 52 bases.  Known much more for his speed, it would be the only time his power numbers would be great enough to include him in such a list.

It was the Western Missouri team that would reach our list the next two times as the Cardinals would not find themselves back in this discussion until 1992.  In 1978, however, the Royals Amos Otis would put the boys in blue in the discussion with a 22 home run and 32 stolen base season.

From there we fast forward to the one Royal that many would expect to be on this list, though he will make one appearance.  In 1988, one of the best all around athletes to ever grace the powder blue of the Kansas City Royals, Bo Jackson would hit 25 home runs and 27 stolen bases.  Bo was a fan favorite for many years in Kansas City, and 1988 might have been the reason why for many fans.

The year 1992 would put another Redbird on our 20/20 board, and the most prolific Cardinal to achieve the feat.  Ray Lankford would reach the board, stealing 42 bases and hitting exactly 20 home runs.  Lankford would prove to be impressive at reaching 20/20 and narrowly missing 30/30 throughout his career.  Lankford would reach our chart in 1995 (25HR/24SB), 1996 (21HR/35SB), 1997 (31HR/21SB), and 1998 (31HR/26SB).  His 1998 season, obviously overshadowed by teammate Mark McGwire, would be the closest any Cardinal has ever come to reaching the 30/30 plateau.

The 1995 season would see another first and only for our two teams as Brain Jordan would put together arguably his best campaign as a Cardinal, hitting 22 home runs and stealing 24 bases.  If you are paying close attention as you read this article, you will realize that this impressive season for Jordan matched up with a solid one for Ray Lankford, giving the Cardinals two players in the same season to reach the 20/20 board.  The only time in the history of either club that two players would reach the board for the same team.

It might have been the only time that two players from one team made it, but 1999 would be the first season that a player from each team would achieve the marks we are tracking here today.  Possibly the one name that surprises the most on the Cardinal side of things, Fernando Tatis would hit 34 home runs and steal 21 bases to put himself on this list.  On the other side of the state, the Royals most prolific player would make his first appearance on the list.  Current Cardinal Carlos Beltran would hit 22 home runs and swipe 27 bags in his first of four 20/20 seasons for the Kansas City Royals, making 1999 the only year that a player from Kansas City and a player from St. Louis would make our board.

Beltran would go on to prove that his 1999 season was no fluke, reaching the milestone in 2001 (24HR/34SB), 2002 (29HR/35SB) and 2003 (26HR/41SB).  His 2002 season would be the closest anyone would come while wearing a Royals uniform.  We will revisit Beltran’s numbers in a minute.

The following season in 2004 would see Reggie Sanders, while wearing the Birds On The Bat, join the club hitting 22 home runs and stealing 21 bases.  Sanders is the most recent Cardinal on our list.

Finding the most recent Royal does not require a long journey into the vault.  The player affectionately known as “Frenchy”, Jeff Franceour joins our group just last season.  In 2011, Frenchy barely did well enough to be a part of our discussion, hitting 20 home runs and stealing 22 bases.

In all truth, the Royals had the best opportunity to break the 30/30 barrier with the guy that inspired the discussion in the first place, Carlos Beltran.  You see, Carlos holds a unique distinction in MLB history when talking about the 30/30 club.  He is the only player in the history of the game to have a 30/30 season in a year in which he played in both leagues.  He is one of only two players, Bobby Bonds being the other, to be traded during his 30/30 season.

The 2004 season would see the Royals trade their budding superstar to the Houston Astros in a three team deal that would gain the Royals John Buck and cash from the Astros as well as Mark Teahen and Mike Wood from the Oakland Athletics.  During that season, Beltran would hit 15 home runs and steal 14 bases for the Royals prior to the June 24th trade.  After the trade, Beltran would compile 23 home runs and 28 stolen bases for the Houston Astros.  His combined numbers of 38 home runs and 42 stolen bases not only put him on the 30/30 list, but would put him extremely close to joining the 40/40 list.

This season, Beltran finds himself healthy for the first time in a while and back on top of his game.  On pace to rejoin the 30/30 club and become the first of the i70 players to do so, Beltran will have to continue to remain healthy and play as well as he has in April.

20 Home Run and 20 Stolen Bases, Royals and Cardinals
Player/Year	HR	SB	Player/Year	HR	SB
Lou Brock/1967	21	52	Amos Otis/1978	22	32
Ray Lankford/1992	20	42	Bo Jackson/1988	25	27
Ray Lankford/1995	25	24	Carlos Beltran/1999	22	27
Brian Jordan/1995	22	24	Carlos Beltran/2001	24	31
Ray Lankford/1996	21	35	Carlos Beltran/2002	29	35
Ray Lankford/1997	31	21	Carlos Beltran/2003	26	41
Ray Lankford/1998	31	26	Jeff Francoeur/2011	20	22
Fernando Tatis/1999	34	21
Reggie Sanders/2004	22	21

Bill Ivie is the editor here at I-70 Baseball
He is the host of I-70 Radio, hosted every week on BlogTalkRadio.
Follow him on Twitter here.

ST. LOUIS (December 19, 2011)– Cardinals Care, the charitable foundation of the reigning World Champion St. Louis Cardinals, today announced the start of the online process for fans to purchase autograph tickets for the 16^th Annual Winter Warm-Up.

Starting at 9:00 a.m. on Wednesday, December 21^st, fans can purchase autograph tickets at the team’s website (cardinals.com/winterwarmup). Fans may also purchase admission passes for the three-day Winter Warm-Up at the team’s website, in the official Cardinals Team Store at Busch Stadium, by phone at 314-345-9000 and at Cardinals Clubhouse stores around St. Louis.

Player autograph sessions are one of the most popular attractions of the Warm-Up. While some players’ autographs are free with the admission pass, others require an autograph ticket available through a specific additional donation. Every dollar donated for autograph tickets and all proceeds from the Winter Warm-Up benefit Cardinals Care, the team’s community foundation that cares for kids.

This highly anticipated annual event will take place Saturday, January 14^th through Monday, January 16^th (Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day) at the Hyatt Regency St. Louis at the Arch. The event hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, and 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Monday.

This year fans will get the chance to meet members of the 2011 World Series Championship team, starting with pitcher Chris Carpenter on January 14^th from 9 to 11 a.m., slugger Lance Berkman on January 15^th from 3 to 5 p.m., and World Series MVP David Freese on January 16^th from 12 to 2 p.m.

Fans can also greet the newest addition to the Cardinals coaching staff, manager Mike Matheny, as well as other former Cardinals greats and National Baseball Hall of Famers Lou Brock, Red Schoendienst, and Whitey Herzog.

“The Warm-Up is the perfect opportunity for fans to meet their favorite players and help kids in the St. Louis community,” said Michael Hall, Executive Director of Cardinals Care and Vice President of Community Relations. “We hope fans will join us in welcoming our new manager and celebrating our recent World Championship.” Hall urges fans to check the Cardinals website (cardinals.com/winterwarmup) frequently for details, including player autograph dates, times and, if required, additional donation amounts.

Since its inception in 1997, Cardinals Care has maintained a direct focus on “Caring for Kids” by distributing funds to area non-profit youth organizations and establishing Redbird Rookies, their flagship program that supports youth on and off the baseball field. Most of the organizations who are recipients of Cardinals Care charitable grants are based in Missouri, Illinois and Iowa. Grant funds are intended to support purchases such as school supplies and uniforms, computers, software, instruments, books and games for educational programs, as well as basic needs such as winter clothing for needy children.

The Winter Warm-Up and annual 6K Run are Cardinals Care’s two largest fundraising events each year. In 2011 Cardinals Care raised over $700,000 at the Warm-Up and nearly $160,000 at the second annual 6K Run for Kids. Cardinals Care also raises funds through memorabilia auctions online and throughout Busch Stadium during the season. Cardinals Care has now partnered with Papa John’s Pizza for a special promotion where proceeds of pizza purchases in January will be donated to their cause.

You can read all about the Warm-Up and get the full list of players that will be present by downloading this PDF file.

The week of Thanksgiving brings a time for all of us to be thankful for family, friends, health, any a myriad of other things that each of us finds important. Here at I-70 Baseball, we take this time to show some thanks to some players that spent some time wearing both of the uniforms of our two teams, the Cardinals and Royals.

The requirements are that simple: the inducted player had to play for both the Cardinals and Royals in his career. From there, it is pure judgement of I-70 Baseball to say they deserve enshrinement in our “Hall Of Legends”. This year we induct five new legends to join the inaugural group of five from last season. The original five inductees were manager Whitey Herzog, pitchers Dan Quisenberry and Danny Jackson, outfielder Reggie Sanders, and catcher Darrell Porter.

The first inductee for 2011 is Vince Coleman.

Coleman was drafted by the St. Louis Cardinals in 1982 and it did not take long for him to race (pun intended) onto the scene at the big league level. The speedy outfielder was built for the Whiteyball area of the St. Louis Cardinals and the team quickly had him in the leadoff role as the 1985 season got underway.

That rookie year was not perfect by any means, but the young man managed to reach base at a .320 clip while hitting .267. It was what he did when he was on base that captured the focus of fans across the nation. Coleman successfully stole 110 bases that year while also being caught 25 times, leading the league in both categories and capturing the Rookie Of The Year Award (later named the Jackie Robinson Award in 1987) in the National League that season. His 110 steals would fall just short of Cardinal legend Lou Brock‘s national league record of 118, but would establish the record that still stands today of steals by a rookie.

The dreaded sophomore slump would gRip Coleman‘s batting average and on base percentage, dropping the former to .232 and the latter to .301. As the old saying toes, however, speed doesn’t slump. Despite his drop in ability to reach base safely, he would lead the league again in stolen bases, this time with 107. He would also cut down the amount of times he was caught on the bases, being thrown out a paltry 14 times over the course of the season.

Coleman’s third year in the majors wearing the birds on the bat would see him achieve another etching in the record books. In arguably the most successful seasons of his career, Coleman would raise his batting average to .289 and his on base percentage to .363. The batting average would eventually prove to be the second best average Coleman would ever post and his on base percentage would rank as his best of his 13 year career. His increased time spent on the base paths would yield 109 stolen bases, the first player in history to steal 100 or more bases for three consecutive season.

As the 1988 season developed, Coleman would find himself once again atop the league in stolen bases, this time for the fourth consecutive season. He would fail to top 100 stolen bases for the first time in his career, swiping just 81 while being caught 27 times. Coleman would make the first of his two career all star appearances in that year’s mid summer classic. His production would slip again in 1989, falling to just 65 stolen bases, which was still good enough to lead the league. He would make is final appearance in the All Star Game that year. The remarkable thing happened for Coleman was a record that started in 1988 and was completed in 1989.

In the top of the sixth inning of a contest between the Cubs and the Cardinals in Chicago on September 18, Vince Coleman would swipe second base off of Greg Maddux and Jody Davis with Jose Oquendo at the plate. It led to the Cardinals’ fourth run of the contest, a game they would eventually win 5-4. Fast forward to July 26, 1989 as the Cubs would meet the Cardinals in St. Louis. In a game once again won by the Cardinals, Coleman would steal second base in the bottom of the third off of Cubs hurler Rick Sutcliffe and catcher Joe Giradi. The following game, played on July 28 in Montreal, Coleman would be thrown out in the fourth inning attempting to steal second base off of Pascual Perez and cather Nelson Santovenia. It would bring to end a treak of 50 straight stolen bases by Coleman, another record that is still standing today.

Coleman would spend his final season in St. Louis in 1990, stealing 77 bases and leading the league for the final time in his career, the sixth consecutive time. He would post his highest batting average of his career at .292 before departing the city via free agency to head to the bright lights of New York City to join the Mets.

Three injury ridden years in New York would come to a close after the 1993 season when Coleman was traded back into the midwest to the Kansas City Royals in exchange for Kevin McReynolds. Coleman’s health would rebound in 1994 as he put together a decent season for the Royals, stealing 50 bases. He would steal another 26 bases in a Royals uniform the following season before being dealt to the Seattle Mariners for the stretch run of 1995.

Coleman would steal 625 bases combined for the I-70 franchises, winning the Rookie Of The Year Award and appearing in two all star games. He “leads-off” the 2011 selections for the Hall Of Legends.

Bill Ivie is the editor here at I-70 Baseball as well as the Assignment Editor for BaseballDigest.com.
He is the host of I-70 Radio, hosted every week on BlogTalkRadio.com.
Follow him on Twitter here.

Friday night I was sitting in the bleachers at Busch Stadium watching the St. Louis Cardinals defeat the Texas Rangers in Game 7 of the 2011 World Series for their 11th championship in franchise history.

File that one under “Sentences I never thought I’d write in a million years.”

Going to a St. Louis Cardinals game is a special thing whether it’s Opening Day, some mid-July Sunday afternoon roaster, or a postseason game for the ages. The reason? All you have to do is look around, whether inside or outside Busch, and it becomes clear: A Tradition of Greatness. Outside you’re greeted by statues immortalizing the franchise’s—and some of Major League Baseball’s—all-time best. Stan Musial, Jack Buck, Bob Gibson, Lou Brock, Ozzie Smith, and others…they define professional baseball because of their accomplishments, and it all happened representing the St. Louis Cardinals. Even while cruising past the upper levels of Busch on Interstate 64/US 40, the biggest numbers visible from the road aren’t the ones on the speed limit sign or some billboard; they’re the World and League Championship years plastered on the side of the stadium. Inside, it’s more of the same: retired numbers and/or championship pennants catch every sight line.

All this entered my mind as I strolled through the gates in left center field before Game 7—and not just because it was what I saw. It was more like something I anticipated, or sensed almost in a gut feeling kind of way: another chapter in the extraordinary history of the St. Louis Cardinals was about to be written right before our eyes.

It isn’t unusual to run into random friends at a ballgame, but Game 7 isn’t just “a ballgame”–it’s the ballgame. Whether it’s a season ticket holder you see at almost every game or someone you knew from high school, the exchange is just a little more meaningful. The hugs were a little tighter; the handshakes were a little warmer. And the first thing said was usually something like “Can you believe we’re here?” with a smile that rivaled that of a kid on Christmas morning.

The game itself was somewhat pedestrian relative to everything that led up to it. The Rangers tacked on two runs in the first inning, and probably should have scored more. The Rangers fans that dotted the crowd were whipped into an early frenzy, and with good reason: the potential historical significance was not lost on them. Their team has never won a World Series, and they already had their initial taste of it in 2010. Chris Carpenter looked shaky, and Tony La Russa’s decision to start him on short rest was beginning to look even more questionable. If they could get some good pitching of their own and keep hammering away at an obviously off Carpenter, the pendulum could irreversibly swing their way for good. Maybe it was finally time for the Rangers to get a championship banner of their own after all these years, and beating the great St. Louis Cardinals would make it that much sweeter.

But the Cards responded in their half of the first when—who else—David Freese drove in two with yet another extra base hit. The crowd
went bonkers, of course, and in between shouts of joy and hops of excitement could be heard things like “I don’t believe this!” and “You’ve got to be kidding!” Even as it unfolded before our eyes, it still didn’t seem possible that the Cardinals were just this close to another World Championship. Really, how was it possible?

The Rangers pitched in on the answer to that question by not scoring another run in the game. To make matters worse, in the fifth inning they gave the Cardinals freebies by walking Yadier Molina with the bases loaded and then hitting Rafael Furcal with the sacks still jammed. It was quickly becoming a night where nothing went right for Texas and everything was going the Cardinals’ way. Carpenter finally found the right gear and was able to hold the Rangers scoreless for five more innings after the rough first. Allen Craig continued to make a statement by hitting a homer in the third and taking one away by catching a long fly at the top of the wall in the sixth.

After that remarkable play, countdowns started. Nine more outs to get. And every time the Rangers came up empty in their half of an inning, the fingers at the end of extended hands started folding. Eight outs to go…seven…six…it was like an extended version of waiting for the big ball to drop over Times Square on New Year’s Eve. The comparisons to holidays are extremely accurate, because this was a holiday. This was the greatest St. Louis holiday, and the crowd finally started to feel like it was an approaching freight train that couldn’t be stopped.

Before I knew it, the beats of “Lose Yourself” by Eminem were pulsating through the stadium. Jason Motte was coming in to close out Game 7 of the 2011 World Series. At that moment, it became real. We were three outs from fireworks and confetti and bedlam. The legend, that magic many of us had only seen on TV or in replays or imagined in our dreams, was finally set to go down right before our eyes.

Everything that the Cardinals accomplished in 2011 came from a place of adversity. Their ace, Adam Wainwright, was ripped from their roster before they could barely get settled in their Spring Training routines. Their closer, Ryan Franklin, imploded on Opening Day and never fully recovered, finally being released because he couldn’t live up to the value of his spot on the team. Injuries piled up. Intrigue around the contract status of Carpenter and La Russa and, most glaringly, Albert Pujols simply would not go away. The Cards managed to play well enough to lead the NL Central for a good portion of the year, but everything seemed to catch up to them at once and they found themselves out of the race. And then something happened in late August that sent this club on an irreversible trend upward. No matter how many times the bad rared up, the good beat it back. This final night of the season would be no different.

The final outs of Game 7 would not be cakewalks: ALCS hero Nelson Cruz and World Series hero Mike Napoli were due up for the
Rangers, representing two of their team’s last chances in the final frame. But they were dispatched in short order by the Cardinal defense. There was one final out separating the Cards from victory. And for one last time, in the ninth inning of Game 7 of the World Series, the Cardinals and their fans had to hold their breath as the bad—a pretty well-struck David Murphy fly ball toward the left field corner—was once again beat back by the good in the form of Craig hauling it in to conclude what was a series and a season for the ages. And, true to the cliché, the crowd went wild.

History tells us the St. Louis Cardinals are likely to win another World Series in seven games at home. On the surface, this 2011 championship wasn’t unique to the franchise because they aren’t strangers to World Series that go the distance and end in St. Louis. But none of the previous 10 championships were won with such incredible odds staring the team down for so long. It felt like they were on the brink of elimination every day of the last nine weeks or so. That’s a lot of drama, a lot of emotion, and a lot of exhilaration. Because this St. Louis Cardinals team made plenty of mistakes along the way, but in the end they they simply would not die. They fought until the bitter end, and when the smoke cleared they found themselves on top of the baseball world once again.

It’s hard to put into words what attending Game 7 of the World Series as a fan really means. Terms like “great” and “amazing” and “unbelievable” don’t really seem to do the night justice. The event really was better than the game itself. But when a World Series championship is at stake, that’s almost a given. Regardless, it truly was the greatest night of baseball I’ve ever witnessed. And it is something I will never forget.

Chris Reed also writes for InsideSTL Mondays and Bird Brained whenever he feels like it. Follow him on Twitter at @birdbrained.

As we prepare for the finale of this exciting series, and its marquee Game 5 matchup of two former Cy Young Award winners, let us take a walk down memory lane, and look at the Cardinal history in Game 7s (and Game 5 for the NLDS).

St Louis is the preeminent franchise in the National League, second only to the Yankees in terms of World Series wins. All that success means the team has had multiple occasions to play a one game, winner-take-all contest. For example, the Cardinals played seven consecutive World Series Game 7s from 1946 to 1987. How did they fare in those opportunities?

The Early Years (1926-1967)

Their first World Series appearance went seven games. The Cardinals won that game, which ended with my personal favorite game-ending play for any World Series, namely Babe Ruth getting thrown out trying to steal second. Can you imagine the amount of ink, hot air, and bandwidth that would be consumed dissecting that decision if it happened in 2006 instead of 1926?

Having started well, the Cardinals kept rolling. They defeated the Philadelphia A’s to win the Fall Classic in 1931, and took out Detroit in Tiger Stadium to win the Series three years later. Enos Slaughter’s mad dash home secured the 1946 title in front of the home town fans, and Bob Gibson wrestled those mighty Yankees into submission 18 years later in front of those same fans. The Boston Globe learned the price of publishing a great headline prematurely (‘Lonborg and Champagne’), as Gibson extended Cardinal dominance and Boston angst with a 1967 Game 7 win at Fenway.

So six Game 7s had come and gone, and the Cardinals had won all six. They were invincible when all the chips were down. No one wanted to play them in those situations, no matter where the game was to be contested.

The Desert of Futility (1968-2001)

Was it Curt Flood’s slip? Was it Lou Brock getting thrown out at the plate two games earlier? Was it the law of averages finally catching up to them? Probably some combination of the three. The Detroit Tigers, led by Denny McLain, beat St Louis at home in that 1968 Game 7. After that, Cardinal dominance in Game 7s ceased. They continued to win the Game 7s played at home, clinching the World Series against Milwaukee, defeating both Los Angeles and San Francisco in the LCS.

But on the road they were hapless. The Cardinals blew a 3-1 series lead in 1985, dropping Game 7 in Kansas City. They blew a 3-2 lead two years later, losing to the Twins in the Homer Dome. Then, when they returned to the post-season 10 years later, even their home mojo disappeared. They blew another 3-1 lead, getting embarrassed by the Atlanta Braves and losing the NLCS for the first time. Finally, to conclude their first best-of-five playoff series that went the distance, they lost a heartbreaker in the Arizona desert.

Return to Normalcy (2002-present)

They needed a great play or seminal moment to change their luck. They got one, and it occurred in a Game 7. The Cardinals played their next winner-take-all game to close out the 2004 NLCS against Houston. The Astros looked poised to take complete control of the game when with two on and one out, Brad Ausmus hit a fliner into the left-center field gap. Jim Edmonds ran it down, making a spectacular diving catch to keep the runners at their respective bases. St Louis went on to win the game and the National League.

They played another Game 7 two years later, and thanks to a Yadier Molina HR in the top of the ninth, St Louis beat the Mets 3-1 at Shea. It marked the first time since the 1967 World Series the Cardinals had won a Game 7 on the road.

Summation

Over 85 years of playoff baseball, the Cardinals have played 15 Game 7s and 1 Game 5. They are 7-1 as a franchise at home in those games, and 4-4 on the road. In comparison, the Philadelphia Phillies have never played a Game 7. They have played 2 Game 5s, winning the first, beating the Astros in extra innings to win the NL in 1980. But, they lost the second, to the Dodgers a year later* in the same situation.

What does it all mean? No Phillie on the current roster has ever played in a Game 5/7 for that franchise. The Cardinals have 4 men left from the 2006 playoff run: Albert Pujols, Yadier Molina, Adam Wainwright, and … Chris Carpenter, tonight’s starter. Additionally, tradition here has to favor St Louis. Plus, the veterans who played in those games of yore – men like Lou Brock, Gibson, Red Schoendienst, Willie McGee, even Stan Musial – keep that tradition alive by being a part of the locker room during spring training, and passing that tradition on to the current generation.

Everyone looks for even the slightest edge in games like this. Only in games like this can intangibles play a role. Experience and tradition favor the Cardinals. That has to count for something. It might be the last straw they need to break the Phillies back.

* Editor’s Note: It should be noted that this game five in Phillies history in 1981 was the first ever division series. This series was mandated by the players strike that year.

Vince Coleman will celebrate his 50^th birthday in September, and he is still confident that he could lead this year’s Cardinals in stolen bases.

“There’s no doubt in my mind I could do it,” Coleman said by phone this week from his home in San Diego. “Have them call me. I’d be glad to go out there and steal a base or two.”

It would not take many more than that for Coleman to become the team’s leader in stolen bases, which has dramatically become a lost art to anyone wearing a St. Louis uniform.

They came within three games of setting a franchise record for the most consecutive games without a stolen base earlier this year, going 33 games in a row without a steal, and since June 4, have stolen a combined five bases as a team in 55 games – with 13 caught stealing. Their season total of 39 steals in 115 games is only one more than the Cubs, but add in the fact that they have had 28 runners thrown out trying to steal, and their success rate of 58 percent is the lowest in the National League.

The last stolen bases they have had out of the leadoff spot in the order came on May 6. The team has a combined seven steals out of that spot, the lowest total in the league, and has had six runners caught stealing.

The individual leader on the team, Tyler Greene with nine steals, has spent almost as much time in Triple A as he has on the major league roster. Of the players on the current roster, Albert Pujols leads the team with six steals. There are 57 players in the NL with a higher total.

What in the name of Coleman and Lou Brock is going on here? A franchise which once stole 314 bases in a season, and had those two players top 100 by themselves, can’t steal more bases than this?

Coleman thinks part of the reason is that the art of stealing bases is not taught in the minor leagues, as it was in his day in the 1980s, and that baserunners in the major leagues do not study the pitchers as and his teammates did in the 1980s.

“If Don Blasingame had not been an instructor in the minor leagues I wouldn’t have learned how to read pitchers as well as I did,” said Coleman, who stole 549 bases in his six years as a Cardinal between 1985-1990. “I knew what to look for and passed that knowledge on to my teammates. Whitey (Herzog) gave us the freedom and the green light to run at will. 

“Every pitcher has a flaw, and I don’t think today they study that and see what the flaw is.”

Coleman disputes the notion that the development of a “quick-step” move by pitchers slowed down the running game in the majors. He said pitchers who try that generally fall behind in the count, and then have to change to try to throw strikes in order to not walk the next batter.

“It just meant I would steal on the third or fourth pitch instead of the first or second,” Coleman said.

The Cardinals have had successful teams which did not steal many bases in the past. The World Champion 2006 squad stole only 59 bases for the season, and the next year’s total fell to 56 – the fewest by any team managed by Tony La Russa in the last 33 years. This year’s team already is ahead of the franchise record for fewest steals in a season – a meager 17 by the 1949 Cardinals.

Despite their lack of steals, which also includes the inability of going from first to third base on a single to the outfield, the Cardinals still lead the NL in runs and hits. Just think how much better off they would be even if they were at least average in the baserunning department? Think they might have grounded into a fewer double plays if they had players who could steal second?

To their credit, the scouting and player development personnel identified speed as an area they would like to improve in this year’s draft. Three of their first 10 picks in the June draft were described as speedy, athletic outfielders with a chance to develop as basestealers.

In addition to the lack of speed on the major-league club, there are only seven players (eight if you add Tyler Greene’s major league and minor-league totals together) out of the close to 200 in the minor league system with more than 10 stolen bases this season. Tied for the organization lead through Saturday’s games were Memphis outfielder Adron Chambers and Johnson City outfielder Steven Ramos, each with 17 steals.

Coleman, who worked briefly as a base running instructor in the minor leagues for the Cubs after his playing career, believes if a player doesn’t learn how to steal bases in the minors he is not going to be able to do it successfully in the majors. 

The lack of players who have the ability to steal bases also makes it hard for Coleman to watch games these days.

“There is no one out there who excites me,” Coleman said. “When fans came to watch the Cardinals in the 1980s the one thing they knew they were going to see was stolen bases, if they didn’t see anything else.

“I patterned myself after Tim Raines and Rickey Henderson and Lou Brock. Those guys excited me when I watched them play and steal bases. I learned from watching guys like Joe Morgan when I was growing up. I don’t see that many complete ballplayers in baseball today. When we got on base it was exciting.”

As the Cardinals attempt to add more speed to their lineup, the question is where it will come from – with the two corner outfield spots, the two corner infield spots and the catcher position all unlikely sources – there are really only three choices, shortstop, second base and centerfield.

Newly acquired shortstop and leadoff hitter Rafael Furcal was supposed to add that dimension to the team, but he has not even attempted a stolen base in his first eight games as Cardinal. Jon Jay, now the regular centerfielder, has five steals but also has been thrown out four times. Now splitting time at second base, Skip Schumaker has no steals and two caught stealing, and Ryan Theriot has four steals and has been thrown out attempting to steal five times.

Head over to Rob Rains website to check out Rob’s thoughts on the National League Central race coming down to two teams and his notes on Major League and Minor League baseball.

One year.

It really doesn’t mean that much in the grand scheme of things. One calendar year is not that impressive. Life spans are much greater, careers span much longer, and most websites will simply see it as a stepping stone.

In all reality, this site sees it as the same. A stepping stone. The plans for this site go far beyond one year and we honestly plan to be around for a very long time. All in all, though, this first year was a pretty good one.

While we had been working for over a week to get the site ready for public eyes, it was on July 11th of 2010 that I wrote the post that welcomed the world to our little corner of the internet. I-70 Baseball was open for business and our writers started bringing their voice to a grand stage.

We provided opinions and coverage of the two teams, the Royals and Cardinals, over the last half of the 2010 season. During the off-season, we would provide some unique coverage of the two franchises. We would open our own “Hall Of Legends” and induct Whitey Herzog, Dan Quisenberry, Danny Jackson, Reggie Sanders, and Darrel Porter as players that had an impact on both franchises in their careers. We also “retired” the number 20 in honor of Lou Brock and Frank White.

Before the Hall Of Legends would take shape, former editor Matt Kelsey would breathe life into a series of articles dedicated to the 25th Anniversary of the World Series that gave this site it’s name.

It was not just the former editor that came up with a series of articles during the off-season, however. Our current editor, Angela Weinhold, penned a history of the St. Louis Cardinals in five year increments in a series titled “The Cardinals In Time” which you can also find in our exclusives area.

Our team of writers has evolved over the year and features many different voices today than it did then. The year ahead promises more in depth coverage from our team of writers, as well as a major expansion of the site’s coverage that will feature many new writers during the season.

All in all, I would like to take the time to thank our readers. Our readership, followers, and attention has grown exponentially over the first year and we hope to grow even further into the future. We hope our readers will continue to enjoy the voices that bring you stories that range from classics, to minor leagues, to the two featured teams themselves.

Here’s to a great first year and many more to come.

Bill Ivie is the editor here at I-70 Baseball as well as the Assignment Editor for BaseballDigest.com.
He is the host of I-70 Radio, hosted every week on BlogTalkRadio.com.
Follow him on Twitter here.

The following is a press release from the St. Louis Cardinals organization concerning last week’s “Teams Unite For Joplin” effort.

CARDINALS CARE RAISES $200,000 TO HELP KIDS OF JOPLIN
Team thanks fans for generously supporting “Teams Unite for Joplin” Effort

ST. LOUIS, MO (June 28, 2011) – The St. Louis Cardinals announced that their charitable foundation Cardinals Care raised $200,000 to help the children of Joplin recover from one of the most destructive tornadoes in Missouri history.

The fundraising was part of the joint “Teams Unite for Joplin” effort with the Kansas City Royals, Major League Baseball and the Major League Baseball Players Association which dedicated the three-game series at Busch Stadium (Friday, June 17 – Sunday, June 19) to raise awareness and money to help Joplin.

“We appreciate our fans generously supporting this important effort,” said Cardinals President William DeWitt III. “We also appreciate our players, manager, front office staff and our business partners doing their part to help Joplin.”

The Cardinals broadcast partners Fox Sports Midwest and KMOX 1120AM helped raise over $100,000 through first-ever broadcast auctions of once-in-a-lifetime Cardinals experiences. In addition to Cardinals Care volunteers collecting money at the gates, the team’s concessionaire Sportservice sold commemorative “Teams Unite for Joplin” patches, the team’s ticketing partner Tickets.com assisted with taking phone donations and Major League Baseball Advanced Media helped with collecting on-line donations, as well as conducting an on-line auction of autographed and game used items from the weekend that wrapped up on Sunday.

“This was a team effort all the way around, with everyone joining in to help Joplin,” said Michael Hall, Vice President of Community Relations & Cardinals Care. “Tony La Russa, Whitey Herzog and Lou Brock deserve co-MVPs for each agreeing to double their contribution to help the kids of Joplin.”

Each agreed to double their auction experience contributions as Cardinals Care was able to convince three under bidders to match the winning bids on three VIP experiences.

“It is also important to recognize our Winter Warm-Up hotel partner the Hyatt Regency St. Louis, as well as Kyle McClellan, Mike Matheny, Mike Shannon, John Rooney, Al Hrabosky, Dan McLaughlin and Rick Horton for generously supporting this important effort,” Hall said.

For the first time, Cardinals Care also collected donations via text message with thousands of fans texting to support the effort.

The May 22nd twister that hit Joplin was classified as an EF-5 tornado, the most powerful tornado possible. The storm left 153 dead, put more than 500 people into shelters at its peak and destroyed nearly 7,000 homes, businesses and schools.

While the recovery needs in Joplin are multiple and extensive in the wake of the tornado, Cardinals Care established the Joplin Recovery Fund to help the thousands of Joplin area children impacted by the disaster. Cardinals Care will work in the coming months to identify specific youth-oriented investment needs in Joplin as the community continues the process of recovering and rebuilding.

In the meantime, fans can still help by donating on-line at cardinals.com/Joplin or by texting the word JOPLIN to 32020.

Cardinals Care is dedicated to caring for kids. Since it was founded in 1997, Cardinals Care has distributed over $17 million to area non-profit youth organizations, built 19 youth ball fields in local disadvantaged neighborhoods and currently serves over 4,500 kids in the Redbird Rookies program.

You can download a copy of this press release in PDF format by clicking here.

The only thing hotter than the temperature in St. Louis was the battle for the 1967 National League pennant. It had suddenly become a three team race, two of which were the St. Louis Cardinals and the visiting Cincinnati Reds. The Reds had led the league for most of the season, but the Cardinals kept pace, never falling more than 4 1/2 games behind. It had been a two team race until the Cubs went on a tear, winning 16 of their last 19 games, including a recent 3 game sweep of the Reds. That knocked the Reds out of first place and put the Cubs into contention for the first time in several years.

At the start of this series, the Cardinals and Cubs were tied for first place and Cincinnati was starting to fade, now 5 games behind. The Cubs would give back nearly all of the ground they gained over the next two weeks, but it was this Independence Day series between the Cardinals and Reds that would set the tone for the remainder of the 1967 season.

The Cardinals seemed to be in good shape entering the series. Orlando Cepeda (.348) and Tim McCarver (.346) were chasing Roberto Clemente for the batting title, and were second and third in the league, respectively. Curt Flood was also in the mix, batting .306 at the time. Lou Brock, Roger Maris and and Julian Javier were also flirting with .300.

Milt Pappas

If that wasn’t enough for the Reds to deal with, the Cardinals starter on the night was Bob Gibson (9-6). But it wasn’t just any Bob Gibson. This was Gibson at his absolute meanest, and that meant trouble for the Reds. Gibson was coming off the worst outing of his career, giving up 9 runs in just 2/3 of an inning against the San Francisco Giants. When he took the mound, it looked like he had something to prove – we just didn’t quite know what it was.

Facing the Cardinals was veteran right hander, Milt Pappas. Pappas had recently come over to the National League after an impressive stint with the Baltimore Orioles. This was his 9th consecutive season with more wins than losses, and 10th if you are willing to include his rookie season where he went 10-10 as a 19 year old. In spite of all of his success, he always seemed to have trouble with the Cardinals.

A quick start

Gibson made quick work out of the Reds in the top of the first, as he would do for most of the game. A strikeout, an infield ground out and another strikeout and it was the Cardinals turn to hit.

And did they hit. And hit. And hit.

Lou Brock would lead off with a double, followed by singles by Curt Flood, Roger Maris and Orlando Cepeda. Before Pappas could even work up a sweat, the Cardinals had a 2-0 lead and were threating for more. Tim McCarver would hit a sacrifice fly, scoring Maris for the 3rd Cardinals run. Infield singles by Mike Shannon and Julian Javier would load the bases and end the day for the Reds starter. Don Nottebart, a former starter turned long reliever, would take over and he would be greeted rudely by light hitting Dal Maxvill who would clear the bases with a loud double in the right field gap. An errant throw allows Maxvill to score and the Cardinals now had a commanding 7-0 lead, with still only one out. Bob Gibson would extend the inning with a single.

What happens next united a team that was lacking a bit of identity, and they would need that over the coming months as they faced enough adversity to demolish a lesser team.

Thrown out

Lou Brock

Lou Brock would make the second out of the first inning with a fielders choice, forcing Gibson at second base. There was no chance of doubling up the speedy Brock. With a 7 run lead, Brock attempts to steal second base and is thrown out, ending the inning. He also angered the Reds in the process. Apparently the Reds did not appreciate Brock running in that situation, and would soon retaliate. Not once, but twice – and that was just one too many.

Gibson would shut down the Reds quickly in the second and third innings, striking out seven of the first nine batters he faced. The Cardinals would go quietly in the second, but started another rally against Nottebart in the third.

Tim McCarver and Mike Shannon would start the inning with singles, putting runners at the corner. Deciding this was the time to make a statement, Nottebart brushes back Julian Javier, inviting the ire of Cardinals fans that remember Javier paying a similar price in 1965. Javier would ground into a fielders choice with McCarver being thrown out at home. The inning would end without a further incident, but tempers were clearly heating up.

In the fourth inning, Gibson would strike out two more Reds, bringing his total to 9. He was also throwing a perfect game, retiring the first 12 Reds rather quietly.

Once too often

Nottebart would again voice his displeasure of Brock’s running in the first inning by hitting the Cardinals left fielder to start the home half of the 4th inning. If he had not dusted Javier in the previous inning, that might have passed without a response. One was fine, but two batters could not be tolerated. Somehow, the Reds forgot who was on the mound for the Cardinals.

A return message was clearly delivered in the top of the fifth inning. Bob Gibson would throw one of his best fastballs behind the head of Tony Perez, one of the leaders of the young Reds team. Just because he didn’t hit Perez didn’t mean he wasn’t sending a loud and unambiguous message: this ends here and now. But it didn’t. Far from it.

Tony Perez would fly out, but while heading back to the dugout he yelled something at Gibson.

There are two things you can’t do to Bob Gibson: cheat on the inside of the plate and bark at him. Tony Perez must not have gotten that memo.

Tony Perez

Perez and Gibson would share several verbal exchanges, both men getting more animated as they went on. The situation escalates when Orlando Cepeda comes over from first base to try to intervene, according to Cepeda’s version of the story. This move is misinterpreted by the Reds reliever, Bob Lee who comes running in from the Cincinnati bullpen.

Lee is a mountain of a man, listed at 6ft 3in and 225 pounds, but he looked much bigger at that particular moment.

Both teams ran out on the field and punches were thrown, hard and repeatedly. The scrum moved quickly into the Reds dugout and players started jumping in just as quickly as others were being thrown back onto the field of play. Even some fans got in on the conflict, helping out the home team. St. Louis police officers were soon dispatched to break up the fight, and they were eventually able to restore order, but not before several players were hurt, as was one of the officers.

The Reds manager had to be treated for lacerations from being spiked. The Reds reliever, Don Nottebart, received several facial cuts, but would stay in the game and pitch the bottom of the inning. Bob Gibson would jam the thumb on his pitching hand and it would bother him later in the game, prompting a call to the bullpen in the 8th inning. The most humorous of the injuries was to Tommy Helms, who broke a tooth – presumably the result of a Gibson punch. Helms would end the night 0-4 causing a sports writer to note that Gibson got more hits on Helms than Helms did on Gibby.

When play resumed, only one player was ejected: Bob Lee. While his actions had led to the escalation, the reason for his ejection was that he had entered the field of play illegally.

Back to the game

Orlando Cepeda

The game would continue, but it was clear that the fight had taken a toll on both teams. The Reds went quietly until the top of the 8th. Gibson was starting to struggle with his control, and the Reds started hitting him hard. After giving up 3 runs, manager Red Schoendeinst would go to his bullpen and Nelson Briles would quickly shut things down. Perhaps this was an omen as Briles would be called on to fill the spot in the rotation when Gibson lost two months to a broken leg.

The Cardinals would end up splitting the 4 game series, winning the first and last games while dropping the middle two. More important than this series, something had awakened in the Cardinals clubhouse. In a few weeks, Orlando Cepeda would stand up on a trunk and proclaim “Viva el Birdos”, and the Cardinals would go on to win the pennant and defeat the Red Sox in the fall classic. Looking back at the season, that bird might have taken flight in the 5th inning of this game. July 3, 1967.

Bob Netherton covers Cardinals history for i70baseball.com and writes at On the Outside Corner. You may follow Bob on Twitter here or on Facebook here.