Had his life spanned a more recent era of Cardinals baseball, Jack Buck’s Hall of Fame speech might’ve included his gratefulness for the arm of Chris Carpenter or Adam Wainwright, and he probably would have touted the bat of Albert Pujols. But I think there’s little doubt that he’d have been thankful for the glove of Jim Edmonds.

Edmonds’ 8 years as a Cardinal provided fans with almost nightly amazement!

I grew up watching Cardinals baseball in the 1980’s, and in doing so developed a love for defense at a very young age. You don’t spend your childhood watching Ozzie Smith win 13 straight gold glove awards and not take notice as to how important solid defensive skills are. Edmonds brought back to the forefront an important piece of the game that, much like bunting for a hit, seems to have faded in recent years: He brought back a focus on defensive excellence.

“80% of the earth’s surface is covered by water, the other 20% is covered by Jim Edmonds.”

That’s one of my favorite sayings, and I grin every time I hear it, because it truly seemed that way–a ball hit into the air & anywhere near centerfield was far from safe. And if you’re thinking of hitting a HR over the 400’ sign on the CF wall, you’d better hit the ball at least 408’, or there’s a good chance Jimmy’s bringing it back! I can recall twice seeing a player on television mouth “Oh my gosh!”. My favorite was Pettitte’s (obviously), but Edmonds did it too…after he amazed even himself by robbing a homerun (in, I believe, Cincinnati). Watching Edmonds made me truly appreciate the Endy Chavez catch–the finest catch I have ever seen…and that coming from a guy who watched Jim Edmonds play every day.

Eight gold glove awards, two top-five finishes in MVP voting, four All-Star appearances, one big game six homerun, and countless catches that left many-a-jaw on St. Louis area floors over the years are just a few of the ways we’ll remember “Jimmy Ballgame”. A member of the “MV3”, Edmonds was no slouch at the plate & could handle the lumber with the best of them. A beautiful left-handed swing, comparable to Griffey Jr, and that famous upper-cut made Edmonds’ stance & swing recognizable to millions.

Oct 20, 2004: Edmonds’ 12th inning HR forces game 7

Towards the end of his career, he bounced around the National League Central division, spending time with the Brewers, Cubs & Reds after he left the Cards & headed to San Diego. If not for “the catch”, it’s possible that some may even forget that Edmonds actually spent seven years in the American League West as an Angel (‘93-’99). But he will be remembered by most for his years in St. Louis as the Cardinals’ centerfielder, and I suspect there would be little question as to which team logo he’d choose to wear on his cap, should he one day enter Cooperstown (a conversation for another time).

For different reasons than his former teammates, Aaron Miles & Scott Spiezio, when Jim Edmonds took the mound this past Thursday, it was for a ceremonial pitch–the first pitch of the 2011 season. He was very well-received by the fans at Busch that afternoon, and I suspect he’ll always be welcomed & appreciated in Cardinal Nation.

Thank you, Jim Edmonds for the memories, the highlights, and for keeping the flame of exciting & superb defense alive for another generation of Cardinals fans!

You won’t recognize many of the names in the opening day lineup of this team destined for the cellar. But opening day is always glorious, and every team begins the season tied for first. No reason the upstart Royals couldn’t shock the world.

I’m not talking about this opening day, mind you. I’m talking about THE opening day. The first game ever played by the Kansas City Royals, back on April 8, 1969.

Other debuts that year perhaps got more attention – The Brady Bunch and Sesame Street made their TV debut, Nixon debuted in the White House, and humans made their debut on the moon.

Jimi Hendrix would cap off the summer of love at Woodstock, but the Royals got it started at Memorial Stadium. I can’t quite remember it – my mom was only about two months pregnant with me at the time – but 17,688 were there to witness a victory in the first game the team ever played.

I’ve always heard that the Royals were a “model expansion team.” I don’t know what that means, but they spent the first 11 days of their existence in first place. They tumbled during the dog days of summer, but on June 1 they found themselves just four games below .500. Had any of our teams done that well in the past six or seven years, we’d have been ecstatic.

Manager Joe Gordon’s Royals took the field for the first time against the Minnesota Twins, who were no slouch. They won the AL West that year with 97 wins. Their lineup included Rod Carew, Tony Oliva and Harmon Killebrew.

But April 8, 1969 belonged to the boys in blue.

Lou Piniella had played in 10 major league games prior to that day, but had never recorded a hit. But he sparked the team in its inaugural game by going 4-5 with a walk. He doubled in the team’s first ever at-bat and was driven home with a single by the next batter, Jerry Adair.

After setting the Twins down in order in the first, Royals starter Wally Bunker surrendered the teams first run on a homer by Graig Nettles.

Bunker locked horns with Twins starter Tom Hall, holding each team scoreless for the next several innings. The Twins finally broke through with two runs in the sixth. Tom Burgmeier had to come on to relieve Bunker.

The young Royals responded. They rallied for four hits and capitalized on an error. Jim Campanis and Piniella each singled in runs to chase Hall and tie the score at 3-3 after six innings.

Twins reliever Ron Perranoski and Royals reliever Dave Wickersham put out the fire. Finally in the twelfth frame, the Royals brought in Moe Drabowski, who worked a 1-2-3 inning.

The Twins sent Joe Grzenda to the mound for the twelfth, and the pitching that had been so solid finally unraveled. Joy Foy notched a one-out single. That was followed by a passed ball, an intentional walk, a wild pitch, and yet another intentional walk.

With the bases loaded and Foy just 90 feet away from victory, the Twins brought in pitcher Dick Woodson. The Royals countered by sending up pinch hitter Joe Keough.

Keough would play four partial seasons for the Royals, primarily in the outfield or at first base. But in 1969 he would hit just .187 with seven RBIs. In that clutch moment on April 8, 1969, however, he worked a single to right field to score Foy with the winning run.

Amazingly, the Royals would win again the next day by the same 4-3 score, this time going 17 innings. The hero was again Piniella, who singled in the wining run. Gordon’s team kept up their winning ways, staying above .500 until April 28.

There have been many more glorious days since, and the names of Bunker, Foy, Drabowski, and Keough have been forgotten in favor of Brett, White, Leonard, Splittorff, Saberhagen, and so many others.

But on March 31, 2011, no one will be expecting much from the Royals. The experts are already calling for another 100-loss season. Perhaps these Royals can reach back into their history and find inspiration. It’s time to write a new chapter in the team’s history, and to begin paving the way for greatness like the “model expansion team” that ruled the 1970s and 1980s.

I recently took a look at the 10 best offensive seasons in Royals history using wOBA+ (click on that article for an explanation of the stat). Now I’ll turn my attention to the bottom of the list. These are players who somehow stuck in the line-up on a regular basis (400+ plate appearances) in spite of not hitting a lick. Not a single Royal cracked the top 10 in the 2000s, but this decade is well represented on this end.

10. Rey Sanchez ∙ SS ∙ 2000 ∙ 84 wOBA+
.289 wOBA/.273 AVG/.314 OBP/.322 SLG/61 OPS+

Sanchez was KC’s regular shortstop in 1999, 2000, and part of 2001. He partially made up for his light hitting with a wicked glove.

9. Jackie Hernandez ∙ SS ∙ 1969 ∙ 83 wOBA+
.255 wOBA/.222 AVG/.278 OBP/.282 SLG/57 OPS+

Acquired in the expansion draft, Hernandez had a rough go on the first ever Royals team. It was the only year he was an everyday player. Before the 1971 season, Hernandez was sent to Pittsburgh in a six player deal that landed the Royals Fred Patek, who held down KC’s shortstop spot for the next nine years.

8. Dee Brown ∙ LF ∙ 2001 ∙ 83 wOBA+
.274 wOBA/.245 AVG/.286 OBP/.350 SLG/63 OPS+

Brown was the Royals’ first pick in the 1996 draft. 2001 was the only year he was given a chance at regular playing time. He’s the only non-infielder on the list.

7. Tony Pena ∙ SS ∙ 2007 ∙ 84 wOBA+
.276 wOBA/.267 AVG/.284 OBP/.356 SLG/68 OPS+

Pena is another in the parade of failed shortstops for the Royals this millennium. The Royals gave him 287 games over three years in hopes his bat could come around just a little. The Royals gave up on him as a shortstop in 2009 and tried converting him to a pitcher in the minors before letting him go to free agency.

6. Frank White ∙ 2B ∙ 1988 ∙ 83 wOBA+
.266 wOBA/.235 AVG/.266 OBP/.330 SLG/66 OPS+

It feels a bit like sacrilege to include Frank on this list, but of course his greatness was defined by his defense (though he was no slouch at the plate between 1978—87).

5. Desi Relaford ∙ IF/OF ∙ 2004 ∙ 80 wOBA+
.268 wOBA/.221 AVG/.296 OBP/.305 SLG/56 OPS+

Moving between six different defensive positions, Relaford must not have been comfortable in either half of the inning in ’04.

4. David Howard ∙ SS ∙ 1996 ∙ 77 wOBA+
.267 wOBA/.219 AVG/.291 OBP/.305 SLG/52 OPS+

Howard was a longtime Royal (1991—97) but ’96 was his only year as a regular. He handled shortstop for 135 games, and apparently did well in the field (third among AL SS in total zone, fourth in range factor, and first in fielding percentage). Hitting was a different story.

3. Angel Berroa ∙ SS ∙ 2006 ∙ 77 wOBA+
.257 wOBA/.234 AVG/.259 OBP/.333 SLG/52 OPS+

Berroa joined the Royals as a part of the seven-player, three-team trade that sent Johnny Damon from KC to Oakland in 2001. He made the Royals think they may have finally found a long-term solution at shortstop when he was named Rookie of the Year in 2003. But Berroa would never find his 2003 form again, and by 2006 he seemed completely lost.

2. Jose Lind ∙ 2B ∙ 1993 ∙ 76 wOBA+
.252 wOBA/.248 AVG/.271 OBP/.288 SLG/47 OPS+

Baseball Reference claims Lind is former Royal Onex Concepcion’s cousin. So there’s that.

And the worst offensive season in Royals history is…

1. Neifi Perez ∙ SS ∙ 2002 ∙ 74 wOBA+
.243 wOBA/.236 AVG/.260 OBP/.303 SLG/44 OPS+

A name that will forever live in infamy for Royals fans, Perez came to the Royals in a straight-up trade for Jermaine Dye in July 2001. Dye would put up 9.4 FanGraphs Wins Above Replacement (fWAR) in his career after the trade, while Perez was worth -3.5 fWAR in one and a quarter seasons with the Royals. Trades don’t get worse than that, and seasons don’t get worse than Perez’s 2002.