St. Louis, Missouri: Baseball Heaven

Rob Dunning

As we dive into the 2015 playoffs, I’ve noticed a lot of headlines popping up surrounding all of the teams, mostly the teams in the National League.

The Pirates had wrongfully claimed that this is the year they finally get over the hump, the Mets have a team that could possibly go to the World Series (pause for gagging), the Dodgers have the best 1-2 punch in all of baseball, everyone outside of Kansas City still hates the Royals, and Toronto seems to be everyone’s sexy World Series pick.

Source: @Cardinals on Twitter

Then there is that team out in St. Louis, just calmly going about their business. You know, with the best record in all of baseball. It’s not a big deal though, right?

Commonly known as “The Cardinal Way," St. Louis does nothing flashy. Nothing with any sort of uniqueness or flare. It is just good, old-fashioned, National League style baseball that will force you to turn the clock back. Executing everything to perfection and not being selfish in any sort of manner, St. Louis has become well known for obtaining players with the right mentality to succeed. As quoted by first baseman Matt Adams (who I’ll talk a little more about later) from Nick Ostiller of sidelineapps.com, "They draft guys they can develop and are the [Cardinals'] type of player. That's the big thing, knowing that if you get drafted by the Cardinals, you know you are going to have a chance to come up through the organization and play in the big leagues with them."

The Cardinals continue to amaze the baseball world with the amount of production they are able to receive from “unsung” players as well as players who sort of fit their style of being gritty and hard-working. My fellow writer Nick Mandarano and I have had this discussion multiple times about how the Cardinals are just able to milk every last drop of talent out of these guys in regards to helping the team. It has led to the discussion of proclaiming them as “the best organization in sports, from top to bottom.”

And it’s absolutely correct.

The scouting, the management, the front office, the ownership, it is all executed perfectly, and everything just seems to go this teams way. Whether that being the passing of the reigns from Tony La Russa to Mike Matheny, or from player to player, one guy goes down, another guy picks him up; it’s as simple as that. What people don’t understand, however, is that it is not that easy, but this team just finds a way to do it, no matter who it is. Maybe that’s why they’ve made four consecutive NLCS appearances. Everytime I watch a Cardinals game, it’s a new guy picking up right where the other left off.

We’re going to turn the clock back in time to 2012. The Cardinals were coming off a year in which they “shocked” (don’t use that term with this team) the baseball world by beating the Rangers in seven games to win the World Series. Their shortstop, Rafael Furcal, was an important piece to that team in 2011, but got hurt in 2012. What did the Cardinals do? They called up prospect Pete Kozma to the major league roster. Kozma was not a big time prospect, but he played so well down the stretch in 2012 that manager Mike Matheny gave him the nod in the playoffs. A guy with sure hands at short but a quiet bat, Kozma ended up delivering when it mattered most with a go-ahead single in Washington that sent the Cardinals to the 2012 NLCS. Now, he continues to play a vital role on the Cardinals as a dependable backup infielder.

That same season, we saw the rise of another young stud for the Cardinals -- Trevor Rosenthal. The scouting for the Cardinals really paid dividends on this one as Rosenthal was 21st round draft pick in 2009 from the almighty baseball powerhouse, Cowley County Community College. Rosenthal soared through the Cardinals minor league system to reach the bigs in 2012, and man did he light up the radar gun. Consistently pumping fastball after fastball that at most touched 100 mph, he became a vital arm out of the bullpen in 2012, striking out roughly half of the batters he faced that postseason. Now, Rosenthal is cemented as the Cardinals closer, consistently reaching 40 saves and getting voted into All-Star games with ease.

The two guys that stand out above all the rest have got to be the corner infielders, Matt Carpenter and Matt Adams. Carpenter was a 13th round selection from Texas Christian University (TCU) and Adams was a 23rd round selection from Slippery Rock University, both in 2009. What makes these two stand out above all the rest? It’s the guys they took over for. David Freese was the hero in St. Louis during their magical 2011 season, taking home both NLCS and World Series MVP honors, and Albert Pujols is quite possibly the greatest hitter this generation has ever seen. Both of those two guys are in Los Angeles now, while Adams and Carpenter are thriving in St. Louis. Adams had a couple monstrous homeruns for the Cardinals in the 2014 postseason, a couple off Clayton Kershaw, and Carpenter took home a Silver Slugger in 2013 and has made a couple All Star appearances. Carpenter is again having a good season with a stat line of .269/28/84 and a .362 OBP. However, Adams has been hurt the majority of the year. Want to know the irony here? Mark Reynolds and Brandon Moss did just fine at first base for the Cardinals in his absence.

A couple more guys that I’d like to mention here because they fit the point I’m trying to get across are:

• Jason Heyward: an underachieving, yet highly talented outfielder they picked up from Atlanta for Shelby Miller (not like they need him, they’ll find someone else). Solid season with .288 AVG, 12 HR, 56 RBI and an excellent .354 OBP.
• Randal Grichuk: former first round pick who has blossomed with the Cardinals before an injury. Hitting .280 with 17 HR’s and 47 RBI’s with a respectable .332 OBP. The main point here is that he filled in prominently for slugger Matt Holliday.
• Carlos Martinez: highly touted pitcher signed with Red Sox out of the Dominican Republic in 2009, until his contract was eventually voided due to mishaps with birth name/date. He eventually signed with the Cardinals in 2010, rose through their farm systems, and has become a great young pitcher, resulting in an All-Star appearance in 2015.
• Michael Wacha: highly touted pitching prospect that made debut in 2013 after being selected in the first round in 2012. Took home NLCS MVP honors in 2013.
• Stephen Piscotty: another first round pick from 2012, he filled in along with Grichuk while Holiday was injured. Produced to the line of .310/7/39 and a .365 OBP until he got injured.
• Jason Motte: a catcher turned closer that helped the Cardinals win the World Series in 2011.

An even more astonishing truth that comes out of St. Louis is the guys who leave there and feel as though they left all of their baseball talent at the Busch Stadium facilities. Allen Craig was an effective player for the Cardinals, and helped them win a World Series in 2011 with his versatility and bat. Now, he has the reputation as a September call-up with Boston, and was demoted several times earlier this season. Colby Rasmus has somewhat regained his form with the Astros, but the Rasmus we saw with the Blue Jays is so forgettable. When Rasmus was stinking it up north of the border, I’m sure he was missing all the Budweiser and success that came in St. Louis. Joe Kelly, the other guy in that trade with Allen Craig, has finally stepped away from the term “inconsistent” and has been one of the few bright spots on a bleak Boston season. However, Kelly still had a much greater effect out of the bullpen for the Cardinals than he did in the rotation for the Sox. Hell, even Daniel Descalso was an effective role player for the Cardinals on their World Series team. Now, he can barely crack the lineup in Denver filled with no names outside Arenado and Cargo.

Then again, this is the whole point of my argument; that something goes on St. Louis that is close to the term “magical.” Love em’ or hate em’, there is a certain level of respect that you have to give to the Redbirds for how they execute the game, manage their team, and develop their players. As a Mets fan, this organization has caused me so much pain in the past that I hate to give them so much credibility, but there is a fine line between hate and respect, and respect is a word you better use when you describe the St. Louis Cardinals.

After all, they are the best organization in sports.

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