(Updated July 1, 2022)
Batting leadoff for one of the few times in his Cardinals career, Mark Grudzielanek hit for the cycle.
On April 27, 2005, Grudzielanek, a second baseman in his lone season with St. Louis, became the 15th Cardinal to hit for the cycle, collecting a home run, triple, double and single against the Brewers at Busch Memorial Stadium.
Grudzielanek is one of three Cardinals to hit for the cycle at Busch Memorial Stadium, the team’s home from 1966-2005. The other two to do so _ Lou Brock in 1975 against the Padres and Ray Lankford in 1991 versus the Mets _ also batted leadoff in those games.
A right-handed batter, Grudzielanek was the first Cardinal to hit for the cycle since John Mabry did it against the Rockies at Denver in 1996.
Mabry, a reserve with the 2005 Cardinals, witnessed Grudzielanek’s performance. “I was hoping for him to get it,” Mabry told MLB.com. “They say it’s more rare than a no-hitter. It’s special.”
The cycle by Grudzielanek was the 16th in Cardinals history. Ken Boyer is the only Cardinal to achieve the feat twice (in 1961 and 1964). Joining Boyer, Brock, Lankford, Mabry and Grudzielanek as Cardinals who hit for the cycle: Cliff Heathcote (1918), Jim Bottomley (1927), Chick Hafey (1930), Pepper Martin (1933), Joe Medwick (1935), Johnny Mize (1940), Stan Musial (1949), Bill White (1960), Joe Torre (1973) and Willie McGee (1984).
On July 1, 2022, Nolan Arenado became the first Cardinal since Grudzielanek to hit for the cycle. Arenado did it against the Phillies at Philadelphia.
Top of the order
Shortstop David Eckstein normally batted leadoff and Grudzielanek sixth for the 2005 Cardinals. When manager Tony La Russa rested Eckstein against the Brewers on April 27, he put Grudzielanek in the leadoff spot against right-hander Victor Santos. Grudzielanek entered the game 7-for-16 (all singles) in his career versus Santos.
In the bottom of the first, Grudzielanek led off with a home run. He singled in the second.
With Santos still pitching, Grudzielanek hit a RBI-double in the fourth.
“It seemed like everything I threw to him he was right on it,” Santos said to the Associated Press. “As soon as I made a mistake, boom, he was right on it.”
Tough task
To complete the cycle, Grudzielanek needed a triple, or “the baseball equivalent of making an inside straight,” wrote Matthew Leach of MLB.com.
In his previous three seasons with the Dodgers (2002) and Cubs (2003-04), Grudzielanek had produced a total of two triples.
Facing left-hander Jorge De La Rosa in the sixth with one out and the bases empty, Grudzielanek said, “I was just trying to come up there and have the same approach that I did the previous at-bats and try to hit the ball hard.”
With the count 0-and-2, Grudzielanek sliced a shot down the right-field line. The ball eluded right fielder Geoff Jenkins and rolled into the corner as Grudzielanek steamed into third with the coveted triple. Video
“I saw (Jenkins) try to cut it off and saw it squeeze by and I thought, ‘Got to go,’ ” Grudzielanek told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. “It’s just weird how it worked out.”
In the eighth, Grudzielanek grounded out against left-hander Tommy Phelps. He finished 4-for-5 with three runs and two RBI in a 6-3 Cardinals victory. The win boosted the Cardinals’ record to 14-5, their best start since the 1968 team had the same mark. Boxscore
Grudzielanek batted leadoff six times in 2005, hitting .381 (8-for-21). Overall, he hit .294 for the 2005 Cardinals, with 155 hits in 137 games.
RetroSimba 
[…] April 27th, 2005 […]
Only Lou Brock was older when he hit for the cycle. Mark was 15 for 26 lifetime against Victor Santos and Jorge De La Rosa.
Thanks. Indeed, Lou Brock was 35 when he hit for the cycle on May 27, 1975, three weeks before he turned 36. Mark Grudzielanek was 34 and two months away from turning 35 when he achieved the feat.