In February 2021, Cardinals president of baseball operations John Mozeliak answered questions submitted to him from members of the United Cardinal Bloggers. Through the efforts of Daniel Shoptaw, founder of the group, Mozeliak has been accessible to bloggers for many years.
In remembrance of the late Lou Brock and Bob Gibson, I asked Mozeliak if he would share anecdotes about them. Here is his response:
“When I think back to my time with both those individuals _ and, really, you have to throw Stan Musial and Red Schoendienst into that group _ it was so unique for those of us that have been with the organization over the years to be able to say hello or sit down and talk baseball with them.
“The one thing I will say about Lou and Bob was that anytime you talked baseball with them, I would always leave there going, ‘Wow, I just picked up some wisdom about this game.’
“Their baseball IQ was off the charts and they understood the game. And, even though they weren’t necessarily attending our games, they were still watching. If you asked them a question, they were always willing to answer.
“That’s what I admired most about both of them. They genuinely cared about this organization. They understood their place in history and for all of us that were fortunate enough to be around them we should consider ourselves very lucky.”
Here is a link to answers Mozeliak gave to questions from blogger colleague Eugene Tierney: More from Mozeliak.
Here are links to other insights Mozeliak offered in response to questions I got to ask him over the years:
_ On what it is like to be a Cardinals front-office executive.
_ On how he rates the success of player acquisitions.
_ On the Cardinals’ global strategy and international approach.
_ On the special challenges of the 2020 season just before it was learned the Cardinals had an outbreak of CoVid.
RetroSimba 
When I was young, I always wondered who would be the next Bob Gibson for the Cardinals.
And then one day after the 1970 season, I think….it suddenly hit me: there would never, ever be another ‘Bob Gibson’.
Well said. It’s hard for me to believe it has been 46 years since he last pitched. He remains such a prominent presence in the franchise. I hope he always will be.
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Unfortunately, the information Captain Bowtie received from them wasn’t properly processed. He is a total puppet moron.
The Cardinal organization isn’t going anywhere until DeWitt fires him and brings in someone with the acumen of a Whitey Herzog
Thanks for taking the time to comment, Steve. Like him or not as a baseball guy, John Mozeliak does look mahvelous in a bowtie. He told one interviewer he wears them as a tribute to his grandfather, who also wore them. For those interested in Mozeliak’s bowties and other fashion ideas, here’s a link to a q-and-a broadcaster Mike Claiborne did with him for Town and Style: https://townandstyle.com/off-the-cuff-with-claiborne-john-mozeliak/
All sports franchises have their good cycles and not so good cycles. While I am always one of the first to criticize the Cardinals, compared to a lot of MLB teams, we’ve had it pretty good here. What concerns me is the direction in which the game is going. Especially in regards to expanding the playoffs. Put together a team that’s capable of winning 81 games and your basically guaranteed of staying in contention for that last wildcard spot all year. It would really disappoint me if the current ownership lowers the standards of the “Cardinal Way” and just equates it with being competitive enough to pick up a wildcard spot.
Bingo! You nailed it, Phillip. I share those concerns. Baseball will ruin the regular season, make it as meaningless as exhibition games, if it expands the playoffs. It was a leap backward to have teams with losing records and barely .500 records make the playoffs in 2020. Some said it was a special case because of CoVid, but now we see owners want to expand the playoffs again in 2021. Look for the players’ union to give in again as the year goes on. Expanded playoffs will mean teams will need only to do enough to contend (not even qualify) for the last spot in the playoffs. It’s a disincentive to invest in trying to be the best. It will yield short-term gains with long-term damage.