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4 Series aces for Cards: Gibson, Porter, Eckstein, Freese

Posted in Games, Hitters, Pitchers on October 28, 2013| Leave a Comment »

(Updated Dec. 7, 2024)

One of the most exclusive Cardinals clubs is the one in which membership requires a World Series Most Valuable Player Award.

Four Cardinals have earned the honor: Bob Gibson (twice), Darrell Porter, David Eckstein and David Freese.

Because a World Series most valuable player first was named in 1955 (Dodgers pitcher Johnny Podres), that left out Cardinals candidates from St. Louis’ World Series championship teams of 1926, 1931, 1934, 1942, 1944 and 1946.

Gibson is one of four players to twice be awarded a World Series MVP. The others: Sandy Koufax (1963 and 1965), Reggie Jackson (1973 and 1977) and Corey Seager (2020 and 2023).

In chronological order, a look at the Cardinals’ World Series MVP Award winners:

BOB GIBSON, 1964

Key stats: Three starts, 2-1 record, 3.00 ERA and 31 strikeouts in 27 innings.

Behind the numbers: In winning Games 5 and 7, Gibson relied on his fastball. He struck out 13 Yankees in 10 innings in Game 5 and nine in Game 7.

Fun fact: Gibson established a record with his 31 strikeouts in a World Series, breaking the mark of 28 set by Bill Dinneen of the 1903 Red Sox. Gibson struck out Mickey Mantle five times during the Series.

Best quote: “I was committed to this fellow’s heart more than anything else.” Cardinals manager Johnny Keane to the Associated Press, explaining why he stuck with a tiring Gibson in Game 7.

BOB GIBSON, 1967

Key stats: Three starts, 3-0 record, 1.00 ERA and 26 strikeouts in 27 innings.

Behind the numbers: Gibson held the Red Sox to a total of 14 hits in winning Games 1, 4 and 7. The 14 hits allowed were the fewest for three complete games in a World Series since Christy Mathewson yielded the same with the 1905 Giants.

Fun fact: Gibson hit a home run in Game 7.

Best quote: “Nothing. I gave the ball to Gibson.” _ Cardinals manager Red Schoendienst to the Associated Press when asked what he said to his team before Game 7.

DARRELL PORTER, 1982

Key stats: .286 batting mark (8-for-28), five RBI.

Behind the numbers: In the sixth inning of Game 2, the Brewers led, 4-2, and were close to clinching a second consecutive win in St. Louis. But Porter produced a two-out, two-run double, tying the score, and the Cardinals rallied to win the game. Porter hit a two-run home run in Game 6 and his run-scoring single in the eighth inning of Game 7 gave St. Louis a crucial insurance run.

Fun fact: Two years earlier, in the 1980 World Series while with the Royals, Porter batted just .143 (2-for-14).

Best quote: “I haven’t had a drink in two and a half years, or any pot or pills. I feel wonderful. I think I’ll go fishing.” _ Darrell Porter to United Press International.

DAVID ECKSTEIN, 2006

Key stats: .364 batting mark (8-for-22), four RBI, three runs.

Behind the numbers: In Game 4, with the Tigers ahead, 3-2, Eckstein led off the seventh with a double and scored the tying run. An inning later, in what Sports Illustrated described as a “Series-changing at bat,” he broke a 4-4 tie with a two-out double that scored Aaron Miles from second with the winning run. In the decisive Game 5, Eckstein gave St. Louis a 1-0 lead with a RBI-single in the third, drove in the winning run in the fourth and scored in the seventh.

Fun fact: Eckstein became the third player to start at shortstop for two different World Series champions (2002 Angels and 2006 Cardinals). The others: Dick Groat (1960 Pirates and 1964 Cardinals) and Everett Scott (1915, 1916 and 1918 Red Sox and 1923 Yankees).

Best quote: “He’s the toughest guy I’ve ever seen in a uniform.” _ Cardinals manager Tony La Russa, describing Eckstein to the Associated Press.

DAVID FREESE, 2011

Key stats: .348 batting mark (8-for-23), seven RBI, five walks, four runs.

Behind the numbers: His two-run triple with two outs in the ninth inning of Game 6 tied the score, 7-7, and his home run leading off the 11th gave St. Louis an epic 10-9 victory. In Game 7, his two-run double with two outs in the first tied the score, 2-2, and sparked St. Louis to the championship.

Fun fact: Freese hit safely in 16 of his 17 postseason games in 2011.

Best quote: “No dream is as good as this.” _ David Freese to USA Today.

Recalling his Game 6 walkoff homer in an interview for the 2016 Cardinals Yearbook, Freese said, “Right when the ball left, I remember telling myself to slow down and soak this all in. I wanted to enjoy it with my teammates and the fans … I remember rounding second, peeking into the dugout and seeing how fired up all the guys were coming to home plate … It was just an incredible feeling to have everybody waiting for you, and seeing that kind of excitement from grown men. That takes it to a whole new level.”

As for spiking his batting helmet as he approached the plate, Freese said, “I was so pumped up that I just wanted to make some noise somehow.”

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Dane Iorg excelled as World Series DH for Cardinals

Posted in Games, Hitters on October 25, 2013| 1 Comment »

In 1982, when the Cardinals first used a designated hitter in a World Series, Dane Iorg delivered.

A left-handed batter, Iorg, 32, was a reserve outfielder and first baseman for the 1982 Cardinals. He made 62 starts in the outfield and five at first base that season.

Iorg would have been a pinch-hitter in the 1982 World Series versus the Brewers if not for the designated hitter rule. In 1982, Major League Baseball allowed teams to use the DH in every World Series game.

Used as the designated hitter in five of the World Series games (manager Whitey Herzog went with Gene Tenace in Game 1 and Lonnie Smith in Game 5), Iorg batted .529 (9-for-17) with four runs scored. Five of his hits were for extra bases (four doubles and a triple).

In Game 6, Iorg had a double and triple versus Don Sutton and a double against Doc Medich.

Dave Nightingale, in his story in The Sporting News about that game, wrote, “Dane who? The same Dane Iorg who led all Series hitters in slugging percentage (.929) after six games? The same Dane Iorg who has spent more than a few sleepless nights wondering if he was good enough to play major league baseball; who thinks World Series pressure is a piece of cake compared to the strain of trying to make a ballclub in spring training? Yeah, that Dane Iorg.”

Described by columnist Bill Conlin as the “Cardinals’ sweet-swinging DH hero,” Iorg finished the Series with a slugging percentage of .882, the best of any hitter on either club.

In a 2007 interview with the Topeka Capital-Journal, Iorg said, “I always loved playing in the big game and I always wanted to be up there with the game on the line.”

Cardinals designated hitters batted .429 (12-for-28) in the 1982 World Series; their Brewers counterparts hit .125 (3-for-24).

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Yadier Molina played in 4 World Series for Cardinals

Posted in Games, Hitters, Pitchers on October 18, 2013| Leave a Comment »

(Updated Dec. 21, 2024)

In 2013, catcher Yadier Molina became the first Cardinals player in 67 years to appear in four World Series for them.

Molina played in the 2004, 2006, 2011 and 2013 World Series.

In 21 World Series games, Molina batted .328 with 12 RBI. He hit .412 in the 2006 World Series versus the Tigers and .333 with nine RBI in the 2011 World Series against the Rangers.

As importantly, Molina’s strong arm and ability to manage a game on the field were attributes that helped the club become champions.

In an article he did for the 2019 Cardinals Yearbook, Tony La Russa, the manager for the World Series champion Cardinals clubs of 2006 and 2011, said, “I truly believe Yadier Molina was the key guy on both championship teams I managed with the St. Louis Cardinals … It comes down to pitching, and Yadi, along with our pitching coach Dave Duncan, was truly incredible guiding our staff through those Series … making the important calls, giving them confidence and helping to keep them calm. Then there was Yadi’s impact at the plate those postseasons _ his hitting was huge.”

In a November 2019 interview with broadcaster Dan McLaughlin, former Cardinals catcher Ted Simmons said Molina’s throwing skill was comparable to Johnny Bench and Carlton Fisk. Simmons called Molina “an extraordinary player” who “runs the game like no other I’ve ever seen.”

“Yadi has the ability to be the hitting instructor, pitching coach, manager and catcher,” said Simmons. “What is extraordinary about him is he could do them all at the same time. I’m not exaggerating.

“He can literally take young pitchers and force them to pitch above their skill set,” Simmons said. “… He will never let a young pitcher just give up. It’s how he makes really special pitchers out of ordinary ones. If a good pitcher pitches to Yadi, he has a chance of being a great pitcher. Yadi makes them do things that they don’t think they can do.”

Simmons also told the 2019 Cardinals Yearbook, “I’ve seen … all the great catchers going back to watching (Yogi) Berra on TV when I was a kid. (Molina) is the best I ever saw, the best defender. I wish I had his ability to throw.”

Until Molina, the last to play in four World Series for the Cardinals were Whitey Kurowski, Marty Marion and Stan Musial. Each played in the World Series of 1942, 1943, 1944 and 1946.

Molina is the 11th player (and first catcher) to appear in four World Series for St. Louis. In chronological order, a look at the 10 others who achieved the feat:

_ Jim Bottomley, 1926, 1928, 1930, 1931 World Series: The Hall of Fame first baseman, a career .310 hitter, batted .200 in 24 World Series games for St. Louis. He was spectacular in the 1926 World Series against the Yankees, hitting .345. He was 8-for-61 in the three World Series after that, including 1-for-22 with nine strikeouts in the 1930 matchup against the Athletics.

_ Chick Hafey, 1926, 1928, 1930, 1931 World Series: Like Bottomley, this Hall of Fame outfielder mostly was a World Series flop with St. Louis. A career .317 hitter, he batted .205 with two RBI and 19 strikeouts in 23 World Series games for the Cardinals. Hafey did produce five doubles in six games in the 1930 World Series.

_ Jesse Haines, 1926, 1928, 1930, 1934 World Series: The Hall of Fame pitcher was 3-1 with a 1.67 ERA in six World Series games for St. Louis. In 1926, he won Game 3 with a five-hit shutout of the Yankees and he started and won the epic Game 7 in which Grover Cleveland Alexander earned the save. He also recorded a complete-game win against Lefty Grove and the Athletics in Game 4 in 1930. Haines was 41 when he appeared in relief for St. Louis in Game 4 of the 1934 World Series versus the Tigers.

_ Bill Hallahan, 1926, 1930, 1931, 1934 World Series: The left-hander was 3-1 with a 1.36 ERA in seven World Series games for the Cardinals. In 1931, Hallahan earned two wins and a save against the Athletics. He had an 0.49 ERA, yielding one run in 18.1 innings. Hallahan pitched a three-hit shutout in Game 2, won Game 5 with another complete game and got the save in Game 7 when he relieved starter Burleigh Grimes with two outs and two on in the ninth and got Max Bishop to fly out to center.

_ Flint Rhem, 1926, 1928, 1930, 1931 World Series: The right-hander was 0-1 with a 6.10 ERA in four World Series games for St. Louis. In Game 4 of the 1926 World Series, Babe Ruth hit two home runs off Rhem.

_ Frankie Frisch, 1928, 1930, 1931, 1934 World Series: The Hall of Fame second baseman was player-manager of the 1934 champions. In Game 7 that year, Frisch hit a three-run double off Tigers starter Elden Auker in an 11-0 victory.

_ Ernie Orsatti, 1928, 1930, 1931, 1934 World Series: The outfielder, who spent his entire nine-year big-league career with the Cardinals, hit .273 in 13 World Series games for St. Louis. Orsatti, the starting center fielder in 1934, hit .318 with three walks in that year’s World Series.

_ Whitey Kurowski, 1942, 1943, 1944, 1946 World Series: In 1946, the third baseman tied with Enos Slaughter for the Cardinals World Series lead in hits, with eight. In 23 World Series games for St. Louis, Kurowski hit .253 with nine RBI.

_ Marty Marion, 1942, 1943, 1944, 1946 World Series: The shortstop hit just one home run during the 1943 regular season, but he belted a homer against Tiny Bonham in Game 2 of the 1943 World Series at Yankee Stadium. Marion hit .357 in that Series. In 23 World Series games for St. Louis, Marion hit .231.

_ Stan Musial, 1942, 1943, 1944, 1946 World Series: The Hall of Fame outfielder’s best World Series performance was in 1944 when he batted .304 versus the Browns. Musial hit his lone career World Series home run that year against Sig Jakucki in Game 4. In 23 World Series games, The Man batted .256 with 12 walks and eight RBI.

Previously: Yadier Molina: Most RBI in a World Series game by Cards catcher

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How Cardinals pursued trade for Don Mattingly

Posted in Executives, Hitters, Trades on October 11, 2013| 2 Comments »

(Updated Oct. 23, 2020)

If general manager Dal Maxvill had been willing to part with pitcher Joe Magrane, Don Mattingly might have been a first baseman for the Cardinals instead of spending his entire playing career with the Yankees.

In 1988, Mattingly was feuding publicly with Yankees owner George Steinbrenner. That fueled media speculation the Yankees were willing to trade Mattingly, who expressed interest in the Cardinals because of the proximity of St. Louis to his hometown of Evansville, Ind.

“Growing up in Evansville, I was a fan of the St. Louis Cardinals,” Mattingly told the New York Daily News.

The Cardinals admitted interest in pursuing a deal. Media reports suggested the Yankees would want shortstop Ozzie Smith or center fielder Willie McGee in return, but the player New York apparently wanted most was Magrane, who at the time was St. Louis’ prized pitching phenom.

No respect

In August 1988, Mattingly, 27, was a five-time all-star who had earned an American League Most Valuable Player Award, one batting title and three Gold Glove awards, but he became disgruntled with the way he believed Steinbrenner was treating Yankees players.

“The players get no respect around here,” Mattingly said to the Associated Press. “They (management) give you money, that’s it. Not respect. Money is not respect.”

Reports spread quickly that an angry Steinbrenner intended to trade Mattingly. The Cardinals, who had just acquired first baseman Pedro Guerrero from the Dodgers, were willing to move Guerrero to left field and open the job at first base for Mattingly.

“I see where Mattingly wants to go to St. Louis,” Cardinals manager Whitey Herzog said to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. “That takes care of us. Steinbrenner sure wouldn’t trade him where he wants to go. You know what I mean? He’d say, ‘I’ll show him. I’ll trade him to Seattle.’ ”

Still, baseball writers produced a stream of reports that speculated on a deal between the Yankees and Cardinals.

On Sept. 4, 1988, Rick Hummel of the Post-Dispatch wrote, “The Cardinals have some players in which the Yankees would seem interested. Certainly the Yankees would want a starting pitcher. Joe Magrane probably is unavailable. But Greg Mathews, if he shows he has recovered from elbow surgery, might be.”

Hummel suggested several possible packages to land Mattingly, including Mathews, McGee and catcher Tony Pena, or Mathews and Ozzie Smith.

About a month later, under the Post-Dispatch headline, “Maxvill Says He’ll Pursue Mattingly,” the general manager told Hummel, “I definitely want to talk to them.”

Wizard a Yankee?

Two days later, in a column that rocked Cardinals Nation, Tom Wheatley of the Post-Dispatch opined, “Ozzie Smith must go. And if the Wizard of Oz can be used as bait to land a whopper such as Don Mattingly, all the better.”

Maxvill said he made more inquiries about acquiring Mattingly, but he told Hummel, ‘I don’t think they’re interested in moving him as much as everybody thinks. That’s what I thought before and it’s been reinforced to me.”

Just when it appeared the possibility of a trade had waned, Murray Chass of the New York Times, citing an anonymous American League club executive, reported the Cardinals, Cubs, Padres or Giants were close to making a deal for Mattingly.

Wrote Chass: “If the Cardinals, for example, were really serious about the pursuit of Mattingly, they would have to offer the Yankees Joe Magrane … The Cardinals, however, will not offer Magrane; therefore, no deal.”

Magrane, 24, was the National League earned-run average leader (2.18) in 1988, his second season with St. Louis.

In December 1988, the Post-Dispatch reported why a deal for Mattingly appeared dead: “Maxvill said the New York Yankees never had asked seriously about acquiring (Ozzie) Smith in a Don Mattingly deal. Pitcher Joe Magrane’s name, on the other hand, did come up in discussions with the Yankees. But Maxvill said the Cardinals would be highly reluctant to part with him.”

Magrane achieved a career-high 18 wins for the 1989 Cardinals. Mattingly stayed with the Yankees and completed his 14-season big-league career with them in 1995. He finished with a .307 career batting mark and 2,153 hits.

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How Andy Pafko gave Cardinals inside-the-glove homer

Posted in Games, Hitters, Opponents on October 9, 2013| 5 Comments »

(Updated April 30, 2020)

Stan Musial had such respect for the arm of Andy Pafko he included the National League veteran as part of the best-throwing outfield he’d ever seen.

Because he didn’t use that arm, Pafko committed a blunder that literally handed the Cardinals a comeback victory against the Cubs.

Wild ninth

Pafko was in center field for a Saturday afternoon game, April 30, 1949, against the Cardinals at Chicago’s Wrigley Field.

Behind the pitching of starter Bob Rush, who threw what the St. Louis Post-Dispatch described as a “crackling fastball and corner-cutting curve,” the Cubs entered the ninth inning with a 3-1 lead.

With Enos Slaughter on second base and two outs, Rush was on the verge of a victory until Eddie Kazak hit a pitch off his fists and looped a single to short left, scoring Slaughter and narrowing the Cubs’ lead to 3-2. Chuck Diering ran for Kazak and Rocky Nelson, a rookie first baseman, stepped to the plate for St. Louis.

With Pafko shaded toward right for the left-handed batter, Nelson lined the ball to left-center.

“Even though the ball was slicing away from him in a deep part of the park, his quick start and fleet legs enabled him to gain on the drive,” the Post-Dispatch reported. “Pafko lunged to his right, his gloved hand thrust outward in a bid for a backhanded catch.”

Pafko skidded across the grass before he “flung up his hand, clutching the ball, in a gesture of triumph,” the Post-Dispatch noted.

Umpire Al Barlick ruled Pafko trapped the ball, signaling with his hands extended and palms down in a safe call.

Diering and Nelson raced around the basepaths.

Great debate

According to The Sporting News, “Instead of throwing in the ball with his superb arm, Pafko, the ball still lodged in the webbing of his glove, came running in to second base to join the swarm of Cubs who were rushing toward Barlick.”

As Pafko held the ball, Diering scored the tying run and Nelson was waved toward the plate by third-base coach Tony Kauffman.

Pafko, unwilling to believe the no-catch ruling, waited too long before throwing the ball to the plate. The ball hit Nelson in the left shoulder as he was crossing the plate with the winning run.

Cubs fans protested by throwing objects, including cushions, fruit and vegetables, onto the field.

The stunned Cubs were retired in order by closer Ted Wilks in the bottom of the ninth and the Cardinals won, 4-3. Boxscore

The Sporting News summed up the game as probably the first in the history of big-league baseball “decided by what they describe not as an inside-the-park homer but as an in-the-glove homer.”

Two years later, June 1951, Pafko was dealt to the Dodgers, giving Brooklyn an outfield of Pafko in left, Duke Snider in center and Carl Furillo in right.

In his book “Stan Musial: The Man’s Own Story,” Musial said with Pafko, Snider and Furillo “the Dodgers had the best-throwing outfield I ever saw.”

“Andy was a strong hitter, a strong-armed fielder and good defensively,” Musial said. “He was steady, gave you a good day’s work.”

Playing for the Cubs, Dodgers and Braves from 1943-59, Pafko batted .285 with 213 home runs and 1,796 hits. In 258 games against the Cardinals, Pafko hit .273 with 22 homers and 120 RBI.

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An inside look into the last game for Stan Musial

Posted in Games, Hitters, Opponents on September 28, 2013| Leave a Comment »

Snapshots from Stan Musial’s last game, Sept. 29, 1963, when the Reds played the Cardinals at St. Louis:

Mass and McMahon

Musial attended Mass that Sunday morning at St. Raphael the Archangel Catholic Church near his St. Louis home. He drove to the ballpark with his friend, actor Horace McMahon, who was visiting from Connecticut, The Sporting News reported. McMahon had received an Emmy nomination for his role as a detective in the TV show “Naked City.” Musial was godfather to McMahon’s son.

Visit with Ducky

After parking his steel blue Cadillac, Musial entered the ballpark at 10:50 a.m. One of the first to greet him in the clubhouse was Joe Medwick, a slugger for the Cardinals from 1932-40. “Fellows,” Musial said to the reporters on scene, “this is the guy I replaced as regular left fielder 22 years ago.”

Salute to Shannon

When Cardinals outfielders Gary Kolb, 23, and Mike Shannon, 24, walked by, Musial asked them to stop and sit with him. With Kolb on one side of the retiring legend and Shannon on the other, Musial said to reporters, “And these are my protégés who’ll replace me next year.”

Sharp tune-up

Entering the field wearing the familiar No. 6 on his jersey, Musial went directly to the batting cage. Bill White stepped aside for Musial, who took his swings against Lloyd Merritt, a St. Louis native who pitched for the Cardinals in 1957. Musial hit Merritt’s last batting-practice toss onto the pavilion roof in right field.

Reds rooters

When he left the cage, Musial was greeted by Reds veterans Joe Nuxhall and Frank Robinson and rookie Pete Rose. Nuxhall and Robinson brought baseballs for Musial to sign. Rose shook hands with Musial and wished him well.

Diamonds are forever

During ceremonies before the game, Ken Boyer, the Cardinals’ captain, presented Musial with a gift from his teammates: a ring with six diamonds shaped in the number 6. In his book “Stan Musial: The Man’s Own Story,” Musial said, “Of all the gifts I’ve been given at one time or another, I believe I cherish most the ring … that was presented by my 1963 teammates. My world championship rings had been stolen from my house several years earlier.”

Feeling the strain

Musial opened the game in left field. In his 22-year Cardinals career, Musial played 929 games in left, the most of the three outfield positions. “My legs were wobbly from emotion and exhaustion as I trotted to the outfield to start my last game,” Musial said.

At-bat interruption

Facing Jim Maloney, a 23-game winner in 1963, Musial struck out on three pitches in the first inning. Musial didn’t swing at the first pitch. Umpire Al Barlick took the ball from catcher Johnny Edwards’ glove and gave it to Musial, who trotted over to a box seat and handed the ball to Sid Keener, director of the National Baseball Hall of Fame. Musial fouled off the next pitch and watched a curve snap in for strike three. Said Musial: “As I returned to the dugout, trainer Bob Bauman growled, ‘You weren’t bearing down up there.’ ”

No no-hitter

Maloney struck out six of the first 10 batters. When Musial came up in the fourth, the Cardinals were hitless. “I crouched low, trying to forget all else except the giant pitcher and the ball he fired so fast,” Musial said. With the count 1-and-1, Musial swung at a fastball, low and inside, and drilled it to the right of Rose at second base for a single.

The final swing

With Curt Flood at second in a scoreless game, Musial batted against Maloney in the sixth. Shadows covered the batting area. On a 2-and-1 pitch, Maloney threw a curve. “I picked up the spin of the ball in time,” Musial said. “My wrists whipped the bat down and in.” Musial grounded a RBI-single to right, his 3,630th hit.

Kolb relieves

Manager Johnny Keane lifted Musial for a pinch-runner, Kolb. It was the ninth time Kolb had been used as a pinch-runner for Musial, 42, in 1963. Kolb scored in the inning on a sacrifice fly by Charlie James, giving St. Louis a 2-0 lead. In the clubhouse, Musial told reporters, “I feel pretty good. Everyone was pulling for a home run, but I’m a singles hitter, so it seemed appropriate that I should go out with a pair of ’em.”

Classy warriors

After being replaced by a pinch-hitter in the eighth, Maloney went to the Cardinals clubhouse to congratulate Musial. When Musial saw Maloney enter, he said aloud, “Here’s a real tough guy. He had me worried.” Said Maloney to reporters: “I was glad to see him go out hitting.”

That’s a winner

The Cardinals won, 3-2, in 14 innings. Boxscore The Cardinals had won by the same score in Musial’s first game on Sept. 17, 1941. Like his finale, Musial had two hits in his debut game.

Holy cow

After saying more farewells, Musial did a post-game interview with Harry Caray for radio station KMOX. Musial told Caray that Warren Spahn was the best pitcher he faced in his career and Willie Mays was the best all-around player.

Celebration

At 7:45 p.m., nine hours after he had arrived, Musial left the ballpark, stopped home briefly and went with his family to a party in his honor at the restaurant he owned with business partner Biggie Garagnani. Among those attending the party were U.S. senator Stuart Symington, Missouri governor John Dalton and St. Louis mayor Raymond Tucker.

The next day, Musial and his wife, Lil, took a flight to New York to attend the World Series. Musial, dressed in a suit and with Joe DiMaggio at his side, threw the ceremonial first pitch on Oct. 2 before Game 1 between the Dodgers and Yankees. From there, the Musials went to Fort Riley, Kan., to get their first look at their first grandchild, Jeff, who was born Sept. 10.

Previously: Stan Musial and the Cardinals’ most iconic moments

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