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Manny Lee was a one-of-a-kind Cardinal.

In the long history of the franchise, Lee is the only Cardinal to play in just one game for them and have a 1.000 batting average.

A 10-year veteran of the American League and shortstop for the 1992 World Series champion Blue Jays, Lee made his Cardinals debut as their 1995 Opening Day second baseman _ and never appeared in another big-league game.

Caribbean to Canada

Manuel Lora Lee was from San Pedro de Macoris, a Dominican Republic city noted for its poets and baseball players. Joaquin Andujar, Rico Carty, Pedro Guerrero, Alfonso Soriano, Sammy Sosa, Fernando Tatis and his son, Fernando Tatis Jr., are some of the many big-league players who came from there.

Lee was 16 when Mets scout Eddy Toledo signed him for $2,000 in May 1982. A switch-hitting shortstop, Lee led the Class A South Atlantic League in hitting (.330) in 1984, his third season in the Mets’ farm system.

To get Ray Knight from the Astros, the Mets sent them Lee and two other prospects near the end of the 1984 season. When the Astros neglected to place Lee on their 40-man winter roster, the Blue Jays claimed him in December 1984.

Boston Globe columnist Peter Gammons noted, “Houston was furious that the Blue Jays took Manny Lee, but if he were one of the best prospects in the Astros’ organization, why didn’t they protect him?”

Rules required the Blue Jays to keep Lee in the big leagues in 1985, or offer him back to the Astros. When Lee, 19 reported to the Blue Jays at 1985 spring training, he weighed 141 pounds on a 5-foot-9 frame, the Toronto Star reported, but he showed enough in the field to make the jump from Class A to the majors. He was the only teen on a 1985 big-league Opening Day roster.

Used mostly as a defensive replacement and pinch-runner, Lee produced no RBI in 40 at-bats and had more strikeouts (nine) than hits (eight). Looking back on that rookie season, Lee told the Star, “I was too young. I was like a little baby.”

Infield shift

Shortstop was the position Lee liked best, but an all-star, Tony Fernandez, had that role with the Blue Jays. After splitting time between the majors and minors in 1986 and 1987, Lee became the Blue Jays’ second baseman in 1988. He hit .291 overall and .316 with runners in scoring position that season.

Though he led American League second basemen in fielding percentage in 1990, Lee sometimes bailed out on double play pivots and was criticized for “indifferent play,” according to the Star.

When the Blue Jays acquired second baseman Roberto Alomar from the Padres after the 1990 season in a trade that included Tony Fernandez, manager Cito Gaston chose Lee to be the shortstop. “We’ve got confidence in Manny,” Gaston told the Star. “He played a decent second base for us, and he was improving, but I think shortstop was in his heart. He loves playing shortstop. Now he’s got the job.”

Star columnist Dave Perkins wrote, “Returning to his natural position should take the whitecaps off Manny’s brainwaves; he never did take to second base, or at least the idea of it.”

At 1991 spring training, the Star described Lee as “the happiest Blue Jay in camp.”

The good vibes didn’t last throughout the season, though. Lee swung like a slugger, but became the first big-league player with 100 or more strikeouts (107) and no home runs.

Blue Jays fans booed “the much-maligned and often maddening shortstop,” the Star reported.

Highs and lows

Larry Hisle joined the 1992 Blue Jays as hitting coach and said the flaw in Lee’s batting approach was obvious. “There is a lot of movement in the upper body,” Hisle told the Star. “On some pitches, his head moves as much as 12 inches.”

At spring training, “I have spent more time with (Lee) than with any other player,” Hisle said. “He has listened and he has worked. I’m urging him to concentrate on putting the ball in play.”

Lee improved, producing a career-best .343 on-base percentage and hitting .330 with runners in scoring position for the 1992 Blue Jays. He also achieved the second-highest fielding percentage among American League shortstops and didn’t commit an error on a ground ball all season. According to the Star, Blue Jays coach Gene Tenace called Lee “one of the unsung heroes of this team.” Lee credited Hisle. “He gave me confidence,” Lee told the newspaper.

In Game 3 of the playoffs against the Athletics, Lee’s two-run triple with two outs in the seventh propelled the Blue Jays to victory. They went on to win the pennant and the World Series championship. Boxscore

Granted free agency, Lee got a two-year guaranteed $3.4 million contract from the Rangers, but his time in Texas didn’t begin well. In 1993, he clashed with manager Kevin Kennedy and had what the Fort Worth Star-Telegram described as “an injury-riddled, error-prone, turmoil-laden debut season with the Rangers.”

The next year, strike-shortened 1994, Lee did better. He hit .278 (second-best batting average of his big-league career) and .337 with runners in scoring position. Though primarily the shortstop, Lee also played second base for the first time in four years and made no errors in 108.1 innings there.

Opening and closing

The Cardinals took notice. After the strike ended on April 2, 1995, the Cardinals went looking for infield help. On April 18, a week before the start of the season, they signed two free agents _ Lee and Luis Rivera _ and had them compete for a spot on the Opening Day roster. Lee won the job, expecting to back up Ozzie Smith at short and Geronimo Pena at second.

However, two days before the season opener, Pena pulled a hamstring running to second base _ on a ground-rule double. Manager Joe Torre picked Lee, 29, to replace him.

“I never thought that I would be the Opening Day second baseman,” Lee said to the Belleville (Ill.) News-Democrat. “I feel comfortable here, relaxed. There’s no pressure on me any more.” He also told the newspaper that playing alongside Ozzie Smith was “a dream for me.”

The dream turned into a nightmare, though, in the season opener against the Phillies at St. Louis.

In batting practice, Lee’s line drive struck coach Gaylen Pitts in the chest. Though Pitts wasn’t seriously hurt _ “It didn’t get me in the heart,” he told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. “My heart is not big enough.” _ it was an omen of bad things ahead for Lee.

In the second inning, Phillies catcher Darren Daulton got an infield single on a ball Lee backhanded but couldn’t get out of his glove in time. In the third, pitcher Curt Schilling also got an infield hit on a bouncer to Lee, who again had trouble releasing the ball after fielding it and threw low and late to first.

Later in the inning, with Mickey Morandini the runner on second, Gregg Jefferies hit another bouncer toward Lee. “The ball glanced off the glove of Lee, who reached for it again and then tumbled flat on his back,” the Post-Dispatch reported. “Morandini, who had held at third, motored home” and Jefferies reached first on the error.

Adding injury to insult, Lee sprained his right ankle on the play. He received medical attention but stayed in the game.

Asked whether he should have made the plays on the grounders hit by Daulton, Schilling and Jefferies, Lee told the Post-Dispatch, “I used to, but I haven’t played second base for a full year.”

Leading off the bottom of the third in his first Cardinals plate appearance, Lee singled to left and eventually scored on a Scott Cooper single. After the inning, Lee was unable to continue on the sprained ankle and was replaced at second by Jose Oquendo.

Rick Hummel of the Post-Dispatch wrote, “It’s fairly probable that the Manny Lee Show at second base will have a short run.” Boxscore and Video

More to the story

Lee was placed on the 15-day disabled list and the Cardinals called up Tripp Cromer from the minors to replace him.

When Lee’s ankle healed, he played in 12 games for Cardinals farm clubs on an injury rehabilitation assignment. Ready to rejoin the Cardinals, he returned to St. Louis but was told the club was happy with Cromer. Lee was released and finished as a player.

In his quirky stint as a Cardinal, Lee had a higher batting average (1.000) than his fielding average (.800). As the Post-Dispatch noted, it “was a generous” .800.

According to baseball-reference.com, Lee remains the only Cardinal to play in just one game for them and have a 1.000 batting average.

Nine others have 1.000 batting averages as Cardinals, but all played in multiple games for them, according to baseball-reference.com. In alphabetical order, those nine are:

_ Bryan Augenstein, 2011, five games, one plate appearance, one hit.

_ Justin Burnette, 2000, four games, one plate appearance, one hit.

_ Eddie Fisher, 1973, six games, one plate appearance, one hit.

_ Larry Herndon, 1974, 12 games, one plate appearance, one hit.

_ Bob McClure, 1991-92, 103 games, one plate appearance, one hit.

_ Kevin Ohme, 2003, two games, one plate appearance, one hit.

_ Tige Stone, 1923, five games, three plate appearances, one hit, two walks.

_ Abe White, 1937, five games, one plate appearance, one hit.

_ Esteban Yan, 2003, 35 games, one plate appearance, one hit.

After his playing days, Lee stayed in the Dominican Republic. In August 2004, he was in the news there but not for baseball. Using a .38-caliber pistol, Lee shot and killed Edwin Gomez Vasquez, 28, who Lee suspected was trying to rob his residence in San Pedro de Macoris, the daily newspaper, Diario Libre, reported.

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Game 4 of the 2004 World Series was remarkable for more than the obvious reason. It was the game the Red Sox won to become World Series champions for the first time in 86 years. The magnitude of that achievement overshadowed another facet of that game: a drama that underscored the fortitude of the Cardinals’ rookie catcher, Yadier Molina.

Ever since his unplanned ascension from the minors to the Cardinals in June 2004, Molina faced a myriad of challenges, ranging from runners crashing into him at the plate to pitchers trying to embarrass him when he batted.

In his first World Series start, Molina encountered a different kind of test. Two of baseball’s prominent players, David Ortiz and Manny Ramirez, conspired to steal signs he was flashing to the pitcher.

Molina didn’t back down. Instead, the rookie intimidated the intimidators.

Climbing the ladder

After entering the Cardinals’ farm system in 2001, Molina made a steady rise. The 2004 season was his fourth year in the minors and his first at Class AAA Memphis.

Asked during 2004 spring training about Molina making the move to Class AAA, Cardinals director of player development Bruce Manno said to the Memphis Commercial Appeal, “Defensively, there’s no doubt in my mind (Molina) can play there. Offensively … we’ll see how he responds.”

Manno told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, “We would like to see him play the full season (with Memphis).”

Memphis manager Danny Sheaffer, a former big-league catcher who played three seasons (1995-97) with St. Louis, managed Molina at Class A Peoria in 2002. That year, Molina threw out 52 percent of runners attempting to steal and hit .280.

Sheaffer assured the Memphis newspaper that Molina was a good  hitter _ “He uses the whole field” _  and had superb catching skills. “There’s not a whole lot he needs to improve on to catch in the big leagues right now … He’s real special,” Sheaffer told the Commercial Appeal in May 2004. “He’s head and shoulders above where I was at his age … He’s got a chance to be a good one.”

Call for help

The adjustment to Class AAA was no problem for Molina. In 37 games with Memphis, he hit .302 and nailed 17 of 28 runners trying to steal.

“He’s our top catching prospect,” Bruce Manno told the Memphis newspaper. “We feel that at some point he’s going to make a major contribution to our club at the major league level.”

That time came sooner than the Cardinals and Molina expected. On June 2, 2004, Sheaffer woke Molina during the night to inform him he was going to the Cardinals. Starting catcher Mike Matheny strained a muscle under his right rib cage, necessitating a stint on the disabled list. Molina was called up to join backup Cody McKay (son of Cardinals coach Dave McKay) as the St. Louis catchers.

Molina phoned his brothers, Angels catchers Bengie and Jose, to inform them of his promotion. Never before had three brothers been in the big leagues at the same time as catchers, according to research done by the Post-Dispatch and Joe Hoppel of The Sporting News.

Join the club

Manager Tony La Russa put Molina in the starting lineup for his big-league debut on June 3, 2004, at Pittsburgh. Before the game, Molina told the Post-Dispatch, “I’m ready. This is the best day of my life.”

Molina, 21, was in synch with starting pitcher Woody Williams, 37, who worked six scoreless innings. In the second inning, when Abraham Nunez tried to score from second base on a two-out single to right, Molina made a diving tag to prevent the run. In the eighth, he threw out Jack Wilson attempting to steal second, a key play in helping to short-circuit a Pirates comeback bid.

At the plate, Molina stroked two hits _ a single in the fifth and a double in the seventh _ against starter Oliver Perez. After the double, Molina advanced to third on So Taguchi’s sacrifice bunt and scored the winning run on a sacrifice fly by Woody Williams. Video

(The focus of the game changed in the ninth when La Russa and Pirates manager Lloyd McClendon were ejected after getting into a shouting match.)

After the Cardinals won, 4-2, Molina was praised for his successful debut. “He’s got so much composure,” La Russa told the Post-Dispatch. “He plays like he’s got 10 years of experience.” Pitching coach Dave Duncan said to the reporter Rick Hummel, “He’s not intimidated by the major leaguers. He should do all right.” Boxscore

Good job

On June 23, 2004, a few days after Matheny came off the disabled list, the Cardinals sent Cody McKay to Memphis and kept Molina. Two days later, against the Royals, Molina collected three hits, including two against 20-year-old rookie starter Zack Greinke. Boxscore

Matheny remained the No. 1 catcher but La Russa mixed in starts for Molina, making sure he didn’t rust on the bench. As the summer unfolded, it became evident Molina belonged in the majors. In addition to his brothers, Molina was the latest in a long line of big-league catchers from Puerto Rico. Others in the game then included Sandy Alomar Jr., Javy Lopez, Jorge Posada, Ivan Rodriguez and Benito Santiago.

In explaining why so many accomplished catchers were Puerto Ricans, Molina told the Post-Dispatch, “To me the difference between the Americans and us is we want the hard job.”

On Aug. 7, with the score tied at 1-1 in the ninth inning at St. Louis, the Mets issued an intentional walk to Larry Walker, loading the bases with two outs and bringing Molina to the plate. “If we were going to lose the game, we were going to make the rookie do it,” Mets manager Art Howe told the Post-Dispatch.

Mike Stanton threw a tough pitch, a fastball down and away, but Molina poked a single over the shortstop, giving St. Louis a 2-1 walkoff win. “You don’t have to be afraid in this game,” Molina said to Dirk Chatelain of the Post-Dispatch. “You just have to play the game hard. Respect the game … I’m a rookie but I know what it’s about.” Boxscore

Three weeks later, Molina earned more admiration from his teammates with a play he made at Pittsburgh. In the second inning, Ty Wigginton, trying to score from second on Jose Castillo’s single to right, steamed toward the plate. As Molina gloved Larry Walker’s one-hop throw, the 200-pound baserunner arrived. Wigginton crashed into Molina, bowling him over, but the rookie held onto the ball for the out.

“To take a hit like that and shake it off is just impressive,” Cardinals pitcher Matt Morris said to the Associated Press. “That shows you how much heart he has.”

Wigginton told the news service, “I thought I was going to score, and the next thing I know Molina is right in front of me … If he drops the ball, it might be a different ballgame.”

Two innings later, Molina tagged out Jose Castillo on Jim Edmonds’ throw from center. The Cardinals won, 6-4. Boxscore

In September, Molina hit his first big-league home run. The solo shot against the Brewers’ Matt Wise snapped a 2-2 tie in the eighth and carried the Cardinals to their 100th win of the season. Boxscore

In 59 games for the 2004 Cardinals, including 39 as a starter, Molina hit .267, made just two errors in 344 innings, and caught eight of 17 runners (47 percent) attempting to steal.

Taking a stand

After Matheny started the first three games (all won by the Red Sox) of the 2004 World Series, La Russa wanted him rested in case the Cardinals extended it beyond Game 4. So he gave Molina the Game 4 start. The Cardinals’ starting pitcher, Jason Marquis, worked well with Molina during the season. In 90.2 innings with Molina as his catcher, Marquis had a 3.38 ERA, which was better than his overall season total of 3.71.

In his first two plate appearances of the game, Manny Ramirez of the Red Sox walked and singled. While Ramirez was on base, Molina suspected Ramirez was relaying to cleanup batter David Ortiz the signs Molina was sending to Marquis.

(Years later, Reds first baseman Joey Votto, in discussing Molina with Derrick Goold of the Post-Dispatch, said, “It’s like he can sniff out, he can sense, where any hitter is looking, or what they’re attempting. It’s something that I don’t think you can measure. That seems like an intangible, but he has it.”)

In the dugout, Molina asked Matheny for advice on what to do about Ramirez’s sign stealing. According to the Post-Dispatch, Matheny replied, “When he comes up, make sure he knows you’re on to it.”

As Ramirez came to bat in the fourth, Molina stood up, stepped forward, got nose to nose with Ramirez and scolded him in Spanish.

“I was sitting over there saying, ‘That’s probably not what I would have done … but that will work,’ ” Matheny recalled to Stan McNeal of Cardinals Yearbook.

As Molina and Ramirez argued, Red Sox manager Terry Francona rushed over to umpire Chuck Meriwether. In pleading Ramirez’s case, Francona said he told Meriwether, “Chuck, Manny doesn’t even know our signs.”

The Cardinals lost the game, but the sight of their rookie catcher confronting Ramirez and refusing to back down made a powerful impression on them.

As La Russa told Cardinals Yearbook, “Yadi got in his face and started jawing at him. He told them to stop that stuff now, or somebody was going to get hurt because he would cross them up … I told him I was glad he did that, that he could not allow that stuff to happen. For a young catcher to do that in the World Series says all you need to know about his competitiveness.” Boxscore and Video at 1:15:46.

After the World Series, Matheny became a free agent and signed with the Giants. The Cardinals’ catching job belonged to Molina.

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Early in his big-league playing career, Curt Flood had a tendency to try hitting home runs, which wasn’t a good idea for someone his size.

In 1958, his first season with the Cardinals, Flood, 20, clouted 10 homers. Those are the most home runs of any Cardinals player 20 or younger, according to researcher Tom Orf.

The long balls caused Flood to overswing. It wasn’t until a teammate helped him kick the habit that Flood became one of the National League’s top hitters.

Big talent

As a youth in Oakland, Flood was a standout art student and high school baseball player. A mentor, George Powles, also coached him with an American Legion team and in the semipro Alameda Winter League.

“This kid can do everything,” Powles told the Oakland Tribune. “He can run, throw, field and hit a long ball. He is smart and has great desire to get ahead.”

Big-league scouts took a look, but most determined Flood was too small to reach the majors.

In his autobiography “The Way It Is,” Flood recalled, “One day George Powles sat me down for a talk. He told me I had the ability to become a professional, but that I should prepare for difficulties and disappointments. He pointed out I weighed barely 140 pounds (and) was not more than five feet, seven inches tall … Small men seldom got very far in baseball.”

Reds scout Bobby Mattick, a former big-league shortstop, took a chance on Flood. In January 1956, after Flood turned 18 and graduated from high school, he signed with the Reds for $4,000.

Down in Dixie

Assigned to a farm club in High Point, N.C., a furniture factory town, Flood experienced racist teammates and fans.

“Most of the players on my team were offended by my presence and would not even talk to me when we were off the field,” Flood said in his autobiography. “The few who were more enlightened were afraid to antagonize the others.

“During the early weeks of the season, I’d break into tears as soon as I reached the safety of my room … I wanted to be free of these animals whose 50-cent bleacher ticket was a license to curse my color and deny my humanity. I wanted to be free of the imbeciles on the ball team.”

Flood’s pride kept him from quitting and he answered the bigots by performing better than any other player in the Carolina League. “I ran myself down to less than 135 pounds in the blistering heat,” he said in his book. “I completely wiped out that peckerwood league.”

The 18-year-old produced an on-base percentage of .448 (190 hits, 102 walks). He scored 133 runs, drove in 128 and slugged 29 home runs.

Called up to the Reds in September 1956, Flood made his big-league debut at St. Louis as a pinch-runner for catcher Smoky Burgess. Boxscore

The next season became another ordeal when the Reds returned Flood, 19, to the segregated South at Savannah, Ga. Adding to the pressure was the Reds’ decision to shift Flood from outfield to third base. One of his infield teammates was shortstop Leo Cardenas, a dark-skinned Cuban.

“Georgia law forbade Cardenas and me to dress with the white players,” Flood said in his book. “A separate cubicle was constructed for us. Some of the players were decent enough to detest the arrangement. I particularly remember (outfielder) Buddy Gilbert (of Knoxville, Tenn.), who used to bring food to me and Leo in the bus so that we would not have to stand at the back doors of restaurants.”

A future seven-time Gold Glove Award winner as a National League outfielder, Flood made 41 errors at third base with Savannah, but produced a .388 on-base percentage (170 hits, 81 walks), 98 runs scored and 82 RBI.

Earning another promotion to the Reds in September 1957, Flood’s first hit in the majors was a home run at Cincinnati against Moe Drabowsky of the Cubs. It turned out to be Flood’s last game with the Reds. Boxscore

Good deal

At the 1957 baseball winter meetings in Colorado Springs, Cardinals general manager Bing Devine and manager Fred Hutchinson met until 3 a.m. with Reds general manager Gabe Paul and manager Birdie Tebbetts, trying to make a trade, the St. Louis Globe-Democrat reported.

After much give and take, the Reds proposed sending Flood and outfielder Joe Taylor to the Cardinals for pitchers Marty Kutyna, Willard Schmidt and Ted Wieand. Devine, in his first trade negotiations since replacing Frank Lane as general manager, “had some fear and trepidation” about doing the deal, he said in his autobiography “The Memoirs of Bing Devine.”

As Devine recalled in his book, Hutchinson said to him, “Awww, come on. I’ve heard about Curt Flood and his ability. Flood can run and throw. He could probably play the outfield. Let’s don’t worry about it.”

Bolstered by his manager, Devine made the trade, his first for the Cardinals.

(Concern of having an all-black outfield of Frank Robinson, Vada Pinson and Flood prompted the Reds to trade him, Flood said in his autobiography.)

Devine told the St. Louis newspapers that Flood had potential to become the Cardinals’ center fielder. “We’re counting on him for 1959, not next year,” Devine told the Globe-Democrat.

Cardinals calling

The Cardinals opened the 1958 season with Bobby Gene Smith in center and sent Flood to Omaha, but Smith didn’t hit (.200 in April) and Flood did (.340 in 15 games). On May 1, they switched roles, Flood joining the Cardinals and Smith going to Omaha.

(When the Cardinals sent Flood a ticket for a flight from Omaha, he was concerned how he would get his new Thunderbird automobile to St. Louis. Omaha general manager Bill Bergesch kindly offered to drive the car there for him and Flood accepted, according to Bergesch’s son, Robert. Not knowing anyone in St. Louis, Flood rented a room in a house called the Heritage Arms on the recommendation of pitcher Sam Jones. In the book “The Curt Flood Story,” author Stuart L. Weiss noted that when Bill Bergesch arrived in St. Louis with Flood’s car, he found Flood was residing in one of the city’s most notorious bordellos.)

Flood, 20, played his first game for the Cardinals on May 2, 1958, at St. Louis against the Reds. The center fielder had a double and was hit by a Brooks Lawrence pitch. Boxscore

His first home run for the Cardinals came on May 15 at St. Louis against the Giants’ 19-year-old left-hander, Mike McCormick. Flood belted a changeup into the bleachers just inside the left field foul line. He also singled to center and doubled to right, prompting the Globe-Democrat to declare, “Flood resembled a junior grade Rogers Hornsby with a surprising ability to hit to all fields.” Boxscore

Among Flood’s 10 homers in 1958 were solo shots against Warren Spahn and Sandy Koufax. Boxscore and Boxscore

The power impressed, especially on a club with one 20-homer hitter (Ken Boyer), but Flood’s .261 batting average didn’t (the Cardinals had hoped for .280) and he struck out 56 times, the most of any Cardinal.

“I had fallen into the disastrous habit of overswinging,” Flood said in his autobiography. “Worse, I had developed a hitch in my swing. When the pitcher released the ball, my bat was not ready because I was busy pulling it back in a kind of windup.”

Fixing flaws

In February 1959, Flood got married in Tijuana, Mexico, to Beverly Collins, “a petite, sophisticated teenager with two children,” according to “The Curt Flood Story.” They’d met during the summer at her parents’ St. Louis nightclub, The Talk of the Town.

Solly Hemus, who’d replaced Fred Hutchinson as Cardinals manager, wanted a center fielder who hit with power. Trying to deliver, Flood went into a deep slump in 1959 and entered July with a batting mark of .192 for the season. “I now became more worried about my swing and more receptive to help,” Flood recalled in his book.

According to Flood’s book, when he asked Stan Musial for advice, Musial said, “Well, you wait for a strike. Then you knock the shit out of it.”

Help came from another teammate, pinch-hitter George Crowe, 38. “George straightened me out,” Flood said in his autobiography. “He taught me to shorten my stride and my swing, to eliminate the hitch, to keep my head still and my stroke level. He not only told me what to do, but why to do it and how to do it. He worked with me by the hour.”

It took a while, but Flood finally found his groove. In 1961, he hit .322, the first of six .300 seasons for the 1960s Cardinals. Flood twice achieved 200 hits in a season and finished with 1,854 in the majors.

In 1968, he told the Associated Press, “It took me five years to learn I’m not a home run hitter, and that’s the hardest thing in the world for a baseball player to tell himself. It’s a blow to your ego. You have to tell yourself you’re not as big and strong as the next guy. It hits at your masculinity, your manhood.”

Of Flood’s 85 big-league home runs, the most (15) came against the Reds. Flood hit four homers versus Juan Marichal and two each against Don Drysdale, Ferguson Jenkins and Sandy Koufax.

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As a pinch-hitter in 1985, Hal McRae helped the Royals emerge from the brink of elimination against the Cardinals and advance to their first World Series championship. As a hitting coach two decades later, McRae helped the Cardinals become World Series champions for the first time in 24 years.

McRae spent more than 40 years in the big leagues _ 19 as a player, 15 as a coach, six as a manager and two in the front office. His last five seasons in the majors were as hitting coach of the Cardinals from 2005 to 2009.

During McRae’s St. Louis stint, the Cardinals won a World Series title in 2006, their first since 1982.

Segregated South

Harold McRae was from Avon Park, Fla., 85 miles south of Orlando. From 1927 to 1929, Avon Park was spring training home of the Cardinals.

As a youth in the 1950s, McRae developed into a right-handed hitter playing stickball on a makeshift diamond at the corner of Delaney and Castle streets in Avon Park. “A lot of skills I exhibited in the big leagues began right (there),” McRae recalled to the Tampa Tribune. “I remember a certain Mrs. Austin who lived on that corner. We knew that if we hit a ball into her yard, which was left field, she wouldn’t give it back. So that’s how I first learned to hit to right field.”

(In 1991, Castle Street was renamed Hal McRae Boulevard.)

McRae attended segregated E.O. Douglas High School in Sebring, Fla. Named for banker Eugene Oren Douglas, it was the only high school in the county available to blacks. (The school remained open until 1970, when integration finally occurred in Highlands County.)

After graduating in 1963, McRae attended Florida A&M in Tallahassee. Two years later, the Reds signed him. “I really enjoyed sliding headfirst, taking out the middle infielders, running into the catcher,” McRae told the Tampa Tribune. “I credit that outlook to my baseball coach (Costa Kittles) at Florida A&M. He was really a football coach. I was never afraid of contact.”

A few months after turning pro, McRae married his wife, Johncyna, in April 1966. Forty years later, in 2006, she was presented with an unsung hero award from the Florida Department of Health for “working tirelessly to end disparities in health care for racial and ethnic minorities.”

The award was presented with accolades from Florida Gov. Jeb Bush. According to the Bradenton Herald, Dr. Gladys Branic, director of the Manatee County Health Department, praised Johncyna “for her mentoring of migrant workers, her volunteer work for troubled teens, and the many scholarships and nurturing programs she helped develop for black girls.”

Slotted for second

In his first three seasons in the Reds’ system (1966-68), McRae was a second baseman. His minor-league manager in 1967 was former second baseman Don Zimmer. At the Florida Instructional League that fall, McRae’s instructor was former second baseman Sparky Anderson. Reds manager Dave Bristol told The Cincinnati Post, “Everyone, including scouts on the other clubs, tells me McRae is going to be Cincinnati’s next second baseman.”

McRae was called up to the Reds during the 1968 season and started 16 games at second base. Then in the winter, playing in Puerto Rico, he fractured his right leg in four places trying to knock the ball loose from a catcher on a play at the plate. That put an end to his ability to move nimbly as a second baseman.

After sitting out most of the 1969 season, McRae was shifted to the outfield and was with the Reds from 1970-72. In two World Series, he hit .455 against the Orioles in 1970 and .444 versus the Athletics in 1972. Video

(McRae also played in two World Series with the Royals. In 17 World Series games, he hit .400.)

Rough stuff

Traded to the Royals in November 1972, McRae benefitted from the American League’s adoption of the designated hitter in 1973. He told the Tampa Tribune, “Some people considered it being half a ballplayer … It just so happened that my best role was as the DH.”

Working well with hitting coaches such as Charley Lau and Rocky Colavito, McRae hit better than .300 seven times in 15 years with the Royals.

In 1976, when McRae hit .332, his teammate, George Brett, won the American League batting title at .333. In his final at-bat, Brett got an inside-the-park home run when Twins outfielder Steve Brye misjudged the ball. McRae suggested Brye intentionally let the ball drop.

Because of his aggressiveness, McRae was not a popular opponent. According to the Baseball Hall of Fame, while managing the White Sox, Tony La Russa said of McRae, “When you play against him, you detest him, but you would love to have him on your side.”

Mariners pitcher Glenn Abbott told Sports Illustrated, “I feel McRae has played dirty, but he plays to win, and that’s what it’s all about.”

Attempting to thwart a double play during a 1977 playoff game, McRae barreled into Yankees second baseman Willie Randolph with a rolling body block. The Yankees cried foul, but McRae said to United Press International, “I wasn’t trying to hurt Randolph … There was nothing dirty about it … We’re not supposed to be buddy-buddy out there.” Video

Teammates respected McRae. George Brett said to Sports Illustrated, “I look up to him. He learned the game from Pete Rose, and I learned it from him.” Whitey Herzog, McRae’s manager from 1975-79, told the Kansas City Star, “He’s the best designated hitter in baseball. He gives you everything he has on every play.”

Patience pays

The 1985 World Series between the Royals and Cardinals was played without designated hitters, but McRae still was involved in the drama.

With the Cardinals ahead, 1-0, in the ninth inning of Game 6 and on the verge of clinching the championship, the Royals got a break when umpire Don Denkinger ruled Jorge Orta safe at first, though TV replays clearly showed he was out.

As the inning unfolded, the Royals had runners on first and second, one out, when McRae batted for Buddy Biancalana. The Cardinals’ right-handed rookie closer, Todd Worrell, hoped to get McRae to ground into a game-ending double play.

According to the Kansas City Star, McRae said he reminded himself as he approached the plate to be patient and swing only if the pitch was a strike.

With the count 1-and-0, Worrell threw a slider that eluded catcher Darrell Porter for a passed ball, enabling the runners to move up to second and third. That changed the strategy. Behind in the count 2-and-0, Cardinals manager Whitey Herzog ordered Worrell to walk McRae intentionally, loading the bases and setting up a potential force-out at any base.

A left-handed batter, ex-Cardinal Dane Iorg, thwarted the plan with a two-run single. The Royals clinched the title the next night in Game 7. Boxscore

Good teacher

McRae batted .290 and totaled 2,091 hits in a big-league playing career that ended in 1987.

He managed the Royals (1991-94) and Rays (2001-02). A son, Brian, became a big-league outfielder and played for him on the Royals.

McRae coached for the Royals (1987), Expos (1990-91), Reds (1995-96), Phillies (1997-2000) and Rays (2001). As hitting coach, he was credited with helping develop Reggie Sanders with the Reds and Scott Rolen with the Phillies.

“Hitting instruction is probably my first love,” McRae told Todd Jones of The Cincinnati Post. “I enjoy the interaction with the players. As a manager, you look for results. As a hitting instructor, you look for improvement.”

After McRae helped Deion Sanders snap a slump, Reds veteran Lenny Harris told The Post, “Deion said to us, ‘It’s time to start listening to Hal McRae. He understands us.’ “

In a report on McRae’s hitting philosophy, Jim Salisbury of the Philadelphia Inquirer noted, “The plate is 17 inches wide. McRae teaches his hitters to concede the inner and outer two inches to the pitcher. That leaves 13 inches for the hitter.”

After being replaced as Rays manager by Lou Piniella, McRae moved into the role of assistant to Rays general manager Chuck LaMar, but there were “few requests for his input,” according to the St. Petersburg Times.

“I felt miserable half the time,” McRae told the newspaper.

Back in uniform

With Mitchell Page as hitting coach, the 2004 Cardinals won the National League pennant and led the league in hits and runs scored, but he was fired for reasons related to alcoholism. Page said to Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, “I have an alcohol problem and I’m going to get treatment for it.”

The Cardinals offered the job to McRae, 59, and he welcomed the chance to coach again. Recalling his start as a big-league manager with the White Sox in 1979, Cardinals manager Tony La Russa told the Bradenton Herald, “Winning was defined by George Brett and Hal McRae. In the West Division, Kansas City was the team to beat, and those were the two guys who showed how it was done. I always said I’d like to be a teammate of Hal McRae.”

After his hiring, McRae watched video and learned the habits of Cardinals batters. At 2005 spring training, he spent each day talking with the players and tailored his philosophies to their needs. As Roger Mooney of the Bradenton Herald noted, “McRae coaches like he played. He’s prepared, works hard and gets results.”

The 2005 Cardinals were loaded with big hitters such as Jim Edmonds, Albert Pujols, Scott Rolen, Reggie Sanders and Larry Walker. “With a veteran club, you’re talking about the (opposing) pitcher,” McRae said to the Herald. “We’re more concerned with the pitcher than ourselves.”

Helping hand

The 2006 Cardinals were a deeply flawed team that became World Series champions. Part of their success stemmed from the performance of rookie Chris Duncan, who slugged 22 home runs in 280 at-bats during the season.

“Hal McRae has been the biggest help because he’s working with me day in, day out,” Duncan told the Post-Dispatch. “He’s helped me the most to get through different phases and whatever is going on with me.”

In assessing McRae’s contributions to the 2006 Cardinals, Tony La Russa said to the St. Petersburg Times, “He’s a very smart man. He understands what hitting is about … and he understands winning.”

When Albert Pujols slumped early in the 2007 season, McRae gave him a tutorial _ “He needs to use his hands more,” the coach told the Post-Dispatch _ and used a video to convince Pujols that by being impatient, or jumpy, at the plate he was opening his hips too early in his swing. “He showed me, and I saw the difference,” Pujols said to reporter Joe Strauss.

In 2008, the Cardinals led the league in hits and batting average (.281, well above the league norm of .260), and got big production from a journeyman (Ryan Ludwick, 37 home runs, 113 RBI) and a former pitcher (Rick Ankiel, 25 homers).

Though division champions in 2009, the Cardinals were swept by the Dodgers in the playoffs, totaling six runs in three games. McRae, 64, was fired.

“You’re always disappointed when you get laid off,” McRae told the Post-Dispatch, “but I’m not disappointed in my work.”

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As Goose Goslin of the Washington Senators readied for his last plate appearance in the final game of the 1928 season at St. Louis, he thought about how the outcome would determine the American League batting champion.

Entering the ninth inning, Goslin was tied with Heinie Manush of the St. Louis Browns for the league’s top batting average. If Goslin got a hit, he’d win the batting crown. If he made an out, Manush would gain the title.

Some other options were available as well. One was for Goslin to skip the plate appearance and share the batting title with Manush.

Hit men

Leon “Goose” Goslin was from New Jersey and Henry “Heinie” Manush hailed from Alabama. Both were left-handed batters and left fielders.

Goslin began his pro career in the minors as a pitcher before moving to the outfield. He debuted in the majors with the 1921 Senators and got nicknamed Goose because he flapped his arms and moved awkwardly while chasing fly balls.

According to The Sporting News, the Goose also “was attracted to the bright lights” of the cities. The night before an afternoon doubleheader against the Yankees he escorted Babe Ruth “on a tour of speakeasies,” hoping The Bambino would become too fatigued to play effectively. Instead, a wobbly Goose only made it home because of help from Ruth.

Goslin’s extracurricular activities didn’t keep him from hitting. He twice led the American League in triples (18 in 1923 and 20 in 1925). In consecutive World Series (1924-25), Goslin hit .344 against the Giants and .308 versus the Pirates.

In 1926, when he had a league-high 129 RBI, Goslin batted .354, but the leader was Manush, a .378 hitter for the Tigers. “You had to be a wizard to come anywhere close to the top in those days,” Goslin told author Lawrence Ritter.

Manush reached the majors with the 1923 Tigers. The nickname Heinie was slang for Heinrich, a German form of the name Henry. Manush became a protege of his Tigers manager Ty Cobb, who taught him to shorten his stroke and try for hits instead of homers.

Cobb departed for the Athletics in February 1927 and Manush clashed with the replacement, George Moriarty. When his batting average dropped 80 points _ from .378 in 1926 to .298 in 1927 _ Manush was traded to the Browns.

Neck and neck

Goslin hurt his throwing arm in 1928 and was a liability in the outfield, but his hitting kept him in the lineup. He hit .450 (45 for 100) in the month of June and entered July with a batting mark for the season of .422.

Heading into September, Goslin (.376) and the Yankees’ Lou Gehrig (.373) led the batting race. Manush was at .355. Goslin and Gehrig had strong Septembers but Manush was otherworldly, hitting .495 (51 for 103) for the month.

On Sunday, Sept. 30, with the Senators playing the Browns at St. Louis on the last day of the 1928 season, the batting race became a showdown between Goslin (.379) and Manush (.377). Gehrig, with a game in Detroit, was at .372.

Pitching for the Browns against Goslin was George Blaeholder, 24, a right-hander in his first full season in the majors. Pitching for the Senators versus Manush was their ace, Sam Jones, 36, a right-hander who had been in four World Series.

Both Goslin and Manush were positioned in the No. 3 spots of the batting orders.

Fit to be tied

Manush put the pressure on early. In the first inning, Goslin struck out and Manush singled, putting each at .378. Both made outs in the fourth and remained tied at .377.

In the fifth, Goslin homered; an inning later, Manush tripled. Goslin grounded out to short in the seventh and Manush flied out to Goslin in the eighth.

With an inning to go and the Senators ahead, 7-1, Goslin and Manush both were batting .378 for the season.

Decisions, decisions

Goslin was due to bat second in the top of the ninth. Manush wasn’t likely to appear at the plate again, because he had six batters ahead of him in the bottom of the ninth. Therefore, whatever Goslin did likely would settle the batting race.

_ If Goslin got a hit, he would be batting champion.

_ If Goslin made an out, Manush would be batting champion.

_ If Goslin drew a walk, he and Manush would share the batting title.

_ If Goslin opted to be removed from the game, he and Manush would share the batting title.

In the book “The Glory of Their Times,” Goslin recalled that Senators manager Bucky Harris said to him, “What do you want to do, Goose? It’s up to you. I’ll send in a pinch-hitter if you want me to.”

Goslin replied, “I’ve never won a batting title, and I sure would love to, so I think I’ll stay right here on the bench, if it’s OK with you.”

According to Goslin, teammate Joe Judge warned, “They’ll call you yellow.”

Goslin thought about that and said, “All right, all right. Stop all this noise. I’m going up.”

A left-hander, Hal Wiltse, 25, was on the mound for the Browns. When the count got to 0-and-2, Goslin argued with umpire Bill Guthrie, calling him names and even stepping on his toes, hoping an ejection would negate the at-bat and preserve a share of the batting title, but Guthrie ordered him to stay put. “You better be in there swinging,” Guthrie warned.

Goslin took a pitch outside the strike zone, then stroked a double to right-center, moving his batting average to .379, one point ahead of Manush.

The Browns went down meekly in order in the bottom of the ninth, depriving Manush of a final at-bat. Manush, who led the majors in hits (241), finished at .378, the same average he had in winning the batting crown two years earlier.

Goslin became the Senators’ first league batting champion. Boxscore

Let’s make a deal

Both Goslin and Manush got into trouble with management in 1930.

According to the Washington Star, the relations between Goslin and Senators manager Walter Johnson were strained because of Goose’s failure to observe training rules.

According to The Sporting News, Manush and Browns owner Phil Ball “wrangled over salary” and Heinie “refused to attend a luncheon with Ball.”

On June 13, 1930, the Browns traded Manush and pitcher Alvin Crowder to the Senators for Goslin. “I am getting a slugger who hits home runs,” Browns manager Bill Killefer told the St. Louis Star-Times. “This park is made for Goslin.”

According to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, the consensus of fans in St. Louis was that the Browns “were worsted in the bartering.” Star-Times columnist Sid Keener wrote, “I would not trade Manush for Goslin, even up.”

Two of a kind

In three seasons with the Browns, Goslin hit .317 with 71 home runs. He went back to the Senators and helped them reach the World Series in 1933. Traded to the Tigers, he played for them in the 1934 World Series against the Cardinals and the 1935 World Series versus the Cubs.

Goslin produced seven home runs and 19 RBI in five World Series.

Manush hit .328 in six seasons with the Senators. He and Goslin were teammates in the 1933 World Series versus the Giants. Manush later had stints with the Red Sox, Dodgers and Pirates.

For their careers, Manush batted .330 with 2,524 hits; Goslin batted .316 with 2,735 hits.

When Manush was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1965, Goslin told The Sporting News, “I have a right to be jealous. Manush makes it and I don’t. I led him in every department except average.”

Goslin’s turn came three years later with his election to the Hall.

Goslin and Manush remained linked to the end of their lives. Manush, 69, died on May 12, 1971. Goslin, 70, died three days later, on May 15, 1971.

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If the Reds had heeded the advice of Johnny Bench, Yadier Molina would have been their catcher.

A few days before the June 2000 baseball draft, the Reds brought Molina, 17, from his home in Puerto Rico to work out with other potential picks at Cincinnati’s Riverfront Stadium.

Among those observing the workouts for the club were two of the game’s most accomplished former catchers _ Hall of Famer Johnny Bench and Bob Boone, a special assistant to Reds general manager Jim Bowden.

From 1968 to 1979, Bench and Boone were the only National League catchers to earn Gold Glove awards. Bench got the honor in 10 consecutive years (1968-77). Boone was the recipient in 1978 and 1979. Boone also won five American League Gold Glove awards for catching (1982 and 1986-89).

The prospect Bench and Boone watched that day in Cincinnati would become their equal, earning nine National League Gold Glove honors as a catcher _ for the Cardinals, not the Reds.

Cincinnati kid

As a teen in Puerto Rico, Molina played in top amateur leagues as well as on the high school team and took pride in finding ways to outsmart opponents. “That’s part of my game _ pay attention to the little details and try to take advantage,” he told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

Molina also benefitted from having a baseball family. His father, Benjamin, was a renowned youth coach. Two brothers, Bengie with the Angels and Jose with the Cubs, reached the majors as catchers.

Based on his performance at the workout in Cincinnati, Molina seemed headed for the Reds. In an interview with Stan McNeal for the 2019 Cardinals Yearbook, Molina recalled how pleased he was in Cincinnati to be timed throwing from home plate to second base in 1.7 seconds.

“I was like, ‘Oh, man, Cincinnati is going to draft me,’ ” Molina said to McNeal. “I started reading books about Cincinnati when I got home.”

Hawaiian punch

Instead of Molina, the catcher the Reds drafted, in the second round, was Dane Sardinha, 21, a Pepperdine University junior from Hawaii.

Recalling his reaction, Molina told Cardinals Yearbook, “I was like, yeah, Cincinnati is going to pay.”

Jim Bowden and Reds scouting director De Jon Watson were convinced Sardinha was nearly ready for the majors. Bowden told The Cincinnati Post he rated Sardinha as one of the top 15 players available in the draft. “Sardinha is the best catcher drafted since Charles Johnson (by the Marlins in 1992),” Bowden said.

Bob Boone told the Honolulu Star-Bulletin, “Sardinha can catch and throw in the big leagues right now. He is as advanced defensively as an catcher I’ve seen in the three years I’ve been here (with Cincinnati).”

Apparently, one who disagreed with the choice was Johnny Bench. Though asked for his advice, Bench didn’t have a front office role. Molina said to Cardinals Yearbook, “Johnny Bench told me, ‘I told them to draft you, but they never listen to me.’ “

Risky business

Nine catchers were drafted before the Cardinals selected Molina in the fourth round. Catchers chosen ahead of Molina were:

_ First round: Scott Heard (Rangers), Dave Parrish (Yankees).

_ Second round: Mike Tonis (Royals), Sardinha (Reds), Jared Abruzzo (Angels).

_ Third round: Scott Walter (Royals), Omar Falcon (Padres), Tommy Arko (Orioles), Sean Swedlow (Indians).

Only two of those nine _ Tonis and Sardinha _ reached the majors. Tonis played in two games for the Royals. Sardinha played in two games for the Reds, then was a backup for the Tigers and Phillies. In 59 games in the majors, Sardinha hit .166.

The Cardinals chose four players _ outfielder Shaun Boyd, pitchers Blake Williams and Chris Narveson, and shortstop Chase Voshell _ before drafting Molina. Of those four, only Narveson reached the majors. He never won a game for the Cardinals and spent most of his career with the Brewers.

Molina was the 113th player taken overall in the draft. “With catching particularly weak in the Cardinals’ farm system,” the Post-Dispatch noted, Molina was one of three catchers chosen by the club in the first 12 rounds. The others were Dan Moylan and Rodney Friar. John Mozeliak, then the Cardinals’ scouting director, said of Molina to reporter Stu Durando, “With his arm and catching ability, he’s fairly well-advanced.”

Wise investment

Three months after being drafted, Molina and the Cardinals hadn’t come to terms. As Mozeliak recalled to MLB.com, a Cardinals scout, Steve Turco, called him and said, “What’s the issue here? … Give him anything he wants.”

Molina signed for $325,000 and reported to the Cardinals in 2001. Under the guidance of minor-league catching instructor Dave Ricketts _ “My angel,” Molina told the Post-Dispatch _ he developed rapidly while playing for Johnson City (Tenn.) of the Appalachian League.

In August 2001, Mike Eisenbath of the Post-Dispatch wrote, “Keep an eye on Yadier Molina … His defensive work behind the plate has drawn raves. Pitchers rarely shake him off, and he has been adept at blocking balls in the dirt and throwing out runners.”

According to USA Today, when Cardinals starting catcher Mike Matheny saw Molina in the club’s major-league camp at spring training for the first time, he went home and told his wife, “I just saw the kid who (is) going to eventually take my job.”

Molina debuted with the Cardinals in June 2004 as a backup to Matheny. He hit .313 against the Reds that year and played in the World Series. When Matheny departed to the Giants, Molina became the Cardinals’ everyday catcher in 2005. He switched from uniform No. 41 to No. 4 the following year.

Generational talent

Molina made good on his promise to make the Reds pay for not drafting him. He totaled more home runs (28) and more RBI (127) against the Reds than he did versus any other club.

During Molina’s 19 seasons, the Cardinals won four National League pennants and two World Series titles. The Reds won none during that time and some of their fans took out their frustrations on him.

As Stan McNeal of Cardinals Yearbook put it, “No city in baseball has been less welcoming to Yadier Molina than Cincinnati, where No. 4 is Public Enemy No. 1.”

In remarks to Hal McCoy of the Dayton Daily News, Reds second baseman Brandon Phillips said of the Cardinals in 2010, “All they do is bitch and moan about everything, all of them. They’re little bitches … I really hate the Cardinals.”

The next night, when he stepped into the batter’s box, Phillips used his bat to tap Molina’s shin guards. Molina responded angrily, both benches emptied and the fight carried to the backstop.

Five years later, when Molina arrived at Cincinnati for the 2015 All-Star Game, he was assigned a locker in the Reds’ clubhouse used by Phillips. According to the Associated Press, Molina laughed and said, “It’s funny. You think they did that on purpose? I don’t mind. He’s a great ballplayer.”

When the Cincinnati crowd booed Molina during player introductions before the game, he laughed, turned his back and pointed with his thumbs to the name on his jersey. Video

In April 2018, while playing in Cincinnati, Molina moved ahead of Johnny Bench for career innings caught.

From 2004 to 2022, the time Molina played for the Cardinals, the Reds went through an array of starting catchers: Jason LaRue, David Ross, Paul Bako, Ryan Hanigan, Ramon Hernandez, Devin Mesoraco, Brayan Pena, Tucker Barnhart and Tyler Stephenson. The best of the bunch was Barnhart, who won two National League Gold Glove awards (2017 and 2020).

Barnhart told Derrick Goold of the Post-Dispatch in 2018, “I look up to Yadi. He’s a guy that I try to pattern every single part of my game after. I respect the hell out of him … As a catcher, that’s the poster guy that we look for.”

Mike Matheny said his generation spoke about Johnny Bench the way Barnhart spoke about Molina, Goold reported.

Two decades after Bench first saw Molina in that workout at Cincinnati, the torch _ one with a gold glove clutching it _ had been passed.

In assessing Molina, Hall of Fame catcher Ted Simmons said to Bob Nightengale of USA Today, “He’s defensively the best catcher I’ve ever seen … He’s as good a catcher as anyone who played the game … I can’t imagine anyone being more valuable to a team. He had the intellect of an engineer. He was the perfect extension of a manager’s intent … It was like having a Tony La Russa on the field the way he handled everything.”

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