Tag: Memphis Redbirds

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Opinion The Last Word

Memphis is My Boyfriend: Summertime Is Calling

Just a few of this author’s favorite summertime activities (Photos: Courtesy Patricia Lockhart)

Hopefully you’ve been reading my articles for a while and you know that my kids are 15, 12, 12, and 10 years old. I desire for my teens to love this city as much as I do, so I intentionally plan out fun, safe, and engaging things for them to do. Now I know that school is still in session and summer is a full month away, but prior proper planning prevents a poor performance! The streets are calling our name! Here are a few of our summertime favorites that we can’t wait to get into.

Redbirds Game

I’ve met several Memphians who have never been to a Redbirds game. And I always ask them, “What are you waiting for?” They usually shrug and reply, “I’m not a baseball person.” Then I have to explain that the Redbirds games are so much more than that. Recently, my daughter’s school choir sang the national anthem at the start of the game. I watched the players warm up and had my proud-mommy moment. Then I had the best time ever! There is just something mesmerizing about chilling at a Redbirds game. Maybe it’s the hot sun, with an ice cold drink and a hot dog. Or maybe it’s the intermittent games and crowd engagement opportunities. Whatever the case, I will be there!

My favorite games are on Thursday nights. My hubby says it’s because I can get $2 beers, but I promise it’s because of their throwback jerseys. Sundays are cool too because kids 12 and under can receive a free ice cream sandwich. There are also nights where they have post-game fireworks and where kids can run the bases. Definitely check out their promotions page. Pro-tips: 1. Bring a hat. 2. Bring a credit card: The stadium is cashless. 3. Got a purse or bag? Make sure it’s clear.

Overton Park Shell

As soon as school state assessments were over, I placed our picnic blankets, lawn chairs, mosquito spray, and incense in the trunk. I also tossed in a few empty water bottles and our picnic basket that has plates, napkins, and silverware. Those items will remain in my trunk for the entire summer and fall. I do all of this in preparation of one thing: the Overton Park Shell Orion Free Concert Series! The shows start at 7:30 p.m. on Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays starting this month. On weekdays, this gives us enough time to pick the kids up from their after-school activities, stop by the store for a few snackerdoodles, and score some perfect seats on the lawn. As the sun sets, I let the good music and cool vibes roll over me. I close my eyes and lay my head back. I don’t have a care in the world.

My kids have been to a variety of music genres that aren’t normally available to them through mainstream radio. Through this music, they learn acceptance and appreciation. This summer they plan to chill to the symphony, dance to Bodywerk, and regrow some roots to Talibah Safiya, just to name a few. Although if I’m honest, we’ll probably attend about 14 shows.

Gardening with Everbloom Farmacy

Gardening has been in my family for generations. My grandmother was a gardener. My great-grandmother was a sharecropper. Her mother worked the fields during slavery. We can trace our roots all the way back to Ghana where we nurtured the land to provide nourishment for ourselves. While we can go to big box stores for our gardening needs, we prefer to build relationships with people who positively impact our community. Everbloom Farmacy, a nonprofit organization, is the perfect place to go if you want to start growing your own food but don’t know how. Need seeds? Need seedlings or soil? Need knowledge so your garden can thrive? Reach out to Everbloom!

Kenneth Anderson founded Everbloom Farmacy on his 21-acre homestead. It promotes food production and food literacy to support urban homesteads and community and church gardens. While we don’t have the acreage for a homestead, Anderson has educated us on how we can make the most of the space that we have. We went to Everbloom and picked up sprouts of bell peppers, cucumbers, squash, tomatoes, cabbage, and several gallons of soil.

This summer, Everbloom will offer culinary and medicinal herbs and a host of classes about growing your own food and canning for food preservation. Currently, they have almost 10,000 vegetable seedlings (grown by volunteers) for promoting at-home gardening as a community practice. Everbloom’s Community Nursery will also donate over 10,000 vegetable plants for fall gardens starting in September 2024.

Patricia Lockhart is a native Memphian who loves to read, write, cook, and eat. Her days are filled with laughter with her four kids and charming husband. By day, she’s a school librarian and writer, but by night … she’s asleep. @realworkwife @memphisismyboyfriend

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From My Seat Sports

Redbirds 2023 Review

Ivan Herrera (Credit: Wes Hale)

Every baseball season is memorable. Even those that don’t end with a championship, as four have since the Memphis Redbirds arrived in town 25 years ago. With a 68-76 record entering their final home stand of the season, the Redbirds will not qualify for the International League playoffs. But we saw three players who starred brightly here in 2023, with hopes for even bigger things next year.

• Luken Baker slammed 33 home runs and drove in 98 runs — the latter figure tops in the IL through Sunday — in only 84 games for Memphis. The hulking first baseman posted a jaw-dropping slash line of .334/.439/.720, figures that should garner Baker some votes for IL Player of the Year, even with the limited service. (Baker spent much of the last two months riding the bench with the St. Louis Cardinals.) In just two seasons with the Redbirds, Baker has climbed to fourth in franchise history with 54 home runs. He’ll all but certainly be occupying a big-league roster spot next April, either with the Cardinals or another franchise (via trade).

• The electrifying Masyn Winn needed only 105 games with Memphis to shatter the franchise record for runs scored in a season with 99. (The previous record of 92 had held for 19 years.) The 21-year-old shortstop batted .288 and clubbed 18 homers while stealing 17 bases. He showed off his much-talked-about cannon of a right arm, one already drawing oohs and aahs at Busch Stadium in St. Louis. His impact on the club? Memphis was 59-59 when Winn was promoted to St. Louis on August 18th. They are 9-17 without him. Expect Winn to contend for the 2024 National League Rookie of the Year award.

• Among the most important, if awkward, decisions the Cardinals must make this winter involves the team’s backup catcher. Former Redbird Andrew Knizner has played the role for three seasons, the first two behind Yadier Molina and this season behind Willson Contreras. But here’s the awkward part: Ivan Herrera is a better player. In his second season with Memphis, the 23-year-old Herrera has put up a slash line of .294/.449/.495 and OPS of .944. Knizner’s numbers with St. Louis: .246/.289/.442 and .731. Like Baker, Herrera will all but surely be on a big-league roster next April. Expect St. Louis to move Herrera or Knizner before Opening Day.

As the Cardinals aim to recover from the club’s first last-place finish in 33 years (barring a two-week run that catches the Pittsburgh Pirates), their biggest need is starting pitching. Michael McGreevy tops the Redbirds with 127 innings pitched and 10 wins, but lacks the swing-and-miss arsenal St. Louis craves desperately. (McGreevy has only 101 strikeouts in those 127 innings.) Gordon Graceffo also carries high expectations, but shoulder inflammation slowed his progress in 2023. You get the sense 21-year-old Tink Hence — a top-50 prospect — may leapfrog McGreevy and Graceffo in a race to the Cardinals’ rotation. Hence split 2023 at Class A Peoria and Double-A Springfield, with mixed results. He’ll be among the star attractions in Memphis next season.

There are two more names to remember as local baseball thoughts shift to 2024. Infielder Thomas Saggese arrived in the Cardinals’ system as part of the trade that sent pitcher Jordan Montgomery to Texas at the trade deadline. After hitting .313 with 15 homers in 93 games for Double-A Frisco, Saggese batted .331 with 10 more long balls in only 33 games for Springfield. He had a four-hit game for Memphis last week and appears to be a rarity in the modern game: a pure hitter. 

Finally we have Victor Scott II. The 22-year-old outfielder has stolen 95 bases in 2023, splitting the season between Peoria and Springfield. That kind of thievery calls to mind — for Cardinal followers of a certain vintage — Vince Coleman and the runnin’ Redbirds of the 1980s, an era that included three National League pennants and the 1982 world championship. It’s not the brand of baseball we’ve seen much at Busch Stadium in recent years, nor at AutoZone Park. There would be some cross-generational poetry to an “old” way of winning baseball games helping a proud franchise escape an uncomfortable cellar.

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Sports Sports Feature

Big Game Players

INDvMEM Indy Eleven vs Memphis 901 FC .07/23/2022.IUPUI Michael A. Carroll Stadium.Indianapolis, IN.Photo: Don Thompson

The Memphis Grizzlies and Ja Morant reached new heights in 2022, the team tying a franchise record with 56 wins as the player started his first All-Star Game and earned second-team All-NBA accolades. Better yet, the Griz became the youngest team in NBA history to win as many as 55 games, good enough to earn the franchise its first Southwest Division championship. It turns out that leading the NBA in rebounding, steals, and blocks is a good thing, as Memphis finished the 2021-22 campaign with the second-best mark in the entire league, this despite Morant missing 25 games with various ailments. The Grizzlies turned aside Minnesota in the first round of the playoffs before fizzling out against the title-bound Golden State Warriors. It was the kind of season that leaves a fan base wanting even more. Lots more.

The Tigers — both basketball and football — had “yes but” seasons in 2022. Penny Hardaway’s hoop squad reached the NCAA tournament for the first time in eight years, but wasn’t able to reach the big dance’s second weekend (extending a drought that dates back to 2009). Highlights of the season on the hardwood included a pair of wins over top-10 foes (Alabama and Houston). On the gridiron, the Tigers reached bowl eligibility for the ninth straight season, but finished merely 6-6 (a second straight year). Coach Ryan Silverfield will be back for a fourth season, but expectations — both within the program and outside — are high and heavy for 2023.

The Memphis Redbirds fell short of the playoffs in their first season in the International League, but a pair of players achieved some history for the franchise. Outfielder Moisés Gómez slammed 16 home runs for Memphis after being promoted from Double-A Springfield (where he had hit 23) to establish a new minor-league record for the St. Louis Cardinals with 39 bombs for the season. And Alec Burleson — another rising outfielder — hit .331 to win the International League batting title, the first such crown in Redbirds history.

Memphis 901 FC catapulted the organization to new heights, thanks to stellar player recruitment from the front office, coach Ben Pirmann’s tactical tweaking and man-management, and team-of-the-season performances from multiple players. There were plenty of things to be happy about. Memphis finished the year with a 22-8-6 record, racking up the franchise’s highest season totals for wins, points, and goals scored. 2022 saw a first ever playoff win for the organization, a 3-1 victory over Detroit City FC, before the team just missed out on the conference finals with a tight loss to the Tampa Bay Rowdies. Along the way, striker Phillip Goodrum tallied 21 goals, midfielder Aaron Molloy chipped in with 8 goals and 10 assists, and defender Graham Smith marshaled the team to 11 clean sheets. Once the dust fell, 901 FC quickly announced contract extensions for all three players, each of whom were named in either the first or second USL All-League teams. And plenty of other key players had their contracts extended, including captain Leston Paul. The only sour note is that Pirmann announced his exit from the club, accepting the head coaching role with Charleston Battery FC. But looking back, this squad made Memphis and its AutoZone Park matchday fans proud. After a couple years, 901 FC showed that it belongs in the USL.

Meanwhile, sports infrastructure got a big boost when Mayor Jim Strickland announced an ambitious $684 million proposal to renovate the FedExForum, Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium, and AutoZone Park. Plus, the plan called for a new soccer-first Memphis 901 FC stadium (with options to host other programming and events). The city is asking the state of Tennessee to cover $350 million after seeing Nashville’s plans for a new $2 billion stadium for the Tennessee Titans, with state assistance. But nothing’s set in stone.

Youth sports have a shiny new home in the Memphis Sports & Event Center (MSEC) at Liberty Park. At 227,000 square feet, the $60 million complex’s enormous footprint can accommodate young athletes for anything indoor sports related, from basketball to futsal to volleyball and so many others. While final construction won’t be complete until early next year, Liberty Park began showing off the new facilities in December, and it’s enough to get any sports fan excited.

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From My Seat Sports

From Albert’s Seat

The "Pujols Chair" and friends in April 2004. (photo by Sharon Murtaugh).

Paint the seat red. Or white. It doesn’t matter. Take a cue from the Pittsburgh Pirates, who painted the upper-deck seats in Three Rivers Stadium where Willie Stargell hit a few of his mammoth shots. If Larry Sutton had hit the 13th-inning home run that won the 2000 PCL championship and capped AutoZone Park’s inaugural season, it would be worth a footnote in the media guide. But the fact that this title-winning, minor-league Mazeroski was delivered by Albert Pujols — this generation’s Frank Robinson — demands acknowledgment.

I wrote those words in this space in May 2003, as a 23-year-old Albert Pujols was already rearranging record books for the St. Louis Cardinals. Whether or not the Memphis Redbirds brass read them, by the following April I was able to pose for a picture with my young daughters and what’s come to be known as “The Pujols Chair” at AutoZone Park. This Saturday, the Redbirds will be giving out miniatures of the chair to the first 1,500 fans through the gates. It’s a fitting, and quite distinctive tribute to the great Pujols as he winds down his gargantuan career in pursuit of — deep breath here — 700 career home runs.

The Albert Pujols Story will never be rewritten. Let’s start with the most significant number of his 22 major-league seasons: 6,164 (and counting).  On August 20th, Pujols moved past the greatest Cardinal of them all, Stan “The Man” Musial, for second place in career total bases. It’s a more significant number than home runs, one that measures a hitter’s power, consistency, and durability. (A player gets four total bases for a home run, three for a triple, etc.) Pujols will retire looking up only at Hank Aaron on the total-bases chart. Consider, also, that there have been only four players to accumulate 6,000 total bases: Pujols, Aaron, Musial, and Willie Mays. It’s quite a Rushmore.

The best part of the Albert Pujols Story here in 2022 is that he is helping his Cardinals toward a memorable season. The 42-year-old designated hitter (a position new to the National League this year), recently had a pair of two-homer games and delivered a pinch-hit grand slam against the Colorado Rockies on August 18th at Busch Stadium. He is making a farewell tour, of sorts, one with the club for whom he starred his first 11 seasons, but it’s a tour of impact, moments, and profound memories for baseball fans, many of them too young to remember his Rookie of the Year season (2001), to say nothing of a home run that won a minor-league franchise its first championship.

About that home run. I was sitting a few rows behind the Redbirds dugout on September 15, 2000, for Game 4 of the PCL championship series between Memphis and the Salt Lake Buzz. The Redbirds led the best-of-five series, 2-1, and were on the verge of securing the championship when they lost a lead late in the game, sending the contest to extra innings. In the bottom of the 13th, Pujols — wearing number 6, as Musial did with the Cardinals — slammed a line drive down the rightfield line, a ball that will always slice toward the foul pole off the bat of a righthanded hitter. When the baseball dropped into that lucky chair having flown just left of the pole, delirium ensued in the packed ballpark. To connect what we’ve seen from Pujols here, 22 years later, with that moment — across what amounts to a pair of baseball generations — is beyond a basis for comparison. It is the Albert Pujols Story, and it’s a thick volume.

My firstborn daughter is now a college graduate and lives in Honolulu. Her little sister is a junior at Saint Louis University. When we’re together and there’s a game in town — in Memphis or St. Louis — we go to the ballpark. (There are LOTS of red seats at Busch Stadium.) When we visit AutoZone Park these days, we tend to reflect, as families do while squeezing precious hours together. And the Pujols Chair is always there. I actually see it as smiling at us.  So thank you, Albert Pujols, from the best seat in the house.

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From My Seat Sports

Redbirds Report: The Skipper’s View

Paul DeJong and Redbirds manager Ben Johnson (Ryan Beatty/Redbirds)

A life-changing silver lining can be discovered even in a pandemic. Ben Johnson’s mother was in her fifth year of a battle with cancer when the coronavirus outbreak took hold of the United States in the early months of 2020. When professional baseball shut down in March of that year, the Memphis Redbirds’ second-year manager found himself at home, here in Memphis, with his ailing mom. Johnson was able to spend countless hours, days, and weeks with her that he would not have had were the Redbirds traveling from one Pacific Coast League city to another between homestands at AutoZone Park. Today, almost two full baseball seasons removed from that shutdown, Johnson is grateful for minor-league baseball’s “missing season.”

“It was an absolute blessing for me,” says Johnson. “The Cardinals were one of the few organizations that continued to pay the staff. I know [the pandemic] was awful for a lot of people, but it worked out for me and my family. I’m lucky.”

In his fourth year — third season — in the skipper’s office for the Redbirds, Johnson recognizes some internal growth as he adapts to the role he plays in the St. Louis Cardinals organization. “You can learn something every day out here,” he says, “especially dealing with different personalities. Each player is different, and you have to treat them as individuals. You can’t ‘old-school’ these new kids. They want to know that you care about them. It’s building relationships.”

The 2022 Redbirds find themselves hovering around .500 (63-59) with a month to play in the season. Outfielder Alec Burleson is contending for the International League batting title. (The Redbirds left the PCL after the 2019 season and are playing their first as members of the IL West Division.) The Cardinals’ top pitching prospect, Matthew Liberatore, has had ups and downs on the AutoZone Park mound. But Johnson’s primary task is fine-tuning his players to impact the parent Cardinals, and by that measure, the 2022 Redbirds were successful before Memorial Day, having sent three players — Brendan Donovan, Nolan Gorman, and Juan Yepez — north to St. Louis. Each of the trio has contributed to the Cardinals’ rise to first place in the National League Central Division.

“We continue to play hard,” says Johnson. “We’ve got some young players, and we’re making mistakes. But we teach off that. Baseball comes and goes in waves. We’re hitting the ball hard, just right at players. It seems like one mistake has beaten us lately.”

When asked about players who have impressed him upon arrival, Johnson mentions a pair of young pitchers: Freddy Pacheco and Ryan Loutos. But his chest swells with pride when he reflects on the likes of Donovan and Gorman, who used their time in Memphis precisely as it’s scripted: a platform to the major leagues. “They had work to do,” says Johnson, “and they busted their tails. They’re competing for the big-league club, and immediately. It’s what [Gorman] did in the offseason. He came back more agile, more athletic. Quicker bat, and that equated into more power. When we were in Durham, he hit the farthest ball I’ve ever seen hit.”

Johnson relished the two months veteran shortstop Paul DeJong spent with the Redbirds. Demoted when he struggled to hit in the early weeks of the season, DeJong leaned into a program for rediscovering his stroke. Instead of pouting — DeJong had been the Cardinals’ primary shortstop since 2017 — he produced at the plate, driving in 54 runs in 51 games before being recalled by St. Louis.

“He wasn’t that hot when he first got here,” says Johnson. “But he was a pro in every way. Never did he go through the motions. When you have a veteran who’s in it, it makes me a better manager. He wants to be better. Let me facilitate that in every way. I want to be more prepared. I know he’s hungry. He inspired everyone.”

A 1999 graduate of Germantown High School, the Redbirds are Johnson’s home team in a way no previous Memphis manager could claim. And he hopes to return in 2023, particularly with the likes of Jordan Walker and Masyn Winn (highly ranked Cardinal prospects) soon to arrive. But for now, there are games to play in 2022, and Ben Johnson focuses on a culture of growth and positivity, traits he surely inherited from his late mother. “You’ve got to keep the negative energy at bay, because this is a game where failure is a part of it. Negative energy is contagious, and it can pull a club down. You’ve got to be mentally tough, despite [a bad] outcome.”

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From My Seat Sports

Redbirds Report: Playoff Push and the Walker Watch

Jordan Walker (photo courtesy Springfield Cardinals)

Just over two months of baseball remain in the Memphis Redbirds’ 2022 season. The team will alternate six-game series at home and on the road the next 10 weeks. Playing their first season in the International League, the Redbirds have a chance at their first playoff berth since winning the 2018 Triple-A national championship. Here are four story lines we’ll follow as the fabled “dog days” arrive.

• The Redbirds must beat Columbus . . . oh, wait. Memphis occupies third place in the IL’s West Division, behind Nashville and Columbus. So it stands to reason the Redbirds need to handle the Clippers if they’re to climb toward first place. Well, it’s problematic as the teams don’t play each other this season. For whatever reason, Memphis does not face four teams in its own division (also Louisville, St. Paul, and Toledo). We now live in a world where six-game series are the norm for cost-cutting minor-league operations. But please, let’s reconsider schedules so teams play those it must beat to reach the postseason. (Memphis does play first-place Nashville nine more times. Alas, all the games are in Middle Tennessee. Worth the drive, especially, perhaps, the last three games of the season: September 26-28.)

• The Jordan Walker watch continues . . . and grows. The slugging third-baseman has climbed to seventh in some rankings of minor-league prospects. Only 20 years old, Walker has hit .301 with an .873 OPS at Double-A Springfield. He could be a one-man infusion of offense for a Memphis team that already leads the International League in home runs.

But will Walker even be in the St. Louis Cardinals’ system by the time you read this? The Cards have been in the mix of the saltiest trade rumor this summer, one that would have Washington Nationals’ star Juan Soto — the 23-year-old All-Star turned down a 15-year, $440 million offer from his current team earlier this month — headed to Busch Stadium. It’s hard to envision such a deal taking place without Walker going to D.C. (His journey to the big leagues would be accelerated in the Nats’ system as the club occupies the cellar of the National League East.) Here’s hoping we get a glimpse of Walker at AutoZone Park, even if it’s brief.

• Memphis Mafia II? A friend asked me last week if the Cardinals would receive any promotions from Memphis for their postseason push. My answer: They already have. St. Louis has already been impacted by Brendan Donovan, Juan Yepez, and Nolan Gorman, all players who started their season with the Redbirds. It calls to mind the famed “Memphis Mafia” of David Freese, Allen Craig, Jon Jay, and Daniel Descalso, a quartet who made their big-league debuts in 2010, then helped the Cardinals win the World Series in 2011. Donovan is a Rookie of the Year candidate, having started games at six different positions for St. Louis. Gorman has added nine home runs with the Cardinals to the 15 he slammed for Memphis to start the season. And Yepez, frankly, was born to DH, an important component now of National League batting orders. Keep in mind, also, that one of these players could be in a trade package to acquire Soto from Washington. Impact, indeed.

• DeJong’s example. Say what you will about Paul DeJong, for five years the Cardinals’ regular shortstop before a demotion in May when he struggled to begin the season. But acknowledge the veteran’s professionalism. He’s taken his work to Triple-A ballparks, searching for the consistency at the plate that eludes so many on their way to the big leagues, but escapes even major-league All-Stars at certain career crossroads. DeJong is making $9 million this season and is under contract for one more with the Cardinals, which makes him yet another trade candidate, particularly with Tommy Edman having taken over at short for St. Louis. He’s hit 15 home runs and has an eye-popping 49 RBIs in 49 games for Memphis. DeJong’s next call to the major leagues may feel even better than his first.

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From My Seat Sports

Memphis Redbirds Alumni All-Star Team

Yadier Molina (photo by Taka Yanagimoto / St. Louis Cardinals)

When Albert Pujols and Ryan Helsley are introduced as members of the National League All-Star team Tuesday night in Los Angeles, it will extend a remarkable streak for, of all teams, the Memphis Redbirds. The local Triple-A franchise, you see, has been represented by a former player in every All-Star Game since 2003. (This year’s event will make it 19 in a row, as the pandemic forced the cancellation of the 2020 contest.)

It seems like a good time to name an All-Star team among the many Redbirds alumni to play in the Midsummer Classic. So here we go.

Catcher — Yadier Molina. The St. Louis Cardinals legend — a 9-time Gold Glove winner — has played in seven All-Star games (and was named to three others). Molina drove in a run in the 2009 event at Busch Stadium, making his All-Star debut in the stadium he’s called home since it opened in 2006. He made Cardinals history in 2017 in Miami, when he became the first St. Louis player in 43 years to homer in the All-Star Game.

First Base — Albert Pujols. The future Hall of Famer — he’s hit 685 home runs through Sunday’s games — will be appearing in his 11th All-Star Game (10th as a Cardinal), this time as a “legacy” selection during his 22nd and final season. Pujols had a memorable non-appearance at the 2007 event, when he was not brought off the bench in a game his National League squad lost, 5-4. What makes it especially memorable is the NL manager that night was Pujols’s skipper with the Cardinals, Tony LaRussa.

Second Base — Placido Polanco. A member of the inaugural Memphis Redbirds team in 1998, Polanco played in the All-Star Game as a Detroit Tiger (in 2007) and a Philadelphia Phillie (in 2011). He’s one of only three former Redbirds (along with Molina and Pujols) to accumulate more than 2,000 hits in the big leagues.

Third Base — Matt Carpenter. This three-time All-Star won a Silver Slugger at second base in 2013, but he made the All-Star team at the hot corner the next season. After a late-career decline in St. Louis, Carpenter has found his power stroke this season with the New York Yankees, having hit 13 home runs in just 31 games.

Shortstop — Paul DeJong. Runner-up in the 2017 National League Rookie of the Year vote, DeJong played in the 2019 All-Star Game on his way to slamming 30 home runs, a record for Cardinal shortstops. He has struggled the last three seasons, though, and finds himself currently playing short . . . for the Memphis Redbirds.

Leftfield — Allen Craig. Craig caught the final out (in leftfield) to clinch the 2011 World Series championship for St. Louis. He hit three home runs in that Fall Classic and made the 2013 All-Star team, helping the Cardinals return to the World Series by driving in 97 runs. He also helped Memphis win a Pacific Coast League championship in 2009 with a .322 batting average and 26 home runs. In 2010, he drove in a remarkable 81 runs in just 83 games for Memphis.

Centerfield — Adolis Garcia. One of only two Redbirds to hit a walk-off home run in the PCL championship series (the other was Pujols), Garcia made the 2021 American League All-Star team as a member of the Texas Rangers. He hit 31 home runs last season, stole 16 bases, and drove in 90 runs.

Rightfield — J.D. Drew. Not only did Drew make his first All-Star team in 2008 (as a member of the Boston Red Sox), he earned the game’s MVP award, drilling a two-run homer in the seventh inning to help the American League to a 4-3 win. Alas, it was also Drew’s final All-Star Game.

Pitcher — Adam Wainwright. Dan Haren started the 2007 All-Star Game, but if Molina is the catcher for this fantasy club, the pitcher must be Wainwright, who started the 2014 Midsummer Classic for the National League. Earlier this season, Wainwright and Molina established a new MLB record for team wins by a starting battery.

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From My Seat Sports

’Birds Helping ’Birds

Alec Burleson (photo by Daniel Scruggs)

Since the Memphis Redbirds’ arrival in 1998, we’ve grown accustomed to the Triple-A outfit sending reinforcements up I-55 when the parent club — the St. Louis Cardinals — discovers needs on its roster. Three players we saw at AutoZone Park in April are now seeing regular duty in the Cardinals’ batting order: multi-position maestro Brendan Donovan and a pair of sluggers, Juan Yepez from the right side and Nolan Gorman from the left.

But there’s a twist this season. The Redbirds have recently received reinforcements, not from Double-A Springfield as is customary, but from the big-league club itself. Outfielder Tyler O’Neill earned National League Player of the Month honors last September when he was the key cog in a 17-game winning streak for St. Louis (the National League’s longest since 1935). But the two-time Gold Glove leftfielder landed on the injured list last month with shoulder discomfort. He joined the Redbirds for a rehab stint on June 3rd, then delivered what proved to be a game-winning home run in the ninth inning the next day. A fourth consecutive win improved Memphis to 31-22 for the season and a high-water mark (nine games over .500).

The circumstances that have Paul DeJong in a Redbirds uniform are more complicated than those for O’Neill. The 28-year-old DeJong — a National League All-Star in 2019 when he hit 30 home runs for St. Louis — has manned the shortstop position at Busch Stadium since 2017. But he struggled mightily to open the 2022 season, hitting only .130 over 24 games and striking out 25 times in 86 plate appearances. DeJong’s numbers weren’t much better in 2021, when he batted .197 and had far more strikeouts (103) than hits (70) in 113 games. With Tommy Edman — a Gold Glove second-baseman last season — moving to short for the Cardinals and Gorman stepping in at second, DeJong’s task is finding the swing that got him to that All-Star Game three years ago. Ask the Charlotte Knights and they might say he’s close to finding it. DeJong slammed four home runs in the Redbirds’ recent six-game series in Carolina. He’s driven in 19 runs in 21 games for Memphis, but continues to struggle making contact (21 strikeouts in 87 at-bats).

The fun part of this twist on talent sharing is that O’Neill and DeJong have merely supplemented the Redbirds’ regulars. Outfielder Alec Burleson — the Cardinals’ 10th-ranked prospect — earned the organization’s Player of the Month award for May, posting a .357 batting average with five home runs, 24 RBIs and 35 hits (a total that led all of Triple-A baseball). Burleson’s 42 RBIs in 46 games (through Sunday) rank fourth in the International League and have him on a pace that could threaten the Redbirds franchise record for a season (Nick Stavinoha drove in 109 in 2011).

Perhaps most significantly, the combined efforts of rising, rehabbing, and refining stars have the Redbirds sitting in third place in the International League’s West Division, four games back of the front-running Nashville Sounds . . . farm club of the very team St. Louis is chasing in the National League Central (the Milwaukee Brewers). All this with the Redbirds opening their longest home stand of the season (12 games) Tuesday night at AutoZone Park. The first guest will be the Durham Bulls (28-25), a club that lost five of six games to Memphis in its home park just over a month ago. Then the Sounds (34-18) come to town for what should be a bragging-rights series, at least for the state of Tennessee. Memphis hasn’t played a postseason game since winning the 2018 Triple-A National Championship. While the Redbirds have done their part to keep St. Louis in the playoff mix, they may secure a few critical wins — they count just as much in June as they do in September — with the help of veterans long familiar with the I-55 shuttle.

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Bark in the Park with the Redbirds vs. Louisville Bats

Sir Meatball is making a splash for the Redbirds’ season wrap-up at AutoZone Park. (Photo: Michael Donahue)

The baseball season is coming to an end. But that’s no reason it should go to the dogs, right? Not so fast — the Memphis Redbirds have invited all dogs to bring their humans to the last two Thursday home games for Bark in the Park on September 16th and 30th.

Dogs get in free, but their humans will have to purchase a specialty ticket for $15. Included in the ticket price will be your dog’s choice of a Yadi dog bowl, St. Louis Cardinals picture frame leash holder, or a Redbirds classic logo dog blanket. Then, you get to watch the game with your furry friend. The Memphis Redbirds take on the Louisville Bats on the 16th or Charlotte Knights if you wait until the 30th.

Both Thursdays will host celebrity, Instagram-famous English bulldogs Sir Meatball and Milkshake (@sir.meatball on Instagram) to take pictures with their fans. Since Thursday games are also Throwback Thursdays, you can enjoy $2 draft beers and $1 hot dogs all night long.

The Redbirds recently released their 2022 schedule ahead of this season’s wrap-up on October 3rd. Redbirds President Craig Unger says, ​​“We still have lots of excitement planned for the next few weeks at AutoZone Park.”

That excitement includes the last post-game fireworks show on Saturday, September 18th; a Dylan Carlson bobblehead giveaway on Friday, September 17th; and of course Bark in the Park on Thursdays.

Batter up for the final innings of the 2021 season with your paw-some friends.

Bark in the Park: Memphis Redbirds vs. Louisville Bats, AutoZone Park, 200 Union, Thursday, Sept. 16, 6:45 p.m., $15, free for dogs.

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From My Seat Sports

“The Other Nolan”

Nolan Gorman (courtesy Memphis Redbirds)

When the calendar turned to 2021, Nolan Gorman knew he would spend the year as one of the St. Louis Cardinals’ top two prospects (along with pitcher Matthew Liberatore, a childhood pal from Arizona and now a teammate with the Memphis Redbirds). What Gorman didn’t know was that by February, he would be merely the second-best third baseman named Nolan in the Cardinals’ system. 

With the acquisition of perennial All-Star Nolan Arenado from the Colorado Rockies, the Cardinals secured what they hope will be their third baseman for the better part of a decade. They also added a twist to “the other Nolan’s” development. Gorman now spends most nights playing second base for the Redbirds. By the looks of his production at the Triple-A level, he may soon join his namesake in that Cardinal infield.

“The biggest difference [at Triple A] has been the pitching,” says the 21-year-old Gorman. “They go out there with a game plan to face me. And they execute better than guys at Double A. A bunch of them have big-league time. It’s a good challenge: learn to adapt as quickly as possible to get to the next level.”

Since his promotion from Double-A Springfield on June 29th, Gorman has hit .278 with 10 home runs and an OPS of .796. (His numbers over 43 games with Springfield: .288 average, 11 homers, .862 OPS.) “I make mechanical adjustments [to my swing] in the offseason,” explains Gorman. “I tinker with stuff, here and there, during the season, but nothing drastic. It’s been more mental. Less is more . . . not trying to do too much. This game will humble you quickly if you think you have it figured out. You have to trust yourself, not try to hit a home run every time.”

The adjustment to a new level of professional baseball has coincided with Gorman’s adjustment to a new position. He’s looked comfortable at second base, even when turning the double play (not an act that always comes naturally to a longtime third baseman). “It’s been fun,” he says. “I had a lot of help during spring training from [Cardinal coaches] Jose Oquendo and Stubby Clapp. Just put in the work. They’ve made it as easy as possible. It’s probably easier for a third baseman to move to second than it is to go from second to third. I’ve enjoyed turning double plays, and being involved in so many plays. On an off day, I’ll be pacing the dugout, not knowing what to do with myself.”

Now a minor league instructor with the Cardinals, Oquendo famously played all nine positions (including pitcher) during the 1988 season with St. Louis. Gorman emphasizes Oquendo’s influence — especially during 2020, when the pandemic shut down the minor leagues — in much the way generations of Cardinals credited their development to the late George Kissell. “He has what you’d call the ‘it’ factor,” says Gorman. “He understands the game at a different level. It’s special. To be able to sit and talk with [Oquendo] about the game, to see how it should be played . . . it’s been really good to hear that at a young age. [Baseball] is changing and evolving, but there’s a right way to play the game. There are a lot of chess pieces to keep an eye on.”

In reflecting on the “lost season” of 2020, Gorman sees a silver lining, one that may actually benefit his development and get him to the major leagues quicker. “I went to the alternate [training] site and I was able to really hone in on things I needed to improve,” he says. “I enjoyed how much work I got in. It put me in a leadership role for younger guys. [Oquendo] did that, I think, to build my leadership skills, to focus on my career and how to get better. [The shutdown] could hurt players or make them better. It’s the mentality, what you did with it. How you spent your time.”

Ten days after he first donned a Memphis Redbirds jersey, Gorman and his teammates embarked on a franchise-record 15-game winning streak. They remain well outside playoff contention (48-54 through Sunday), but nothing teaches an athlete to win like actually winning games. With his big-league debut drawing near (major-league clubs can expand rosters Wednesday), Gorman hopes to find similar growth spurts a few hours north and just across the Mississippi River. “You gotta be consistent at the big-league level,” says Gorman. “You gotta produce to win ballgames, or someone will replace you. Find consistency. Have a game plan every day, and trust it.”