St. Louis Sandlot Baseball Update

St. Louis Sandlot Baseball has adopted the “Y” Baseball Field at Carondelet Park as our new field (which is not as confined as Fox Park). We will continue meeting up and playing there through the fall and on & off over the winter, weather permitting of course.

Part of our goal, in addition to playing ball, will be to restore and upgrade the field conditions so that it can more easily be used by the community. Interested in joining us? Please follow @stlouissandlot on Instagram for updates!

Sandlot Baseball in St. Louis

Several weeks back I saw a post on Facebook from a guy looking to get a bunch of people together on an upcoming Saturday at a local park to play some sandlot baseball, with the intention of not only playing a game but also to discuss the formation of an actual sandlot league in St. Louis. My eyes lit up and I immediately posted my interest in attending and went about spreading the invite among my followers on my personal Facebook page as well as other social media sites that I’m plugged into.

For me, playing some kind of ball has been in the back of my mind ever since I last played corkball at Tower Grove Park back in 2009. While the corkball thing was fun, it was also *really* difficult to get people to participate in. It seemed like, at best, we’d have maybe two or three people show up, and oftentimes it was just me and maybe my son there. So despite my best efforts at the time, I decided to throw in the towel. The arrival of another kid in the winter of 2010 also extinguished a good portion of my free time to continue the endeavor into subsequent summers. So that was pretty much the end of Tower Grove Corkball.

So fast-forward to the pandemic and I began to catch wind of pickup or “sandlot” baseball teams and even leagues forming across the U.S. and Canada. The first of these that I found was through my connection with the baseball-punk band the Isotopes, and that was the East Van Baseball in Vancouver, BC. I liked what I saw and, even though I was rapidly aging through my 50s, longed to see something like this form in St. Louis. Well, lo and behold, we have something now! Born out of a post on the Cherokee Park Hit & Catch All-Stars Facebook group is St. Louis Sandlot! Headed up by a Twin Cities export, Josh Stulen, this new group of ballplayers and its Southside Slingers offshoot (the only “team” to spring forth thus far) have begun playing on random-if-not-more-regularly-as-of-late Saturdays or Sundays at Fox Park in the city of St. Louis. There’s a really nice baseball diamond there that rarely ever gets used called PAL Memorial Park (the Cardinals built it over 20 years ago using money from a grant from the late Daryl Kyle). Still very casual but we run the bases, keep score, etc. Will try to play into December if the weather allows for it.

If you’re interested in playing, follow @stlouissandlot on Instagram (where it’s also recommended to follow the #sandlotrevolution tag in general). Apparently Instagram is the go-to app for finding all things sandlot baseball-related as far as social media is concerned… so far. Longer term goal is to get involved with the Sandlot Revolution next summer. Anyway, if you’d like to come out and play some ball, please join us! Bring your gloves, bats (wood only), and drink(s) of your choice. Our next gathering is this coming Sunday morning (November 12) at 10am at Fox Park.

Origin of the Name “World Series”

Stolen from roadsidephotos.sabr.org by Doug Pappas because his site is apparently defunct:

One baseball myth that just won’t die is that the “World Series” was named for the New York World newspaper, which supposedly sponsored the earliest contests. It didn’t, and it wasn’t.

In fact, the postseason series between the AL and NL champs was originally known as the “Championship of the World” or “World’s Championship Series.” That was shortened through usage to “World’s Series” and finally to “World Series.”

This usage can be traced through the annual baseball guides. Spalding’s Base Ball Guide for 1887 reported the results of the 1886 postseason series between Chicago, champions of the National League, and St. Louis, champions of the American Association, under the heading “The World’s Championship.” As the editor noted, the two leagues “both entitle their championship contests each season as those for the base ball championship of the United States,” so a more grandiose name was required to describe the postseason showdown between the two “champions of the United States.”

But the Spalding Guide — which, after all, was published by one of the world’s largest sporting goods companies, with a vested interest in bringing baseball to other lands — had grander ambitions. By 1890, the Spalding Guide was explaining that “[t]he base ball championship of the United States necessarily includes that of the entire world, though the time will come when Australia will step in as a rival, and after that country will come Great Britain; but all that is for the future.”

This didn’t happen, but the name “World’s Championship Series” stuck. Reporting on the first modern postseason series, the Red Sox-Pirates battle of 1903, the 1904 Reach Guide called it the “World’s Championship Series.” By 1912, Reach’s headline spoke of the “World’s Series,” while editor Francis Richter’s text still referred to the “World’s Championship Series.” The Reach Guide switched from “World’s Series” to “World Series” in 1931, retaining the modern usage through its merger with the Spalding Guide and through its final issue in 1941. The separately-edited Spalding Guide used “World’s Series” through 1916, switching to “World Series” in the 1917 edition.

The Spalding-Reach Guide was replaced as Major League Baseball’s semi-official annual by the Sporting News Guide, first published in 1942. The Sporting News Guide used “World’s Series” from 1942 through 1963, changing to “World Series” in the 1964 edition.

Moreover, the New York World never claimed any connection with postseason baseball. The World was a tabloid much given to flamboyant self-promotion. If it had been involved in any way with sponsoring a championship series, the fact would have been emblazoned across its sports pages for months. I reviewed every issue of the World for the months leading up to the 1903 and 1905 World’s Championship Series — there’s not a word suggesting any link between the paper and the series.

Cards have a history of losing ugly!

By Anonymous

Losing isn’t supposed to be pretty, but the Cardinals always seem to find a way to lose ugly.

In 1968, The Cards blew a 3-1 lead to the Detroit Tigers in World Series with Bob Gibson pitching Game 7… ouch!

In 1985, the Cards blew a 3-1 game lead against the Kansas City Royals in the World Series, losing a one-run lead in the bottom of the ninth in Game 6, after one of the worst umpiring calls in baseball history, and then got blown out in Game 7, 11-0, with their ace John Tudor on the mound. 21-game winner Joaquin Andujar and manager Whitey Herzog both had meltdowns and were ejected from the game with Cards down 11-0, in what has to be one of the most infamous games in Cardinals history… ouch!

In 1987, after coming back to beat the scum baby Giants in Games 6 and 7 in St. Louis, the Cards blew a 5-1 lead to the Minnesota Twins in Game 6 of the WS with a 3-games-to-2 lead and their ace John Tudor on the mound… ouch!

In 1996, the Cards blew a 3-games-to-one led to the Atlanta Braves in the NLCS, and were outscored 18-1 in Games 6 and 7 at home… ouch!

In 2002, the Central Division champion Cardinals lost to the wild-card Giants in 5 Games the same year that Jack Buck and starting pitcher Darryl Kile died… ouch!

In 2004, the Cards won 105 games in the regular season, then batted .190 in the World Series and got swept by the Red Sox… ouch!

In 2012, the Cards blew a three-games-to-one lead to the Giants in the NLCS by a combined score of 20-1… ouch!

In 2013, the Cards blew a two-games-to-one lead over the Red Sox in the WS by losing Games 4 and 5 in St. Louis. Pitching phenom and NLCS MVP Michael Wacha finally ran out of gas in Game 6 and got rocked in Boston… ouch!

In 2014, the Cards gift-wrapped 3 straight wins to the Giants in Games 3, 4, and 5 in SF. After a classic Wainwright performance, a 1-run lead, and 6 outs to go, the Cards somehow managed to give the Giants 4 more runs in the 8th and 9th innings, including an epic 3-run walk-off blast in the bottom of the ninth by a mediocre hitter—at best… ouch! ouch! ouch!

Mike Matheny’s Letter to Parents

Message from Kevin Seitzer – Mike Matheny is the new St. Louis Cardinals Manager. Mike lived with me in Milwaukee his rookie year. He’s one of the most respected, wonderful people you will ever be around. Mike coached his kids after retirement and this is a letter to the parents on his team. This may be the BEST letter I’ve ever read regarding youth baseball and is exactly what “The Mac-N-Seitz Way” is all about. Please enjoy and help us get there!

Letter from Mike Matheny…

I always said that the only team that I would coach would be a team of orphans, and now here we are. The reason for me saying this is that I have found the biggest problem with youth sports has been the parents. I think that it is best to nip this in the bud right off the bat. I think the concept that I am asking all of you to grab is that this experience is ALL about the boys. If there is anything about it that includes you, we need to make a change of plans. My main goals are as follows:

  1. to teach these young men how to play the game of baseball the right way,
  2. to be a positive impact on them as young men, and
  3. do all of this with class.

We may not win every game, but we will be the classiest coaches, players, and parents in every game we play. The boys are going to play with a respect for their teammates, opposition, and the umpires no matter what.

With that being said, I need to let you know where I stand. I have no hidden agenda. I have no ulterior motive other than what I said about my goals. I also need all of you to know that my priorities in life will most likely be a part of how I coach, and the expectations I have for the boys. My Christian faith is the guide for my life and I have never been one for forcing my faith down someone’s throat, but I also believe it to be cowardly, and hypocritical to shy away from what I believe. You as parents need to know for yourselves and for your boys, that when the opportunity presents itself, I will be honest with what I believe. That may make some people uncomfortable, but I did that as a player, and I hope to continue it in any endeavor that I get into. I am just trying to get as many potential issues out in the open from the beginning. I believe that the biggest role of the parent is to be a silent source of encouragement. I think if you ask most boys what they would want their parents to do during the game; they would say “NOTHING”. Once again, this is ALL about the boys. I believe that a little league parent feels that they must participate with loud cheering and “Come on, let’s go, you can do it”, which just adds more pressure to the kids. I will be putting plenty of pressure on these boys to play the game the right way with class, and respect, and they will put too much pressure on themselves and each other already. You as parents need to be the silent, constant, source of support.

Let the record stand right now that we will not have good umpiring. This is a fact, and the sooner we all understand that, the better off we will be. We will have balls that bounce in the dirt that will be called strikes, and we will have balls over our heads that will be called strikes. Likewise, the opposite will happen with the strike zone while we are pitching. The boys will not be allowed at any time to show any emotion against the umpire. They will not shake their head, or pout, or say anything to the umpire. This is my job, and I will do it well. I once got paid to handle those guys, and I will let them know when they need to hear something. I am really doing all of you parents a favor that you probably don’t realize at this point. I have taken out any work at all for you except to get them there on time, and enjoy. The thing that these boys need to hear is that you enjoyed watching them and you hope that they had fun. I know that it is going to be very hard not to coach from the stands and yell encouraging things to your son, but I am confident that this works in a negative way for their development and their enjoyment. Trust me on this. I am not saying that you cannot clap for your kids when they do well. I am saying that if you hand your child over to me to coach them, then let me do that job.

A large part of how your child improves is your responsibility. The difference for kids at this level is the amount of repetition that they get. This goes with pitching, hitting and fielding. As a parent, you can help out tremendously by playing catch, throwing batting practice, hitting ground balls, or finding an instructor who will do this in your place. The more of this your kids can get, the better. This is the one constant that I have found with players that reached the major leagues….someone spent time with them away from the field.

I am completely fine with your son getting lessons from whomever you see fit. The only problem I will have is if your instructor is telling your son not to follow the plan of the team. I will not teach a great deal of mechanics at the beginning, but I will teach mental approach, and expect the boys to comply. If I see something that your son is doing mechanically that is drastically wrong, I will talk with the instructor and clear things up. The same will hold true with pitching coaches. We will have a pitching philosophy and will teach the pitchers and catchers how to call a game, and why we choose the pitches we choose. There is no guessing. We will have a reason for the pitches that we throw. A pitching coach will be helpful for the boys to get their arms in shape and be ready to throw when spring arrives. Every boy on this team will be worked as a pitcher. We will not over use these young arms and will keep close watch on the number of innings that the boys are throwing.

I will be throwing so much info at these boys that they are going to suffer from overload for a while, but eventually they are going to get it. I am a stickler about the thought process of the game. I will be talking non-stop about situational hitting, situational pitching, and defensive preparation. The question that they are going to hear the most is “What were you thinking?” What were you thinking when you threw that pitch? What were you thinking during that at bat? What were you thinking before the pitch was thrown, were you anticipating anything? I am a firm believer that this game is more mental than physical, and the mental may be more difficult, but can be taught and can be learned by a 10 and 11 year old. If it sounds like I am going to be demanding of these boys, you are exactly right. I am definitely demanding their attention, and the other thing that I am going to require is effort. Their attitude, their concentration, and their effort are the things that they can control. If they give me these things every time they show up, they will have a great experience.

The best situation for all of us is for you to plan on handing these kids over to me and the assistant coaches when you drop them off, and plan on them being mine for the 2 or so hours that we have scheduled for a game, or the time that we have scheduled for the practice. I would like for these boys to have some responsibility for having their own water, not needing you to keep running to the concession stand, or having parents behind the dugout asking their son if they are thirsty, or hungry, or too hot, and I would appreciate if you would share this information with other invited guests…like grandparents. If there is an injury, obviously we will get you to help, but besides that, let’s pretend that they are at work for a short amount of time and that you have been granted the pleasure of watching. I will have them at games early so we can get stretched and loosened up, and I will have a meeting with just the boys after the game. After the meeting, they are all yours again. As I am writing this, I sound like the little league Nazi, but I believe that this will make things easier for everyone involved.

I truly believe that the family is the most important institution in the lives of these guys. With that being said, l think that the family events are much more important than the sports events. I just ask that you are considerate of the rest of the team and let the team manager, and myself know when you will miss, and to let us know as soon as possible. I know that there will be times when I am going to miss either for family reasons, for other commitments. If your son misses a game or a practice, it is not the end of the world, but there may be some sort of repercussion, just out of respect for the kids that put the effort into making it. The kind of repercussions could possibly be running, altered playing time, or position in the batting order.

Speaking of batting order, I would like to address that right from the top as well seeing that next to playing time this is the second most complained about issue, or actually tied for second with position on the defensive field. Once again, I need you to know that I am trying to develop each boy individually, and I will give them a chance to learn and play any position that they are interested in. I also believe that this team will be competitive and when we get into situations where we are focusing on winning; like a tournament for example; we are going to put the boys in the position that will give the team the best opportunity. I will talk with the boys individually and have them tell me what their favorite position is and what other position they would like to learn about. As this season progresses, there is a chance that your son may be playing a position that they don’t necessarily like, but I will need your support about their role on the team. I know that times have changed, but one of the greatest lessons that my father taught me was that my coach was always right…even when he was wrong. The principle is a great life lesson about how things really work. I hope that I will have enough humility to come to your son if I treated him wrong and apologize. Our culture has lost this respect for authority mostly because the kids hear the parents constantly complaining about the teachers and coaches of the child.

I need all of you to know that we are most likely going to lose many games this year. The main reason is that we need to find out how we measure up with the local talent pool. The only way to do this is to play against some of the best teams. I am convinced that if the boys put their work in at home, and give me their best effort, that we will be able to play with just about any team. Time will tell. l also believe that there is enough local talent that we will not have to do a large amount of travel, if any. This may be disappointing for those of you who only play baseball and look forward to the out of town experiences, but I also know that this is a relief for the parents that have traveled throughout the US and Canada for hockey and soccer looking for better competition. In my experiences, we have traveled all over the Midwest and have found just as good competition right in our back yard. If this season goes well, we will entertain the idea of travel in the future.

The boys will be required to show up ready to play every time they come to the field. Shirts tucked in, hats on straight, and pants not drooping down to their knees. There is not an excuse for lack of hustle on a baseball field. From the first step outside the dugout they will hustle. They will have a fast jog to their position, to the plate, and back to the bench when they make an out. We will run out every hit harder than any team we will play, and will learn how to always back up a play to help our teammates. Every single play, every player will be required to move to a spot. Players that do not hustle and run out balls will not play. The boys will catch on to this quickly. The game of baseball becomes very boring when players are not thinking about the next play and what they possibly could do to help the team. Players on the bench will not be messing around. I will constantly be talking with them about situations and what they would be doing if they were in a specific position, or if they were the batter. There is as much to learn on the bench as there is on the field if the boys want to learn. All of this will take some time for the boys to conform to. They are boys and I am not trying to take away from that, but I do believe that they can bear down and concentrate hard for just a little while during the games and practices.

I know this works because this was how I was taught the game and how our parents acted in the stands. We started our little league team when I was 10 years old in a little suburb of Columbus, Ohio. We had a very disciplined coach that expected the same from us. We committed 8 summers to this man and we were rewarded for our efforts. I went to Michigan, one went to Duke, one to Miami of Florida, two went to North Carolina, one went to Central Florida, one went to Kent State, and most of the others played smaller division one or division two baseball. Four of us went on to play professionally. This was coming from a town where no one had ever been recruited by any colleges. I am not saying that this is what is going to happen to our boys, but what I do want you to see is that this system works. I know that right now you are asking yourself if this is what you want to get yourself into and I understand that for some of you it may not be the right fit. I also think that there is a great opportunity for these boys to grow together and learn some lessons that will go beyond their baseball experience. Let me know as soon as possible whether or not this is a commitment that you and your son want to make.

Thanks,

Mike Matheny

Favorite Summertime Brews

My two favorite beers for watching baseball or just kickin’ back on a lazy, warm, summer day both hail from the great state of Missouri (or Missourah to you rural hayseeds). Those two beers happen to be none other than Schlafly’s Summer Lager and Boulevard’s excellent Pilsner.

Image from ByThePint.com

For those of you living in a cave (or at least one that doesn’t stock good beer), Schlafly is a local microbrew from right here in St. Louis, and Boulevard is located across the state in Kansas City. And both of these beers are better than anything Anheuser-Busch has ever brewed (although I’m willing to give their new Shock Top Wheat IPA a shot), even though I have been known to buy an 18-pack of Budweiser on occasion. I can down PBRs, too. It’s decent enough for cheap swill, just like Coors or Miller High Life, but I’m too much of a serious beer drinker to waste too much money on that stuff, especially when there are some really great, delicious beers out there for just a few dollars more. So if you’re looking for a good beer to drink while firing up the grill and tuning in AM 1120 for the ballgame on a moist summer evening in St. Louie, I’d highly recommend these two beers.

Image from ShowMeBeer.com

So, with Schlafly’s Summer Lager and Boulevard’s Pilsner out of the way, what would be a couple more good choices? Well, I’m glad I asked! I’m also proud to say that my two other favorites are also St. Louis originals! I happen to think that new Kräftig Lager is better than your average beer, and it’s great to see the Busch family back in the brewing business and not part of InBev (Kräftig‘s owner, William K. Busch, is the great-grandson of Adolphus Busch, who co-founded Anheuser-Busch). Since this is a relatively new beer that I only just started sampling, I haven’t had a chance yet to give it the full summertime/ballgame/grilling in the backyard test, but I believe it should fair pretty well. Oh, and Kräftig is the only one of the beers in this article that has a Light option, so for those of you watching your figure, take note. I haven’t actually tried Kräftig Light myself yet.

Another is an old favorite of mine, Griesedieck Brothers‘ Premium Golden Pilsner, which never disappoints, although it’s even better if you can find some fresh bottles as it isn’t actually brewed in St. Louis. The Griesedieck family’s history of brewing in St. Louis is even older than that of our beloved baseball team, so I’m sure this beer is no stranger to being accompanied by the sounds of taking in the action at the old ballpark.

So there you have it. Four excellent choices for quenching your thirst while watching/listening to Cards baseball this summer, and each of them a much better local alternative to the usual AB or Miller brands. Happy drinking!

Beltran’s impact on the Cardinals’ lineup

I plan on making this a pretty short blog post. Basically, I wanted to post this because I’m sick of hearing ESPN commentators and other baseball “experts” going on and on about how “replacing Albert Pujols” in the Cardinals lineup is going to be a “team effort.” Watching a game last week I recall hearing one say something to the effect of everyone in the lineup will have to step up and play better in order to replace his bat, which, of course, you can’t replace, blah blah blah…

Wow. Makes you wonder if any of these guys ever actually check statistics, doesn’t it? How about looking at last year’s offensive numbers for one Carlos Beltran, guys?

In 142 games last year for the Mets & Giants, Beltran hit .300, had 22 home runs, 84 RBIs, and had an OPS of .910. Pujols, in 147 games, hit .299, had 37 homers, 99 RBIs, and had an OPS of .906. True, Beltran’s HR and RBI totals were considerably less than Albert’s, but he did play in five fewer games and with two different teams in a year where he was coming back from injury. As long as this guy stays healthy, I can see him having another year in which he puts up similar (if not better) numbers.

Pujols, on the other hand? Well, he’s already off to a slow start, just like last year. Yes, his numbers will definitely improve over the course of the season, but let’s not forget that this guy’s numbers have been in a steady decline over the past three seasons. At the rate of his decline, one could project Albert in 2012 at hitting in the .280s, having about 30 home runs, 90 RBIs, and with an OPS of well below .900. Those are still decent offensive numbers, of course, but they’re just not as astronomical as we’re used to seeing from him, especially at his peak around 2007 or 2008, and they’re numbers that could easily be equaled by one healthy Carlos Beltran batting in a lineup with protection from guys like Berkman and Freese.

I just don’t think the Cardinals will miss Albert’s bat as much as these sportswriters think they will.