Posted August 3, 200520 yr comment_3070962 MLB.com is running a poll for the all Busch Stadium team. Instead of voting, I've decided to deliver my choices here, inflating my ego. C- Ted Simmons 1B- Albert Pujols 2B- Tom Herr SS- Ozzie Smith 3B- Terry Pendleton LF- Lou Brock CF- Jim Edmonds RF- George Hendrick Ted Simmons collected 1,704 hits for the Cardinals over 13 seasons. Pujols makes the list not because of what steroids have done to McGwire's legacy, but on his own merits. Coming into this season, Pujols was a .333 hitter, and he has already played more games for the Cards than did McGwire. Tom Herr hit .274 and stole 151 bases. Ozzie Smith wins the overall nod for attedning 14 All-Star games, winning 11 Gold Gloves, and hitting (IMO) the greatest home run in the history of Busch Stadium. Terry Pendleton gets the nod at third for sticking around the longest. Scott Rolen is great but didn't play enough. Joe Torre would win overall but he only played two seasons at third. Lou Brock is a standout at left field. Jim Edmonds has put together a peak as good as any center fielder in baseball history, save the very elite. George Henrick is the only right fielder to play more than three seasons. Honorable mention to Ray Lankford, who hit 228 home runs and stole 250 bases with the Cards. SP- Bob Gibson SP- Bob Forsch SP- Matt Morris SP- Steve Carlton SP- John Tudor The voting has the voter taking just one pitcher, and that would be Gibson. But of course, you can't build a franchise with just one. I took off Joaquin Andujar and placed Steve Carlton in his place. Many people remember Carlton as the ace of the Phillies for many years. From 1965-71, he was a very good pitcher for the Cardinals, logging 77 victories and two world championships. RP- Bruce Sutter The relief ace of the '82 championship team. Gets the nod over Lee Smith because of the playoff appearance, and over Todd Worrell because of a gut feeling. UTIL- Jose Oquendo A batch of seemingly random choices with Oquendo, John Mabry, Todd Zeile, and Rex Hudler. Oquendo gets the nod because he truly could play anywhere, and because he's still in the organization as a coach. Manager- Whitey Herzog A no brainer. Herzog built great teams in both St. Louis and Kansas City.
August 3, 200520 yr Author comment_3072958 As an aside, I think it is ridiculous that Busch Stadium is being torn down after this year. Talk about a waste. I can just imagine Red Sox fans returning to the sacred place of their World Championship victory and finding that it was been replaced by an entertainment complex. Speaking of the Red Sox and the World Series, here's a little bit of trivia. The 1915 and '16 World Series were played at Braves Field, and not Fenway Park. Braves Field simply held more fans. The Boston Braves played the 1914 World Series at Fenway for the same reason, as Braves Field was not completed until the following year.
August 4, 200520 yr comment_3077755 UTIL- Jose Oquendo A batch of seemingly random choices with Oquendo, John Mabry, Todd Zeile, and Rex Hudler. Oquendo gets the nod because he truly could play anywhere, and because he's still in the organization as a coach. My dad got a copy of Super, Dooper, Baseball Bloopers WAY back in the day that had a segment on Oqeundo, showing clips of him pitching and fielding spliced together to make it seem like he was doing all at the same time. That, coupled with the fact that his name sounded like 'Jose Canseco' made him my favourite player for about 5 minutes.
Create an account or sign in to comment