This Day in Baseball History....

[cardstatman]

I always wondered if Kyle McClellan ruined his bullpen career with his efforts to try to fill in for Wainwright in 2011. He was taken out of the rotation by July when Edwin Jackson arrived but was still used heavily in the bullpen. He carried a very heavy load that year.

Without him, the Cardinals would have missed the playoffs in 2011. McClellan was never an ace but he managed to win more than he lost. After 2011, he was no longer a viable MLB pitcher.

[heyzeus]

Hello all. Long time lurker and finally retired this year and have enjoyed reading these articles.

My grandparents lived in Donora and I spent a lot of my childhood there even though we moved to Ohio for my father's career in the 60s. My family always followed the Cards because of Musial which was not a popular choice with some of my friends growing up here but I often got the last laugh when the Cards pulled off the win. I noticed I am not the only Cards fan from outside the St Louis area so I hope to enjoy some cardinals baseball with you all.

Welcome, Stan. Lots of us here are residents of Cardinals Nation but not St. Louis. I grew up there but have lived in Texas for 25 years now.

I've always wondered what was in the water in Donora, PA, the town of a few thousand people that produced Stan Musial and Ken Griffey Jr (and weirder still, both born on November 21).

[InvincibleCakeEater]

I always wondered if Kyle McClellan ruined his bullpen career with his efforts to try to fill in for Wainwright in 2011. He was taken out of the rotation by July when Edwin Jackson arrived but was still used heavily in the bullpen. He carried a very heavy load that year.

Without him, the Cardinals would have missed the playoffs in 2011. McClellan was never an ace but he managed to win more than he lost. After 2011, he was no longer a viable MLB pitcher.

Somewhere here there is a super long thread about having McClellan in the rotation. Pretty polarizing topic.

[heyzeus]

I always wondered if Kyle McClellan ruined his bullpen career with his efforts to try to fill in for Wainwright in 2011. He was taken out of the rotation by July when Edwin Jackson arrived but was still used heavily in the bullpen. He carried a very heavy load that year.

Without him, the Cardinals would have missed the playoffs in 2011. McClellan was never an ace but he managed to win more than he lost. After 2011, he was no longer a viable MLB pitcher.

Somewhere here there is a super long thread about having McClellan in the rotation. Pretty polarizing topic.

I love trips through ancient history. Enjoy your Friday afternoon time waster:

viewtopic.php?f=1&t=45510&hilit=mcclellan+rotation

[Remembirds]

On this date in 1972, the Cardinals made arguably the worst trade in franchise history, sending Steve Carlton to the Phillies for Rick Wise. See why the Cardinals made the deal and why Carlton thrived in Philadelphia:

https://www.stlredbirds.com/2022/01/11/ ... -phillies/

[Stan the Fan]

Thank you all for the welcome.

[Remembirds]

Did you know that Red Schoendienst played with 20/200 vision in his left eye? He was elected to the Hall of Fame on this date in 1989:

https://www.stlredbirds.com/2022/01/14/ ... l-of-fame/

[Remembirds]

On this date in 2012: Less than three months after the Cardinals lost Albert Pujols to free agency, they ensured that Yadier Molina remained a franchise cornerstone with a five-year, $75 million contract.

https://www.stlredbirds.com/2022/01/16/ ... extension/

[Remembirds]

Even Stan the Man wasn't immune from contract difficulties during the reserve clause era. On this date in 1948, he ended his spring training holdout after the Cardinals agreed to pay him $31,000 -- the same salary he made the previous year:

https://www.stlredbirds.com/2022/01/18/ ... g-holdout/

[Remembirds]

10 years ago today, Allen Craig signed a 5-year, $31 million contract extension with the Cardinals. Less than 17 months later, he was in Boston and looking to regain the swing that made him a star in St. Louis:

https://www.stlredbirds.com/2022/01/22/ ... extension/