Mason Molina learned to slow the speed and increase the spin of his devastating changeup at the University of Arkansas pitching laboratory in 2024. After a dizzying start to his professional career – the 22-year-old was traded twice last year – Molina is back in the...
Hours before he haunted Midland RockHounds pitchers – and with Rockwell’s famous Trick-or-Treat playlist ballad “Somebody’s Watching Me” jamming on the stadium speakers on “Halfway to Halloween” theme night – Springfield outfielder Chase Davis spoke about his approach...
A Texas-size steer horn trophy that runs the length of Patrick Anderson’s desk is a showpiece, but rows of stylish shoes in the Springfield skipper’s office are his favorite collectables. Anderson is tasked with steering the Cardinals to consecutive Texas League...
A poignant scene from the baseball epic *61 shows an injured Mickey Mantle receiving an extended ovation as he steps into the batter’s box, while two semi-fictional Yankees newspapermen watch from the press box above. “I’ve never seen him get a hand like this before,”...
In the wee hours of a damp muggy overnight haze, Luis Gastelum struck out Tulsa Drillers’ shortstop Sean McLain and bedlam ensued as the Springfield Cardinals hugged each other in the infield and a handful of diehard supporters that endured a three-hour rain delay...
A sharp fastball and 12-6 curveball that he’s commanded since he was 12 years old helped Cade Winquest pile up strikeouts at University of Texas-Arlington and persuaded the Cardinals to draft the righthander in the 8th round of the 2022 MLB Draft. But Winquest knew he...
The dog days of August arrived with mild weather forecast, and after a scorching July for lefty Pete Hansen and Springfield’s pitching staff, cooler temperatures are the best hope Texas League opponents have for some relief. Hansen went 3-0 and struck out 29 batters...
Steve Zesch retired from Cardinals Publications this week after 29 years of creating and preserving St. Louis Cardinals history in the form of calendars, magazines, and scorecards sold at Busch Stadium. Nearly 200 of those scorecards are tucked in binders in my home...
Hancel Rincon spent the winter months tinkering with his changeup. Signed by the Cardinals as a teenager from the Dominican Republic in 2019, Rincon, 23, led all qualified Minor League pitchers with a 0.97 WHIP in 2023 and went 9-7 with a 3.80 ERA and 105 strikeouts...
