July 16- 2013 National League All-Star

Depending on who your team is, the 2013 Major League Baseball All-Star Game could be considered a rousing success or an absolute failure. The American League team relied upon small ball and tough pitching to notch a 3-0 victory over the National League team and won the rights to home field advantage in the World Series. Even though the win for the AL side made me incredibly happy for the sake of being an Oakland Athletics fan, I will admit the game was pretty boring. Actually, to be honest, this year’s mid-summer classic was the first one I haven’t watched since the NL beat the AL 2-0 at the All-Star Game hosted at the Coliseum back in 1987. For 25-straight years I had tuned in to watch the best in the game slug it out every summer until finally it came to an end du to the fact that I had to work. The All-Star game has always been my personal Super Bowl if you will, a one day test to see whose league was the most dominant. Prior to the 2003 All-Star Game there was never really much incentive for winning, but it was still fun to watch. The one thing that has always separated the MLB’s All-Star game format to the other major sports is that the players can’t play half-ass. I suppose if a pitcher really wanted to throw 90 MPH fastball right down the middle to allow home runs he could, but I highly doubt you’ll ever see it, or I doubt you’ll ever hear a pitcher admit it.

Baseball has always been my most consistent love. Whether I play it, watch it or just enjoy a comforting chat with somebody about it, baseball has always been there for me. Prior to this post I never wanted to admit that I had become some sort of a celebrity last season. Being the guy who has all of the team logos and mascots tattooed all over him may be a comforting label to some, but to me it has always been just a small part of who I am. Being featured in articles by Deadspin, Yahoo! Sports, Bleacher Report, etc. were just small steps that I had to endure to reach, what I thought was the top of the heap, the MLB Fan Cave; however, my experience left me somewhat jaded as I was eliminated before I was able to fulfill the one selfish request I had on my journey, going to the All-Star Game.

From the time I was first interviewed for any of the articles I was featured in my goal was clear, I wanted to share my love of baseball with the masses and bring in the next generation of fans. Years of watching games, studying the stats, but more important keeping an eye on media trends helped me come to the realization that the Fan Cave would have been a perfect platform to lead this mission. As my quest for the Fan Cave built momentum I continued to relay my mission statement over and over and over again to whomever would listen and to whomever asked. These moments included my interview process in Phoenix, Arizona during the top-30. Entertaining and educating others about the game of baseball was all I wanted, and still want to do. I know I’m being redundant, but I really need to continue to emphasize my mission. When finally asked by the executives of what I wanted for myself, the only thing that I have ever wanted for myself is to go to the All-Star Game. When asked why I stated, “I’ve always wanted to be an environment where fans of all teams come together to put rivalries aside and just enjoy the game of baseball with one another.” I also added that it would be a thrill of a lifetime to take a photo with all of the mascots in one venue, which ended up being the only thing that anyone really listened to. This was actually also a point that was brought up during our first day meeting at the Office of the Commissioner of Major League Baseball back in March not too long after the nine of us who were lucky enough to be Cave Dwellers arrived in New York. Clearly the marketing team had been plotting to take me to the All-Star Game for the same mascot-related reason. So when it came to be that I was being sent home I was a little bit pissed off and heart-broken about what I would be missing. 

7/10/12- I was at my parent’s house in Bakersfield, California at the time of the 2012 All-Star Game. I had missed the Home Run Derby the previous night as I had instead decided to go to a Bakersfield Blaze game with my friend Toni (@condorsfan06) instead. In between the innings if the Blaze game I flipped through the Facebook pages of Ricardo Marquez, Shaun Kippins, Ricky Mast and Ashley Chavez to see how their trip to Kansas City was going. All of us were still on really good speaking terms at that time, but things were creeping ever-so-close to the edge as my anger and jealousy was starting to take over.

Prior to that night I had spoken to Ricardo over the phone once or twice since I had been eliminated. No one else really gave me the time, but we did converse through tweets and texting. I had pretty much given Kyle Thompson the finger for spreading lies about during my time in New York which ultimately got me on notice with the executives; however, I have since been told that it was actually Ashley who caused all of this in conjunction with Gordon Mack. Either way, I'm still not happy about the deception. Ricardo and had been trying to relay whatever bits of information he could to me as talk of a TV show staring me had entered the picture. Having not heard a single word from anyone but Ricardo on this matter I thought it was BS, and have still yet to get any solid evidence to prove otherwise. But even at that, we still chatted. The moment in which everything went to Hell was when I scanned through Ricardo’s Facebook page to see him surrounded by all of the mascots.

A few days prior I had let loose on Ricardo after he and Gordon had stolen one of my video concepts and made it their own. The concept was an Unsolved Mysteries video in which Adam Dunn had rediscovered his swing after a poor first year with the Chicago White Sox. The only problem was that nobody else wanted to help me make it, so it died. When voting started for the All-Star Game final vote Gordon and Ricardo teamed up to make a video on Los Angeles Angels’ pitcher Ernesto Frieri… in the style of Unsolved Mysteries. After dealing with that and now the mascot photo I had all I could take.

Not wanting to see or hear anything more about their trip to the All-Star Game I had decided to not watch it. I made an announcement about it on Twitter as well which saddened a lot more people than I had expected. I think I smoked nearly a full pack of cigarettes leading up to the game when I finally decided to not let my emotions get the better of me. I hadn’t missed an All-Star Game in 24 years, I wasn’t about to kill the streak then.

For those of you who weren’t following me then it’s probably for the better, especially if you’re a Texas Rangers fan. At times I have been a bit too outrageous on Twitter, but on this particular day it was a no holds barred war of words. During my American League All-Star cap post from yesterday I discussed how the Oakland Athletics haven’t had a position player make an All-Star team since Ramon Hernandez in 2003. This particular fact was something that I had worked my ass off to change when I made a campaign video for Josh Reddick. But alas, it didn’t happen. But some really cool stuff did result from the video. My beef for his absence was fueled even more by the fact that then-AL manager Ron Washington had stacked his team with his own players who really didn’t have the stats to be there in the first place. So, needless to say, I made Washington my target for when things went wrong, which didn’t take very long.

In a ridiculous bit of foreshadowing, San Francisco Giants third baseman Pablo Sandoval rocked a bases-clearing triple off of Detroit Tigers pitcher Justin Verlander after Milwaukee Brewer Ryan Braun’s RBI-double to give the NL a 4-0 lead. After Atlanta Braves’ second baseman Dan Uggla knocked in Sandoval with the next at-bat the score jumped to 5-0. I had been tweeting up a storm prior to the game, but the one thing I had noticed was that none of the other Cave Dwellers had said a thing. Actually, the last Cave Dweller tweet was by Kyle who had taken a photo during the National Anthem. Around the fourth inning I had finally tagged Ashley in a tweet about taking a trip down the Home Run Slide after Giants’ outfielder Melky Cabrera went yard. Still no response, not even a personal tweet on her end. The game continued with the NL pounding the AL and by this time my direct message inbox, as well as my mentions, had been flooded from people asking me why none of the other Cave Dwellers were talking. I responded as quickly as I could but the questions were still coming in. I had no clue why. What I ended up doing next was meant to have neutral intentions; however, what came out was taken as rude. My tweet basically said, “Why is it that I’m talking but all of the @MLBFanCave Dwellers are silent?” It wouldn’t be until after the game that my question was finally answered with Ashley, Ricky, Ricardo and Gordon unfollowing me and Ricardo giving an explanation to everyone saying that he wanted to put the phone down and just enjoy the game. At which I texted him a “well played, I know that was directed at me.” To which he sent me a massive text saying how wrong I was to do that, how he had always had my back, stuck up for me, etc.

I felt bad for what I had done. It’s not in my nature to attack people and I sent him a long apology afterward, and then about five or six more apologies after that from July 2012 through December 2012, none of which have had anything to follow. Even on the day when I survived a mall shooting and asked to talk to him to make amends I still got nothing. As time wore on I questioned why I even bothered to apologize to him.

I guess the reality is that I hate grudges. I realize how weird that sounds considering where I stand with Kyle; however, if he was willing to actually man up and reach out to me I would be willing to listen. You know, look a good Christian ought to, but I’m Mormon, we don’t need a reason, we just do it. Shaun and I have always been fine as he actually understood what I was getting at. Ricky and I made amends not too long after the shooting and I apologized to Lindsay Guentzel about everything I may have done to her in August of last year.

The reason I marked up this cap with that particular date is to always remind me of a few things:

1. The most important- watch what you say publicly.

2. Keep your ideas to yourself (still struggling with that one)

3. Be true to yourself

On the last day that I got to hang out with Ashley, Ricardo, Ricky and Shaun in New York I made a few simple (drunken) requests that, if anything, I wanted carried out for me; none of which was too demanding. All I asked was that they have the same amount of fun as I did and to share the experience with everyone the same way that I had. Being silent during the one day when all fans and teams come together was not exactly what I had in mind. But hey, I guess that's why I'm still looking for a job in baseball.

Hopefully that last little bit helps give a little bit more insight to why things happened they way they did last year and why I will always be there for the fans. Everyone I interact with matters.

As far as why I chose the National League All-Star Game cap to air all of this out; it seemed fitting that my first All-Star Game and the last one I watched during the streak were both won by the NL. In the case of 2012 the NL won by a final score of 8-0. Both games were shutouts.

June 27- Washington Nationals

Originally I was going to hold off a bit on writing about this cap, until I double-checked my archives. In the whole mix of trying my best not stumble over repeating the same teams’ caps within a month-long time frame, I’ve somehow managed to neglect writing about certain teams for longer than that stretch. I must also take into account how much I’ve fallen behind in my quest to write about a new cap every day this year and how I’m trying to catch up at a somewhat miserable rate. Nonetheless, when looking at the grand scheme of things and which day I’m on in my posts, this particular Washington Nationals cap actually falls within a perfect time frame. If you haven’t noticed by now, even though I’ve fallen almost a month behind, I’ve done my best to keep my posts in REAL TIME, in that I try to give you the story as it happened up until that day as to not confuse anyone with stories that may have taken place after afterward. This piece will dabble a little bit into the “future,” but not too much.

I picked this Nationals cap up on June 24^th during my shopping spree at New Era’s headquarters in Buffalo, New York along with about 20 other caps during my trip for the Fan Appreciation even they held for nine other collects and myself. Of all the hats I picked up, this was one of the newest to this season that I scored which was also kind of a weird move on my part when considering that fact that I could have had any other hard to find hat than this one. By that I mean I could have easily scored this cap off of the Lids Web site at any point in time, but there was just something about that was telling me to add this to my cart. I think a lot of it had to do with the fact that up until the moment I saw it on the wall I had only come across it in photos as the store I work at, Just Sports (@JustSportsPDX) and the Lids at the mall I work don’t have it in stock. Either way, I was going to purchase at one point or another, so I figured in this case, “why not now?”

As I just mentioned, the Nationals introduced it this season as their “alternate two” cap, which I found to be an unusual title considering that the Nationals are down to three caps, including this one, which they wear on a regular basis on the field. One of which, their road cap, I wrote about on April 17^th. The road cap features the exact opposite color scheme as the alternate cap and is also the last Nationals cap I've written about. Clearly I’m slacking. Anyway, the Nationals have only used one other “alternate” cap, excluding holiday caps, during the franchise’s time in our nation’s capital (the red cap with a white “DC” logo), but I’ll touch on that in a later post. The thing about that cp is that it hasn’t been seen or heard from since the end of the 2008 season. Therefore, there really wasn’t any need to give this cap the “alternate 2” title when they could have just stuck with alternate.

As far as when they’ve used the cap, they’ve only worn it during home games which take place on back-to-back Saturday and Sunday games. Having only caught a speckle of Nationals games this season, it was hard for me to recall whether or not any of the games I had watched lived featured any of the players wearing it; however, thanks to Chris Creamer and the fine folks at Sportslogos.net, they’ve been cataloging every team’s record during the 2013 campaign and how the perform under every uniform combination for the season. In essence, with four new game style caps introduced/re-introduced this season, I at least have a bit of a direction as far as where to start in some these stories. At the same time, since two of the four caps brought out are alternate throwback styles, I pretty much have this Nationals cap and the New York Mets alternate as the only ones to really worry about. The other two; a 1983 homage Chicago White Sox which I’ll get to later in the year and the 1970s Pittsburgh Pirates throwback I wrote about on June 12^th.

With only a few months to work with on this cap the one thing that was discovered about this cap is that it riddled with bad luck. From their first official game of wearing it on April 13^th against the Atlanta Braves through today, the Nationals have only fared a record of 2-9. For having only worn this cap at home that’s a rather disturbing trend. Even worse is that the team continues to use it. Now, I’ve always know baseball to be a game of superstitions. Players will do weird things like wear their teammate’s pants (Jose Bautista), some will go without washing their socks (Jason Vargas) and other will eat fried chicken before every game (Wade Boggs); however, once a losing trend starts to form, players usually figure out what the common problem is and rid of it as fast as they can. Somehow this cap has been overlooked in that discussion. Whoops!

When trying to come up with any kind of marks for this cap I scoured the stats to try and find something interesting. At first I was going to roll with #8 for Danny Espinosa as he had reached based at least once, in some form or another, in the first four games of the hat’s use, BUT… it sadly went awry by game five. The same could have been said about #25 Adam LaRoche as I was tallying the game boxscores backwards; however, once I got to the first few games of the season I noticed a consistent slew of borderline golden sombreros. So, I took the easy route and went with the two guys who were able to muster wins in the two of 11 games played prior to today.

#27- Jordan Zimmermann is off to the best start of his career this season, all ready going 11-3 with a 2.28 ERA and gaining a lot of respect amongst critics for a potential National League Cy Young award at the end of the year. Zimmermann’s game under this cap took place on June 9^th for Game 1 of a doubleheader against the Minnesota Twins in which he performed masterfully by going a solid seven innings with eight strikeouts in the Nationals’ 7-0 win. However, Zimmermann’s tale to this point is just as interesting.

Zimmermann was born and raised in Auburndale, Wisconsin, which is about 90 minutes west of Eau Claire where my girlfriend Angie Kinderman (@sconnieangie) grew up. If you can’t tell by both of their last names, Wisconsin has a strong German heritage running through the state. He attended the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point and was drafted by the Nationals in the second round of the 2007 Major League Baseball Draft. In 2008, Zimmermann had a combined 10–3 record with a 2.89 ERA at intermediate-A Potomac and AAA Harrisburg, and in July was named to the Eastern League (AA) All-Star team. He finished the season leading the organization in wins, strikeouts, and earned run average, and was the MiLB.com Nationals pitcher of the year.

In 2009, Zimmermann made the Nationals' roster as the fifth starter; however, the Nationals did not need him in the rotation until mid-April, so Zimmermann opened the season with the AAA Syracuse Chiefs. Zimmermann's contract was purchased on April 20, 2009, and he made his major league debut that night, after a two-plus hour rain delay, against the Atlanta Braves. He pitched six innings, allowing two runs on six hits, with three strikeouts and a walk, earning the victory. Zimmermann won his second game in as many starts against the Mets, becoming the first Nationals/Expos pitcher to win his first two starts of his career since Randy Johnson did so in 1988. Coincidentally, Zimmermann was the losing pitcher in Johnson's historic 300th win on June 4, 2009.

Not too long afterward Zimmermann began experiencing elbow pain, and in July landed on the disabled list. In August 2009 Zimmermann was diagnosed with a torn ulnar collateral ligament and underwent Tommy John surgery, expecting to miss 18 months. In 2010 he made quick progress. Over four minor league levels, he started 10 games in limited play, racking up just 39.2 innings, but compiling a solid record: 1.59 ERA, 27 hits allowed, 31 strikeouts, and just six walks. On August 26 he was recalled to make his 2010 debut back in the big leagues, where Zimmermann got a no-decision in an eventual win by the Nationals over the Cardinals. On this same day, the Nationals learned that their other young pitching phenom, Stephen Strasburg, would need Tommy John surgery and would be out for 12–18 months. In Zimmermann's second return start, however, five days later, he pitched six shutout innings, allowing only one hit, no walks, and striking out nine, a personal best. He also became the first National to get through six innings facing only 18 batters.

2012 marked a career year for Zimmerman as he went 12-8 with a 2.94 ERA as a member of, not only a stacked rotation, but as a member of the first Nationals/Expos’ team to win the NL Eastern Division title in the franchise’s history.

Zimmermann also got married during the offseason to his longtime girlfriend, and fellow Wisconsinite Mandy Jellish. The only reason I bring this up is because they got married over New Year’s in Wisconsin the same time I was visiting Angie for the first time since we had met in September for the Miami Marlins game I wrote about on February 23^rd. How do I know this? Collin Balester, the man who is pretty much responsible for convincing me to get out to Florida for my Major League Baseball stadium road trip. The man is a hell of a good luck charm.

#37- On the other side of the tape is Mr. Franchise himself, Steven Strasburg. Strasburg was actually on the losing end of two of the game the Nationals played under this cap on April 13^th and May 11^th; however, he locked up the win in the contest played on May 26^th against the Philadelphia Phillies by the score of 6-1 in his nine strikeout performance. Strasburg is currently 4-6 with a 2.41 ERA as of today as he had a no decision against the Arizona Diamondbacks in their 2-3 loss.

 Strasburg attended West Hills High School in Santee, California. At first, he struggled on the school's baseball team, posting a 1–10 win–loss record in his junior year. A 12-strikeout game against El Capitan High School in his senior year, in which Strasburg allowed one hit, drew attention from scouts. He finished his senior year with a 1.68 ERA and 74 strikeouts in 62 ⅓ innings pitched, with seven complete games. He finished with three varsity letters, set school records in ERA and shutouts, and was named his school's 2006 Scholar-Athlete of the Year. He was also named second-team all-league and his team's MVP. Despite these achievements, he was not selected in that year's Major League Baseball Draft.

Strasburg had hoped to attend Stanford University but was not accepted there. Although recruited by a number of schools across the country, he enrolled at San Diego State University, where both of his parents attended school. He played college baseball for the San Diego State Aztecs, coached by Baseball Hall of Fame inductee Tony Gwynn. When he first arrived, he was an unlikely candidate to pitch collegiate baseball at all; he was so overweight and out of shape that his conditioning coach nicknamed him "Slothburg" and encouraged him to quit baseball. He also had a difficult time adjusting to college life, moving out of his dormitory and in with his mother after five days. He acknowledged, "I wasn't the most mature guy out of high school. ... The dorm was an overload, too much, too soon." Strasburg responded with an intense workout regimen, losing 30 pounds (14 kg) in the process. He also worked to improve his mental toughness. Coaches tested him by placing him in high-pressure situations and telling him he needed to get strikeouts.

San Diego State used Strasburg as a relief pitcher in his freshman year; he began the season pitching in middle relief, before becoming the Aztecs' closer. He held opponents to a .141 batting average against and was named Co-Freshman of the Year for the Mountain West Conference. In the summer of 2007, Strasburg also played for the Torrington Twisters of the collegiate summer baseball New England Collegiate Baseball League (NECBL). He was named to the NECBL First Team as a closer, and was also chosen as the Top Pro Prospect and Top Relief Pitcher in the NECBL.

In 2008, as a sophomore, Strasburg was converted to a full-time starting pitcher. He went 8–3 with a 1.58 ERA and 134 strikeouts in 98⅓ innings. Four of his thirteen starts in 2008 were complete games, two of which were shutouts. On April 11th of that year, he struck out a Mountain West Conference record 23 batters in a game versus the University of Utah. He also gained eight miles per hour on his fastball, regularly working in the upper 90s and touching 100 mph.

Strasburg finished his junior year, the 2009 season, 13–1 with a 1.32 ERA, 59 hits allowed, 16 earned runs, 19 walks, and 195 strikeouts in 109 innings pitched. In his final home start on May 8, 2009, Strasburg threw his first career no-hitter while striking out 17 Air Force Falcons batters. His lone loss came against the Virginia Cavaliers in the NCAA Regionals as Virginia advanced toward the College World Series, but he still struck out 15 in seven innings during the loss.

On June 9, 2009, Strasburg was drafted number one overall in the 2009 Major League Baseball Draft by the Nationals. On August 17, 2009, he signed a record-breaking four-year, $15.1 million contract with the Nationals, just 77 seconds before the deadline, shattering a dollar-amount record previously held by Mark Prior, who signed for $10.5 million in 2001. Strasburg made his professional debut on October 16, 2009, starting for the Phoenix Desert Dogs in the Arizona Fall League at Phoenix Municipal Stadium. He was selected to play in the league's Rising Stars Showcase, but was unable to participate due to a minor neck injury. He also won Pitcher of the Week honors for the week of November 2, 2009 and led the AFL with four wins. Before the 2010 season started, Baseball America named Strasburg as the top pitching prospect, and the second-best overall prospect behind Jason Heyward.

Strasburg was assigned to the Harrisburg Senators of the Class AA Eastern League for the start of the 2010 season. There was so much anticipation and hype surrounding Strasburg that there were about 70 credentialed media members in attendance at his April 11, 2010 debut, and ESPN nationally broadcast portions of the game. He won his Senators debut against the Altoona Curve, allowing four hits and four runs (one earned), while striking out eight batters in five innings. During his first home start on April 16, he yielded two hits and an unearned run with three strikeouts in 2⅓ innings in a loss to the New Britain Rock Cats, one where his innings were limited due to a rain delay. Harrisburg set an attendance record in Strasburg's home debut with 7,895 fans. He completed his Class AA stint with a 1.64 ERA while striking out 27 and walking six in 22 innings.

On May 4, 2010, he was promoted to the AAA Chiefs. In his first game with the Chiefs, he pitched six scoreless innings, striking out six batters while allowing one hit and one walk. That game drew 13,766 fans—the highest attendance in the 135-year history of baseball in Syracuse. In his second start, Strasburg was removed after pitching six no-hit innings. He finished his minor league stint with an overall record of 7–2, an ERA of 1.30, 65 strikeouts and 13 walks in 55⅓ innings, and a WHIP ratio of 0.80.

Strasburg made his major-league debut on June 8, 2010, against the Pittsburgh Pirates. A Sports Illustrated columnist termed it "the most hyped pitching debut the game has ever seen." Strasburg picked up the win in his debut, pitching seven innings, allowing two earned runs and no walks and 14 strikeouts, setting a new team strikeout record. Also, he was the first pitcher in history to strike out at least eleven batters without issuing any walks in his pro debut, while falling just one strikeout short of the all-time record for a pitcher's debut—Karl Spooner (1954) and J.R. Richard (1971) both struck out 15, but each took nine innings to do it, and each walked three. (Bob Feller also struck out 15 in his first start, although it wasn't his big league debut). He struck out every batter in the Pirates' lineup at least once and struck out the last seven batters he faced—also a Nationals record. He threw 34 of his 94 pitches at 98 miles per hour (158 km/h) or faster, including two that reached 100 miles per hour (160 km/h).

In Strasburg's second and third major league starts he struck out another eight and ten batters, respectively, setting a major league record for the most strikeouts in a pitcher's first three starts with 32. The previous record holder had been Richard, who struck out 29 in his first three starts in 1971.

Strasburg was also featured in the cover story of Sports Illustrated following his second start. His #37 jersey was the top-selling jersey in all of baseball for the month of June and became the best-selling Nationals jersey of all time in that span.

Strasburg was placed on the disabled list with an inflamed right shoulder in July 2010. He returned to action on August 10, but in his third game back, on August 21, he was removed with an apparent injury. On August 27, the Nationals announced that Strasburg had a torn ulnar collateral ligament (like Zimmermann), requiring Tommy John surgery, and about 12 to 18 months of rehabilitation. In the 2010 season Strasburg pitched in 12 games, all starts, throwing 68 innings, 92 strikeouts and compiling a 2.91 ERA. He was named a pitcher on the 2010 Topps Major League Rookie All-Star Team. Strasburg made his first rehab start on August 7, 2011 for the Hagerstown Suns. Strasburg made six rehab starts during the 2011 minor league season throwing a total of 20⅓ innings, with 29 strikeouts, compiling a 3.49 ERA and a 1–1 record. He then made 5 starts during the 2011 major league season, his first coming against the Los Angeles Dodgers on September 6. That year he threw for 24 innings, struck out 24, compiled a 1.50 ERA and a 1–1 record.

In April 2012, Strasburg accumulated an NL-best 34 strikeouts and second-best 1.13 ERA. He totaled 6 walks and did not give up a home run. Consequently he was named NL Pitcher of the Month. On May 20, Strasburg went 2-for-2 as a hitter in a game against the Baltimore Orioles and hit his first career home run, a solo shot off of Wei-Yin Chen.

In his June 13 start against the Toronto Blue Jays, Strasburg became the first pitcher of the year to strike out 100 batters.  On July 1, Strasburg was elected to his first All-Star Game, alongside teammates Gio Gonzalez, Ian Desmond, and Bryce Harper. Strasburg ended the season 15–6 with a 3.16 ERA, 1.15 WHIP and 197 strikeouts in 159⅓ innings pitched. Strasburg hit .277 with a home run, 7 RBI, and three walks, earning him a Silver Slugger Award.

As part of Strasburg's rehabilitation from his Tommy John surgery, and as a precaution due to his low innings total in 2011, the Nationals decided to limit the number of innings Strasburg would throw in the 2012 season. Although the number was never official, rumors started that Strasburg's limit would be between 160 and 180 innings. It was also decided that Strasburg's shutdown would be final; he would not pitch in the playoffs. Dr. Lewis Yocum, the surgeon who operated on Strasburg's elbow, agreed in 2011 that Strasburg's 2012 innings total should be limited, although he did not consult with Nationals General Manager Mike Rizzo or Strasburg during the season. Teammate Zimmermann underwent a similar process the year before.

Strasburg's high profile and the success of the Nationals in the 2012 season made the innings limit a topic of national conversation. In addition to baseball writers, a number of other figures made their views on the topic known, including football broadcasters Troy Aikman and Terry Bradshaw, basketball reporter Stephen A. Smith, and even prominent politicians such as Rudy Giuliani and Mitch McConnell. Rizzo defended the decision to shut down Strasburg and criticized the buzz surrounding it: "It's a good conversational piece; it's a good debatable subject. But most of the people that have weighed in on this know probably 10 percent of the information that we know, and that we've made our opinion based upon." The Nationals announced that Strasburg would be scheduled to make his final start on September 12 and would be replaced by John Lannan in the Nationals' starting rotation. However, after a rough outing on September 8, Davey Johnson announced that Strasburg was finished for the 2012 season. Strasburg spent the postseason on the physically unable to perform list as the Nationals lost the 2012 NLDS to the St. Louis Cardinals.

May 19- St. Louis Cardinals

The St. Louis Cardinals are one of the most storied franchises in Major League history, and with that there also came a lot of players who temporarily hung up their cleats to enlist in the armed services to fight for their country. The franchise itself has been around since 1882; however, the Cardinals name became a staple at the start of the 1900 season. They’ve won 11 World Series titles, the most in the National League and the second-most in MLB history. The Cards also have 16 players enshrined in the National Baseball Hall of Fame, the third-most by any team in MLB. But it’s the fours guys down below that truly stand out amongst the pack.

One of the more interesting things, in my opinion at least, I found during my research lies heavily on the name of the stadium in which the Cardinals reside. The current incarnation of Busch Stadium is the third baseball park to carry that name; however, the second stadium had a much more appropriate name. From 1966 through 2005 Busch II was called Busch Memorial Stadium. After World War II most newly built and opened stadiums carried the “Memorial” moniker in tribute to the men who perished in World War I and II. Obviously it’s not mandatory for teams to do this, but I find it a little odd that in these modern times of showing support for the troops it’s become a bit of a dying tribute.

This season the Cardinals are allowing fans to pay tribute to their friends, family or pretty much anybody who has served, or is currently serving in the armed forces. Fans are encouraged to send in messages to the Cardinals on the team’s Web site which will be shown during the fifth inning on the ribbon of screen that revolve around the circumference of the stadium during every home game.

Since 1971 the Cardinals have gone 21-18 on Memorial Day; they split one doubleheader against the Ney York Mets in 1978 and only missed playing on four of those days due to travel days. As far as any Memorial Day patterns outside of the protest fiasco against the Florida Marlins in 1999, the Cardinals have consistently played against three teams: Atlanta Braves, Houston Astros and Colorado Rockies. The Cardinals’ record against the Braves is a modest 3-2, their last win coming in 2012… but the first four matchups coming from 1971-1987. For the Rockies the Cardinals are 2-4 against them, which included three straight losses from 1996-1998. And last, the Astros in which the Cardinals have gone 3-4; all four losses came 1986-1990 as in ’87 they lost to the Braves.

#2- This one starts with an interesting tale of how scumbaggish the Cardinals were back in the day. Red Schoendienst made his Major League debut on April 17, 1945 and the jersey he was given in the locker room was #6. For those who aren’t savvy on the Cardinals, #6 belongs to Stan Musial. Now, Musial had been playing ball since 1940, but took one year off after being drafted into the Navy during World War II. That year, 1945. In most cases this wouldn’t be a big deal; however, Musial had all read won the National League MVP in 1943, now he was fighting for his country. No one thought there would be anything wrong with giving Schoendienst Musial’s number. Wow! With the war over and Musial back in the lineup, Schoendienst gave up #6 and switched to #2 in 1946.

Now I have to go back in bring everything up to speed, kind of like the movie Memento.

At the age of 16, Schoendienst quit school to join the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) where he continued to play baseball at Greenville, Illinois. While building fences with the CCC a nail hit him in the eye. He was driven to the Marine hospital in St Louis, where he pleaded with doctors not to remove the badly damaged eye. Schoendienst had limited vision in his eye when he returned to the CCC. Once the United States entered WWII the CCC was disbanded and he took a job as a supply clerk at Scott Field in Belleville, where he continued to play baseball.

In 1942, he hitchhiked to a Cardinals’ tryout camp in St Louis and signed with the team. He joined Union City in the Kitty League for $75 a month and when that league disbanded he was sent to Albany in the Georgia-Florida League. In 1943 he played at Lynchburg and got off to a great start. He was batting .472 when he was sent to Rochester of the International League where he hit .337. Despite his eye injury, Schoendienst was expecting to be called for military service. He started the 1944 season with Rochester and was batting .373 after 25 games when the call to arms came. Schoendienst reported to Camp Blanding in Florida in May 1944. “Joining the Army was not something I was real excited about,” he explained in his autobiography Red: A Baseball Life, “but I knew I didn’t have any choice. Training for the infantry, we were exposed to just about every situation you can imagine – how to wire for mines, how to blow up bridges, how to set booby traps and dig up mines.”

He was later transferred to Pine Camp, New York – a prisoner of war camp for Italian prisoners. “One of our jobs was to build ballfields so we could keep the prisoners entertained and give them something to do. We also put together a camp team. We played on weekends, traveling to some of the nearby Army bases.” During one of the Pine Camp games, Schoendienst suffered a shoulder injury. It was diagnosed as a shallow shoulder socket and would continue to pop out on occasions. A combination of the shoulder injury and eye injury led to Schoendienst’s medical discharge in January 1945. He went home to rest briefly before joining the Cardinals at the Cairo, Illinois spring training camp in 1945. The guy is pretty much indestructible.

Schoendienst’s career lasted from 1945-1963. He made 10 All-Star Game appearances and finished in the Top-five for the NL MVP twice in 1953 and 1957. He hit .289 lifetime along with 2,449 hits. In 1965 Schoendienst took the helm of the Cardinals and managed them from then until 1976, as well as two more one-year stints in 1980 and 1990. He went 1041-955 and won two NL pennants in 1967 and 1968, winning the whole enchilada in 1967. He was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1989 by the Veteran’s Committee despite never receiving more than 42 percent of the vote from the National Baseball Writers Association of America.

#9- Another teammate of the great Stan Musial, Enos Slaughter has arguably one of the most badass names in the history of mankind. Slaughter signed with the Cardinals back in 1935 and didn’t make his MLB debut until April 19, 1938. A left-handed batter who threw with his right hand, Slaughter hit .300 for his career with 2,383 base-knocks, 148 triples, 169 home runs and 1,304 RBI in 19 seasons. Slaughter’s best season came in 1942 when he finished in second place for the NL MVP after going .318/13/98 with a league-leading 17 triples and league-leading 188 hits. The cool thing about ’42 is that Slaughter had enlisted with the Army Air Force earlier that year, but his deployment date to boot camp was postponed due to the fact that he was playing in the World Series. The 1942 World Series against the New York Yankees was the first to be broadcast live to American troops overseas. After the fourth game, Slaughter was asked to speak to the troops by radio. “Hi fellows,” he told them. “We played a great game today and we won. And we are going to finish this thing tomorrow. Then I’m going to report for duty in the Army Air Corps and join you.”

The Cardinals did indeed wrap up the World Series the following day with Slaughter contributing a home run in the fourth inning. He was then assigned to the San Antonio Aviation Cadet Center (SAACC) for what he hoped would be flight school. “I wanted to be a pilot,” he told author Frederick Turner, “but they said I was color blind. They wanted me to be a bombardier, but I said if I couldn’t be the one flying the plane, I’d just as soon not be flying. So, I became a physical education instructor in charge of about 200 troops.”

Slaughter was assigned to the 509^th Base Headquarters Squadron at SAACC, where he led the base team in hitting with a .498 average in 75 games during 1943. On August 26, 1943, he was involved in a war bonds game that raised $800 million dollars in war bond pledges. Held at the Polo Grounds in front of 38,000 fans, the three New York teams combined as the War Bond All-Stars against an Army all-star line-up that featured Slaughter, Hank Greenberg and Sid Hudson. The War Bond All-Stars won 5 to 2.

Slaughter was based at Camp Kearns, near Salt Lake City, Utah in March 1945, and was told that if he would go with other players to the South Pacific he would be guaranteed a quick discharge when the war ended. He accepted the deal and was part of a contingent of 94 ballplayers that arrived in Hawaii in June 1945. Representing the 58^th Wing, along with teammates Bobby Adams, Joe Gordon, Birdie Tebbetts and Howie Pollet, the ballplayers island-hopped towards Japan following American forces. On Tinian, the Seabees bulldozed out a ballfield on top of a coral reef and made bleacher seats out of bomb crates. Exhibition games were also staged at Saipan, Guam and Iwo Jima with an estimated 180,000 soldiers getting the chance to witness major league baseball players in action. Twenty-seven games were played on the tour and Slaughter batted .342 with five home runs and 15 RBIs. The tour concluded in October and the players returned to the United States in early November. Slaughter received his military discharge on March 1, 1946 and returned to the Cardinals to lead the National League with 130 RBI and guided the Cardinals to a World Series win over the Boston Red Sox.

Like Schoendienst, Slaughter was not voted into the Hall of Fame by the BBWAA, but did get in based on the vote of the Veteran’s Committee in 1985.

BR- Most people know about Branch Rickey the general manager, but very few people remember that he was a player for four years and a field manager for 10 years. The majority of his managerial career came with the Cardinals from 1919-1925. He certainly wasn’t the greatest of managers, going 458-485 with the Cardinals. Rickey was replaced by Rogers Hornsby in 1926 who went on to lead the Cardinals to a World Series victory that season.

Rickey served as the Cardinals GM from 1925-1942 and had been the GM for the St. Louis Browns prior to that in 1914. What’s most interesting about this position is that it technically never existed prior to Rickey. The title he was originally serving under was business manager; however, Rickey’s innovations in the game by investing in the Minor Leagues paid off big time. See, prior to Rickey “pilfering” the Minor Leagues this was an uncommon, if not unheard of practice. In essence, Rickey’s methods pioneered the modern far system. Then commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis had a huge problem with this by the time 1930s were ending as the Gashouse Gang that Rickey had assembled had been one of the most dominant teams in the game. Rickey didn’t budge. Instead, other teams started their own farm league system. A few notable signing by Rickey: George Sisler, Dizzy Dean, Daffy Dean, Enos Slaughter and Stan Musial.

Rickey’s time in the military came during World War I as a commissioned officer in the U.S. Army in France. He commanded a chemical training unit that included Ty Cobb and Christy Mathewson. Rickey served in the 1st Gas Regiment during the war, and spent over four months as a member of the Chemical Warfare Service.

#6- I don’t normally mark number on the opposite side of my hat, but it wouldn’t have felt right to leave Musial out. I’ve all ready written about him at great length on May 1st. So, I’ll leave it with that.

May 5- Pittsburgh Pirates

Of all the New Era Caps I had my mother mail to me I thought this Pittsburgh Pirates hat was a winner. Of course, in my head I was under the impression that the Pirates had taken a page out of the San Diego Padres playbook and repped this Military Day hat primarily on Sundays. Nope! Here’s how it all went wrong, and then righted itself out.

If you’ve been following my tales for the last couple of days you would know that I decided to stay in Florida with my girlfriend Angie Kinderman (@sconnieangie) for an extra week. Well, what I forgot to take into consideration was that I was going to run short on hats to write about very fast. Hence the momentary delays in the last few days’ worth of posts. Anyway, my large assortment of hats are all chillin’ in my bedroom at my parents’ house because it’s a much safer place than in my storage unit in Eugene, Oregon. Going simply off memory, I sent a detailed email to my mother to round up enough hats to get me through the rest of my time with Angie. She did. And yet for some strange reason I chose this hat; even with the aid of the computer to guide me on my request. At the time when I sent the request I thought that this particular Pirates hat was one they had worn for every Sunday game in 2012; kind of like the way the Padres pay tribute to the military every Sunday home game in San Diego. My theory had been built up on the basis that I knew it wasn’t the 2012 Stars & Stripes Memorial Day cap the Pirates wore as I also own that cap as well, and I can point out the various differences between each.

When it, and a few others, arrived at Angie’s house on Saturday I still didn’t think much of it. I had planned to write about it tonight anyway so I didn’t see any reason to do any research on it the day before. I’ve grown accustomed to the challenge of doing “on the spot” research under a time crunch, but at the same time, as I mentioned above, I thought I had this one taken care of. So, Angie and I went out on out last date together before I would have to catch my plane back to Portland at 8:00 AM EST. We didn’t do anything too spectacular, just dinner and time together, which is all we ever really need. I’ve mentioned this on Twitter several times, but very few people seem to take me serious on it; I’m actually kind of a boring person in real life. I read all the time, I listen to a wide variety of music, I watch a lot of movies, and I cook, all for the sake of building a more intellectual style of writing and comedy. Most of the times it comes out right… I think. Angie and I are virtually identical, which is why we can be at peace with one another in the most pedestrian of situations; however, our brains are always churning with thoughts of jokes and baseball. Even though we were going out to dinner at one of her favorite restaurants in Fort Lauderdale I still rocked this Pirates cap. I didn’t wear it at dinner. I can be a gentleman at times, but Angie has grown accustom to my style and habits, and this is one that she can appreciate.

Traffic was absolutely absurd along the coastline of Fort Lauderdale. We had both neglected the fact that it was Cinco de Mayo. Personally, I’ve never been one to care for Cinco de Mayo.

1. I don’t drink that much.

2. The reason “we” celebrate the holiday has become lost over the years.

Contrary to popular belief, it is not Mexican Independence Day; that actually takes place in September. But I suppose I can’t give to much grief to such an event, especially considering that my March 17^th post of the St. Patrick’s Day Boston Red Sox cap was written on a drinking holiday as well. Moving on; the main reason I bring this up is because I wanted to stop by a restaurant in the area to take a photo for this blog post. The restaurant; Primanti Brothers. I’ll dabble into greater detail in a future post, but what I can tell you now is that it’s a Pittsburgh-based restaurant that makes amazing sandwiches. So, being the clever guy that I am, I figured what better place to take a photo with this hat on than in front of a Pittsburgh-based establishment? In so few words, let’s just say that it was a bit high in foot traffic to be able to take a decent shot. Also, parking was lacking for our benefit. Without very many options we decided to press on back home. It was getting late and I needed to crank this bad boy out for the night.

Before we had gone out I made sure to get a few searches started involving some factoids about this hat, but I didn’t look over a single one of the until we got home. When I sat down and scanned through the first two pages my smile was unfortunately turned into a frown. What I thought had been a season long tribute had now turned into a weekend tribute. The Pirates only wore this hat for two days: May 26 and 27 against the Chicago Cubs in which both ended with the raising of the Jolly Roger. Well, at that moment I was in a bit of a panic. I was looking forward to go through several box scores to put some kind of a correlation or story together, but instead I had two games to work with.

For a while I thought this was an interesting point in time for the Pirates to use this hat; especially when considering that on Monday, May 28 they would be wearing the Stars & Stripes model for Memorial Day. I have something all ready reserved for that hat so I don’t want to spoil it with this. From my personal experience I know that these dates were two of my last days in the MLB Fan Cave, but nothing of real note occurred. Nope, this one was driving me a bit crazy for a good chunk of the night.

Call it fate, or just my mind blasting in a weird direction as it tends to do, but just as I was about to reach by boiling point my brain started scanning through comedies I had watched over the years when it randomly landed on “Dude, Where’s My Car?” It’s really not as random as you would think though. A few days prior Angie and I had been discussing Cameron Crowe movies as two of her favorite films of his are “Singles” and “Almost Famous.” Having not seen “Singles” I can’t say anything good or bad about it; however, “Almost Famous” is one of my least favorite movies. As much as I love music and film, it’s just one of those few that I can’t stand. Our Crowe battle continued and I poked fun at the fact that Crowe actually wrote the screenplay for “Dude, Where’s My Car?”… or so I thought. For 13 years I could have sworn that I remember seeing his name in the credits, but as it turned out it was Phillip Stark. She opted not to challenge me on that bit of knowledge, but I’m pretty sure she will after reading this. Anyway, the one thing about “Dude, Where’s My Car?” That suddenly crept back into my head was this scene: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RenOUsGvS90

For those of you who don’t remember from last season… at the end of April the Pirates started doing the Zoltan symbol anytime they got an extra-base hit. Where did they get the idea? “Dude, Where’s My Car?” I had luckily stumbled upon an article from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette to confirm this story, as Cameron Crowe had screwed me for the better part of 13 years. Here’s the link for that: http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/sports/pirates/dude-whats-the-z-pirates-explain-643229/

So, now that we’re dealing with extra-base hits I had a clearer mission at-hand. Unfortunately for the Pirates in their game of the 26^th they had only hit singles, so nothing to go from there; however, on the 27^th I got a bit more to wring with.

Z- I didn’t want to even attempt drawing to hands on my hat, so I just went with the “Z” for Zoltan. Don’t judge me.

#31- Even though Andrew McCutchen cranked a home run and popped the Zoltan that day, I figured it was too easy to roll with him, so I’ll save him for another post. Jose Tabata on the other hand, today’s your day.

Tabata went 2-3 on May 27^th, which included and single, a triple and a big pop of the Zoltan. Tabata was in his third year with the club in 2012 and actually produced his worst season to date for the year. A .299 average in his rookie season had been the initial stepping stone in his Major League career, and it even laded him in eighth place in the National League Rookie of the Year vote. However, since we are talking about the NL here, Tabata hasn’t seen more than 103 games in a season on account so many players to rotate on account of pitching matchups and a lack of the designated hitter. But for that one day in May, Tabata got the club and fans fired up.

#46- This guy has been my fantasy baseball savior in back-to-back seasons to the point where I had to give him a fitting nickname. Garrett “Motherf---ing” Jones is one of those guys who can sneak up and bite a time when they least expect it. Pirates’ manager Clint Hurdle knows this all too well which is why Jones plays first base and the outfield and is utilized almost as often as McCutchen. In fantasy seasons passed I would spot start Jones when I knew he would be getting a lot of quality at-bats, and sure enough, he came through for me. The nickname I gave him also fits perfectly with the name, which is something that I had a tendency to shout a lot in the Fan Cave whenever he had a clutch hit; like on May 27^th for example.

Jones was probably the clutch-iest dude on the Pirates that day, going 2-4 with a double and a home run. For those playing at home that equals “double Zoltan.” Dude pal might as well have gotten that tattooed across his chest. Equally as much, I did a power run through the home run slide for him that day.

May 1- St. Louis Cardinals

Growing up, I never had an issue with the St. Louis Cardinals. They had won the 1982 World Series against the Milwaukee Brewers a few months before I was born, and I honestly don’t recall watching the 1985 World Series when they lost to the Kansas City Royals. My only experience I can really remember from the 1980s was when they lost to the Minnesota Twins in the 1987 World Series in seven games. It would be the last real season of greatness for Hall of Fame manager Whitey Herzog as the 1990s would usher in the Joe Torre era of Cardinals baseball. The extent of my knowledge of the Cardinals at the time relied heavily upon the Topps baseball cards I collected and the occasional games I’d catch on TV whenever they played the Atlanta Braves or Chicago Cubs. To be honest, the only reason I ever cared about catching any bit of the game was for the same reason any kid growing up in the 80s and 90s would, to watch Hall of Famer Ozzie Smith do his tumbling act as he took to the field. If I had the patience to actually watch the game back then I always made sure to catch the at-bats for Smith, Vince Coleman and Willie McGee, as they were my favorite players from those squads. Yes, those mediocre years for the Cardinals were some of my favorite to watch.

I have a much more vivid memory of the first day when I started hating the Cardinals; April 1, 1996, the first day of the Tony LaRussa era. As a die-hard Oakland Athletics fan for a solid 26 years of my life, there are very few moments of absolute anguish in my baseball fandom, but LaRussa jumping ship from the bay to take the helm for the Cards is definitely in my Top-five. I was 13-years-old at the time and I was finally starting to get a grasp on all of the historical numbers within Major League Baseball. The one that shot out at me the hardest back then was the number nine; as in nine World Series championships won by both the A’s and Cardinals. The New York Yankees were, and still are virtually uncatchable; however, being number two on the list was a nice little token to keep in one’s pocket. 1996 was an especially scary year for A’s fans on account of the Cardinals coming within one game of playing in the World Series that year. Luckily for us, the Braves owned the 1990s in the National League, and took down the Cardinals in the National League Championship Series in seven games. I should also point out that it really sucked to see Dennis Eckersley follow LaRussa to St. Louis as well.

In 1997 the world kind of righted itself out as the Cardinals fell back in the standings to a level of mediocrity that I recalled from my earlier years. All was going well until the trade deadline on July 31^st; the last day I would ever see Mark McGwire in an A’s uniform. My favorite player was gone; and he of course broke the single-season home run record in his first full season in 1998. As happy I was for his accomplishment I couldn’t help but think of how much more fitting it would have been to see him do it in the green and gold.

2006 was a great year to be an A’s fan. Years of hard work and sacrifice finally paid off as the A’s got out of the American League Division Series in a 3-0 sweep of the Twins, the team that had shattered our hopes in the same series during our magical 2002 “Moneyball” run. The Cardinals had progressed as well into the NLCS and we had a seemingly easy battle ahead of us in the American league Championship Series against the Detroit Tigers, but alas, our date with destiny failed to be. The Tigers smoked the A’s in four games and proceeded to get thwarted four games to one in the World Series against the Cardinals. The World Series tie was broken. The A’s were now the third best team in MLB history. 2011 made matters worse as the Cardinals once again held the crown high after winning and epic seven-game series against the Texas Rangers.

I had the highest of hopes going into the 2012 season as the A’s representative in the MLB Fan Cave, but I also had some stiff competition from the Cardinals rep Kyle Thompson. During the Top-30 audition process in Arizona I got a feel for him and went back to Oregon not being overtly impressed by him, but I had a strong feeling that he would make his way to New York with me. My intuition was sharp as this became a reality. I don’t dwell too much on our interaction in this post, but I assure that it will come up farther down the road. All I can tell you is that if all Cardinals were like Kyle, any justification I have for hating Cardinals fans would be legitimate.

On April 13, 2012 the Cardinals celebrated their home opener against the Chicago Cubs and it became the only day that I would ever wear Cardinals gear in the Fan Cave. It became quickly known by everyone inside and outside of the Fan Cave that I had an array of gear from every team. Even though I was there to represent the A’s I always felt it was more of my duty to represent baseball for all of the fans who did not have a representative. I care about the game too much to be a one dimensional fan. So, knowing that I had a few family friends in attendance at Busch Stadium that day, all of which had signs of support for me in the Fan Cave if they ever got on TV, I wore my Bob Gibson player-T and a Cardinals hat to show my support. Everyone was cool with this; everyone except Kyle. One of the deals I had made with the other eight Cave Dwellers was that I would never wear any gear for their team if any players or representatives came into the Fan Cave. I knew that this was their day and I did not want to spoil their fun in any way. Since this was an Opening Day occasion and we weren’t exactly celebrating anything in the Fan Cave that day, I didn’t see a big deal in what I was doing. My reasons were justified and I didn’t exactly do anything to shift the attention to myself, especially considering that the cameras were NOT rolling that day. But to Kyle, I had invaded his turf. This would be the first time that he and I had a bit of a spat. I just shrugged it off and told him to relax, something he apparently didn’t want to hear. As confrontational as I can be I didn’t want this situation to make anyone look bad so I just let it slide. Besides, the games were starting. It’s not like I had time to go back to the apartment and change. I suppose I could have just walked around shirtless, showing off my tattoos, but I’m pretty sure that would have been taken as attention-getting as well. So, I did the only thing I could do… watch the game.

I didn’t know much of what the Cardinals had planned for the day as there was a slight drizzle falling upon the crowd which had postponed the ceremonies for a bit. Then, in a little white golf cart, out came Stan Musial. I’ve never had much of a problem with teams bringing out players from their past for such an occasion, but this is one of the few times I remember feeling uncomfortable. Musial’s health was visibly fading fast, and it really didn’t look like he wanted to be there; however, he put on a smile and went out to the pitchers mound to greet the sold out crowd in typical Stan the Man fashion. He was 91-years-old, but he could still light up the room from his presence alone. One of the greatest to ever play the game, he owned that day, even in the short period of time he was there to congratulate the team on winning the World Series the previous year. In an instant it was over. Musial was carted off the field the same way he came in, but all of use knew that this was probably going to be one of the last times we’d ever see him. On January 19 of this year Musial passed away at the age of 92 at his home in Laude, Missouri. The last hero from the Golden Era of baseball was gone.

I had wanted to pick up a vintage Cardinals cap for years, but my angst toward the team had always stepped in the way. To make matters worse, my opinion of Kyle had spilled over into my social media content and I really wanted nothing to do with the Cardinals. It would take months before I could even bring myself to watching or talking about the team publicly, and the thing that made everything click was my trip to St. Louis on September 8 as the Cardinals took on the Brewers. I had kept to myself for most of the game, not really wanting to interact with anyone, and trying to avoid a confrontation. To my amazement small groups of people spotted me sitting in the centerfield bleachers and came over to introduce themselves to me. Everyone I chatted with recognized me from my time in the Fan Cave and every one of them asked why I wasn’t there anymore. In so few words I did my best to explain that it was a “business decision” and that Kyle was one of the roots of that move. Of all the people I talked to, not a single one liked Kyle. They all felt he was making Cardinals fans look “psychotic” and “uneducated.” I just sat and listened with a cracked smile on my face. I was so happy that I was not the only one who saw this. Needless to say, my illusions of the Cardinals and their fans changed for the better that night. I had a blast. The mascot became one of my biggest fans after I took a picture with him and I was regaled by stories from the Musial days by a few of the older couples strewn about the crowd. I also got a phone number from a Cardinals fan who was on vacation from LSU, but nothing happened. I think the one thing I took away from my trip to Busch Stadium was an education of how my emotions had gotten the better of me for years. I still hate the team, from a sports competition perspective, but I have a greater respect for the people who help the fan base thrive. For that, I finally broke down and picked up some classic Cardinals caps.

This cap in particular is one of two I really wanted to have in my collection. I picked it up from a Web site called MickeysPlace.com, a shop based out of Cooperstown, New York who specializes in classic memorabilia. Most of the old school hats in my collection have come from here and I have no means of stopping shopping with them anytime soon. This was the third period of Cardinals hat to feature any kind of a logo on the front of the cap since 1893. The first two eras I have yet to find for sale, but I’m not one to let that stop me. This cap was used from 1940-1955; first as their home and alternate road cap in 1940 until it took over as their game cap from 1941-1950. In 1951-1952 the Cardinals used it as their home only cap as they had introduced the same cap with a navy blue bill as their road cap for those two seasons. Then, in 1953-1955, the Cardinals went back to the red billed cap for home and away games until switching to the navy blue billed cap for all of their games starting in 1956. Even though Musial missed only one year of wearing this cap (1940) throughout its existence I couldn’t think of anyone better to pay tribute to.

.331/475/1951- This will probably go down as one of the longest marks I’ve written on any of my caps. Musial was born in Donora, Pennsylvania, the fifth of Lukasz and Mary (Lancos) Musiał's six children (four girls and two boys). His mother was of Czech descent and his father was a Polish immigrant who chose the name Stanisław Franciszek for his first son, though his father always referred to Musial using the Polish nickname Stasiu, pronounced "Stashu." Musial frequently played baseball with his brother Ed and other friends during his childhood, and considered Lefty Grove of the Philadelphia Athletics his favorite ballplayer. Musial also had the benefit of learning about baseball from his neighbor Joe Barbao, a former minor league pitcher. When he enrolled in school, his name was formally changed to Stanley Frank Musial.
At age 15 Musial joined the Donora Zincs, a semi-professional team managed by Barbao.  In his Zincs debut he pitched six innings and struck out 13 batters, all of them adults. Musial also played one season on the newly revived Donora High School baseball team, where one of his teammates was Buddy Griffey, father of MLB player Ken Griffey, Sr. and grandfather to Ken Griffey, Jr. Baseball statistician Bill James described the younger Griffey, in comparison to Musial, as "the second-best left-handed hitting, left-handed throwing outfielder ever born in Donora, Pennsylvania, on November 21."

Musial had received a scholarship offer to play basketball from the University of Pennsylvania, but opted to sign with the Cardinals as a free agent. Musial's father initially resisted the idea of his son pursuing a baseball career, but reluctantly gave his consent after lobbying by both Musial and his mother. Musial also credited his school librarian Helen Kloz for pointing out that baseball was his dream and advising him to pursue it professionally. In what was then a common practice, the Cardinals did not file the contract with the baseball commissioner's office until June 1938. This preserved Musial's amateur eligibility, and he was still able to participate in high school sports, leading Donora High School's basketball team to a playoff appearance. He then reported to the Cardinals' Class D affiliate in West Virginia, the Williamson Red Birds.

Musial’s minor league days had its ups and downs. He married Lillian Labash on May 25, 1940 and the couple’s first child followed in August. His playing days took a turn for the worst shortly after as he suffered a shoulder injury that same month while playing in the outfield. For a while Musial considered leaving baseball entirely, complaining that he could not afford to support himself and his wife on the $16 a week pay. His then manager and lifetime friend Dickie Kerr talked him out of it, and even took the Musials into his own home to relieve the financial burden. To repay the debt Musial bought Kerr a $20,000 home in Houston in 1958. In 113 games in 1940 he hit .311, while compiling an 18–5 pitching record that included 176 strikeouts and 145 walks.

Musial was assigned to the Class AA Columbus Red Birds to begin 1941, though manager, Burt Shotton, and Musial himself quickly realized that the previous year's injury had considerably weakened his arm. He was reassigned to the Class C Springfield Cardinals as a full-time outfielder, and he later credited manager, Ollie Vanek, for displaying confidence in his hitting ability. During 87 games with Springfield Musial hit a league-leading .379, before being promoted to the Rochester Red Wings of the International League. He was noted for his unique batting stance, a crouch in which his back was seemingly square to the pitcher. This stance was later described by pitcher, Ted Lyons, as "a kid peeking around the corner to see if the cops were coming". According to a 1950 description by author Tom Meany, "The bent knees and the crouch give him the appearance of a coiled spring, although most pitchers think of him as a coiled rattlesnake." Musial continued to play well in Rochester—in one three-game stretch, he had 11 hits. He was called up to the Cardinals for the last two weeks of the 1941 season. Musial made his MLB debut on September 17, 1941 and played in the final 12 games of the season. In the 47 at-bats he received he made every one of them count, going .417 with 20 hits, a home run, seven RBI and scoring eight runs. Musial would never see a game in the Minor Leagues again throughout his playing career.

Everything I’ve ever know about Musial has come from watching old game footage from the likes of Ken Burns Baseball and the amazing stories I’ve heard over the years from older fans who witnessed him play when they were kids. It kind of bums me out when I do these longer posts on the legends of the game and I have no personal account of seeing them play. Most of their stories I have to piece together from encyclopedias and stat sheets, but what’s most impressive about Musial is how much you can derive from his playing years simply by looking at the numbers. In 1942 there was a Rookie of the Year award, but not on the grand scale like it is today. Sports writers in each league awarded one up-and-coming star per league (like today) and that was about it. There wasn’t any kind of a formal award until 1947. But, what I can tell you about 1942 is that had there been such an award, Musial would have won it easily. In his first full season in the Majors Musial finished in 12^th place for the NL MVP. Four of his teammates finished ahead of him and only one of them had a better batting average than he did: Enos Slaughter at .318. Musial’s .315 average was something to boast about. Very few had seen such consistency out of someone so young and very few thought it would last. Boy were they wrong. 1942 was also an interesting year because it would be marked as the ONLY full season that Musial would play in which he didn’t make the All-Star roster. That’s right; Musial made 20 consecutive All-Star appearances with the exception of 1945 which I’ll get to in a moment.

In 1943 Musial proved his worth by winning the first of seven batting titles he’d attain throughout his career. He hit .357 and lead the league in: triples (20), doubles (48) and hits (200). That season he won his first of three NL MVP awards, beating out his teammate Walker Cooper that year who had finished one spot ahead of him in voting the previous year. Musial would go on to win the NL MVP award two more times in 1946 and 1948, each time leading the league in average, triples, doubles, hits, runs and RBI once in 1948 with 131. 1945 was the only year from 1942-1958 where Musial was not on the NL MVP list due to the fact that he had been drafted into the US Navy to fight for his country in World War II. His military career would last 15 months. He never saw combat during his time as he was assigned to rebuild ship in Pearl Harbor.

In his return to baseball in 1946 Musial received his moniker during a game at Ebbets Field. During the Cardinals June 23rd game against the Brooklyn Dodgers, St. Louis Post-Dispatch sportswriter Bob Broeg heard Dodger fans chanting whenever Musial came to bat, but could not understand the words. Later that day over dinner, Broeg asked Cardinals traveling secretary Leo Ward if he had understood what the Dodger fans had been chanting. Ward said, "Every time Stan came up they chanted, 'Here comes the man!'" "'That man,' you mean", Broeg said. "No, the man", replied Ward. Broeg mentioned this story in his Post-Dispatch column, and Musial was thereafter known as Stan "The Man".

In 1959 Musial lost a bit of his step, which he later contributed to “improper physical conditioning.” It would be one of three years in which he would not be in the running for the NL MVP as he hit a career-worst .255 that season. That’s really funny to think about considering that most currently player would kill to have that as their best average in a season. But what do you expect from a guy who hit .331 lifetime? Musial was so displeased by his performance that he took a $20,000 pay cut to prove that he could do better and enlisted the help of Walter Eberhardt, the director of physical education at St. Louis University. In 1960 he finished 16^th for the NL MVP, hitting .275 on the season, but failed to make the list in 1961 despite hitting .288. In 1962 he finished in 10^th despite hitting .330 with 19 home runs and 82 RBI. It’s kind of incredible that he finished so low if you ever take a chance to look at the who finished ahead of him.

Musial's last game, on September 29, 1963, was preceded by an hour-long retirement ceremony. Speakers at the event included baseball commissioner Ford Frick, Cardinals broadcaster Harry Caray, and Cardinals owner Gussie Busch, who announced that Musial's uniform number "6" would be retired by the team. During the game, Musial recorded a single in the fourth inning, and then hit a single to right field that scored teammate Curt Flood in the sixth. Cardinals’ manager Johnny Keane brought in Gary Kolb as a pinch-runner for Musial, bringing his major league career to an end. Just as he had recorded two base hits in his major league debut, Musial finished his last game with two hits, as well. Musial would finish with the all time National League record and second to only Ty Cobb on the all time Major League list. Musial's last hit in his career was hit past the Cincinnati Reds second baseman at the time, Pete Rose, who would later break Cobb's record to become the all time hit king.

Musial ended his playing career with 3,630 hits, a .311 average, 475 home runs and 1,951 RBI. He as inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1969. He is, and will forever be the face of the organization.

One thing that I learned about Musial during my time in St. Louis, and then again a few weeks ago in Tampa was that he was quite the accomplished harmonica player which included his rendition of "Take Me Out to the Ball Game". Through the 1990s, he frequently played the harmonica at public gatherings, such as the annual Baseball Hall of Fame induction ceremony and various charity events.  He performed on the television show Hee Haw and in 1994 and recorded 18 songs that were sold in tandem with a harmonica-playing instruction booklet.

In 2010 the Cardinals launched a campaign to build support for awarding Musial the Presidential Medal of Freedom for his lifetime of achievement and service. The campaign realized its goal, and on February 15, 2011, Musial was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Barack Obama who called him "an icon untarnished, a beloved pillar of the community, a gentleman you'd want your kids to emulate."

I never got to see him again when he made his last public appearance before Game four of the 2012 NLCS, but from what I heard, it wasn’t much different than when I saw him on TV in the Fan Cave for Opening Day. It was hard enough seeing someone who had touched so many lives in such a weakened state, but that unfortunately is the sad reality of life. At some point we’ll all get to that state, but it’s how we adapt to it is what truly tests our character. Musial was a great guy through-and-through, and I have felt so awful for the years of anger I had toward the fans who adored him. I still have my beef with the team, but all for the sake of smack talk now. The Cardinals fans I got to know over the last year have truly been great and they should all be happy to have a three-time World Series champion, and all around good guy like Musial to call their own.

I shuffled through a lot of quotes about Musial and his career and I only found one that I really think summed up his life and his career perfectly. In Musial's 3,026 major league appearances, he was never ejected from a game. Speaking about his quiet reputation within the sport's history, sportscaster Bob Costas said, "He didn't hit a homer in his last at-bat; he hit a single. He didn't hit in 56 straight games. He married his high school sweetheart and stayed married to her. ... All Musial represents is more than two decades of sustained excellence and complete decency as a human being."