I have been a lifelong Cardinals fan. Growing up, there were two main idols of mine that come to mind when I think of Cardinals baseball and the entire game in general. The first is Mark McGuire. Although I was very young, I still saw his face plastered everywhere, and saw my family intently watching each game to see whether or not he would break the homerun record, which he did. He was a player like none before. Although he was most likely a steroid user along with many of the players at the time, he brought something to the Cardinals organization that they had not had before: a massive, muscle bound man hitting for power numbers that were best in the majors. In his second and third seasons with the Cards he hit 135 total home runs, 70 and 65 respectively. The aura that surrounded this man was entrancing, and would have to eventually be replaced in the hearts of the St. Louis faithful. This is where Albert Pujols came in later. He embodied the attributes that made all of us young boys admire McGwire. He was a strong, burly man that could hit a ball harder than most could ever imagine. In his ten years with the Redbirds he hit more than 30 home runs every season and over 40 in 6 of those ten. He was the newest superhero for cardinals nation and every baseball playing kid within a 200 mile radius. "The Machine" should have been "Superman".
In the off season of 2011, Pujols' contract expired and most Cardinal fans assumed there would be a new deal coming. That was until we all heard the news the the Angels had an offer for him as well (in addition to a few other but these were the only main competitors. The Cardinals initially offered $130 million for five years. When the Angels offered $254 million and ten years, the Cardinals had one last chance and offered $210 million and the chance to end his career where it began.
The devastating news came that Pujols went to Anaheim and all of us fans were stunned and angry. It was a lesser version of when Lebron went to Miami. In a matter of a few months we were all ready to move on from this ordeal, so we had to look somewhere else to find what we looked up to in McGwire and Pujols. Yes, the Cardinals had bigger sluggers after Pujols, like Carlos Beltran in 2012, but the memory of these two legends was brought to life by no one better than Matt Holliday.
It was recently announced the Cardinals' would not pick up Holliday's option which would make him free to retire, restructure a new deal or to sign with another team. The news was hard for St. Louis, coming at a time that the Cards missed the playoffs for the first time since 2010. On behalf of Cardinal nation and boys like me that have watched you all these years, I want to thank you for the following:
The Longest HR in New Busch off of the Cubs' Dempster
If there is anything that would cement my claim as Holliday being the finest representative of the monster power that was displayed by the Cards' stars before him is would be this. Watch below and remember when he hit a 469' dinger on July 20, 2012.
Always making us a little nervous out there in left field, but still getting it done.
It's no secret that Holliday isn't the best or most nimble defensive player.I can think of countless times that he made very easy plays look hard, and some routine plays that he butchered.Nonetheless he did make his fair share of good plays, and was always a solid defensive outfielder, he just provided us with a couple more heart attacks than we signed up for.
Being a good ol' boy.
The Cardinals aren't a flashy team. Me and my dad like to joke that they find all of the guys in the majors that look like the would suck at baseball and should probably just be a farmer instead, and make them stars. Take guys like Lance Berkman, Tyler Greene, Jason Motte, Chris Carpenter, and many others. The rosters that have been the st successful for the Cards in the past decade have consisted of older guys that most would think are washed up and young ragtag guys that have yet to prove their mettle. They have not had the Bryce Harpers, Mike Trouts, or Giancarlo Stantons. They have had the Matt Hollidays; just good ol' boys that love the game and want to win and don't need to the glamour to do it. Being from Oklahoma and looking like he needs to rock a John Deere cap instead of a red one adds to how relatable he is for guys like me.
Playing for God.
This one's simple. He has been very involved in FCA (Fellowship of Christian Athletes) and sports a tattoo down his left arm of Job 38:4: “Where were you when I laid the earth’s foundation? Tell Me, if you understand.”. It's nice to see that he can be humble in his successes and is a great role model for young men playing the game.
Toughing out the injuries.
He has been one of the more injury prone men in the majors the last couple years. He has always done his best to come back from injuries and showed his true colors by coming back early just a few days ago to play what could possibly be his last games in St. Louis.
Making us all shed at least one tear by leaving the right way.
On September 30, he released the following letter giving his thanks to all the appropriate people.
Just days later he entered the game in the seventh inning with the long time Cardinals commentator Dan Mclaughlin saying that it might be his last at bat in St. Louis. He made us all tear up by doing this:
You showed us why sports are awesome. Hats off to you Matt. We all hope this isn't your final days in St. Louis, but if they are it was a heck of a way to say goodbye.
Thank You,
Cardinal Nation
