Ahead Of The Count: Three Eras Of All-Star Voting

In America’s pastime, as in its politics, democracy is a wonderful but fragile thing. Ten years after Major League Baseball first gave its fans the option to vote for the starting lineups in the All-Star Game, Commissioner Ford Frick took it away again after 1957, when Cincinnati fans stuffed the ballot boxes to elect all but one Reds' starter. This was not even a spontaneous upsurge of local pride: through the late spring, the Cincinnati Enquirer had printed ballots to distribute them easily to fans, and local bars even required customers to fill out ballots before they would be served. Not until 1970 were the fans put back in charge of picking the starters, but it’s been in their hands ever since—even surviving another sabotage attempt when Massachusetts hacker Chris Nandor was able to create a program that voted for Nomar Garciaparra nearly 40,000 times to edge out Derek Jeter.

Baseball Prospectus

Ben Sheets Proves He's Still Got It For Scouts

Ben Sheets’ voice echoed around Warhawk Field following his pitching performance for about 15 scouts Tuesday afternoon.

The News Star

Six Years Of Cardinals Minor League All-Stars

Recent posts comparing the St. Louis Cardinals minor league won-loss records and all-stars by level over the last two years have generated a lot of interest and discussion both on and off the blog.

The Cardinal Nation Blog

Cardinals Minors All-Star Representation Down

In the last post, we reviewed recent Cardinals system minor league won-loss records. Observations included a decline in winning in 2009 over 2008 from over 54 percent to under 49 percent with that latter rate being the second-worst across the system in the last five years.

The Cardinal Nation Blog

Derek Jeter Is Not "A Meteorlogist, Bro"

New York Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter was the unofficial host of the 2008 All-Star Game as it visited the Bronx, the spotlight barely found him because of the big cement, facade-famous goliath that was the true star of last year’s main event — Yankee Stadium. Still, he had some advice for the mayor of this year’s All-Star Game, as it came to St. Louis and Albert Pujols was the most famous monument around.

Birdland

Willie Mays To Accompany President Barack Obama

Hall of Famer Willie Mays will travel with President Barack Obama today as he jets his way to St. Louis to throw out the ceremonial first pitch at tonight’s 80th All-Star Game, held at Busch Stadium.

Cardinal Beat

Ryan Ludwick Aims For Consistency At The Plate (Game Notes 7-9-09)

It's been an up-and-down season for St. Louis outfielder Ryan Ludwick after coming off his first All-Star appearance in 2008.
Cardinals Official Site

Manny Parra will return from his demotion to Triple-A Nashville to start against the Cardinals on Thursday.
Brewers Official Site

Memphis Redbirds' Closer Jess Todd Moves Fast

Perhaps Redbirds closer Jess Todd's secret weapon can be found in his suitcase.

Todd, owner of a 1.56 ERA on the road this season, has spent most of his baseball career moving from place to place.

Memphis Commercial Appeal

Albert Pujols, Yadier Molina Continue To Lead On Ballot

The July 14 All-Star Game at Busch Stadium is getting closer, the days are winding down, and two Cardinals are still holding on to their leads in the race to represent the National League in the Midsummer Classic. Both the underdog and the odds-on favorite continue to lead.
Cardinals Official Site

Philadelphia Phillies second baseman Chase Utley has surpassed the hometown favorite and seemingly entrenched leader Albert Pujols, the St. Louis Cardinals first baseman, in total votes counted so far for the 80th All-Star Game.
Cardinal Beat

Yadier Molina, Albert Pujols Continue To Top Ballot

Yadier Molina is slumping a bit, but fans don't seem to mind. He's holding onto his lead among National League catchers in All-Star balloting, as every week the Midsummer Classic gets closer. Cardinals Official Site

St. Louis Cardinals’ first baseman Albert Pujols has twice as many votes as runner-up Ryan Howard of Philadelphia in the fans’ balloting for the first-base position on the National League All-Star team for the All-Star Game to be played at Busch Stadium on July 14.
Cardinal Beat

There is little definite from the National League All-Star voting save that St. Louis Cardinals slugger Albert Pujols is likely to start at first base for the NL and one of the first basemen in the league is going to get the golden snub.
Cardinal Beat

Ryan Ludwick: The Winding Road

Emerging as he did as a 30-year-old slugging revelation and an All-Star in his first full season, Cardinals outfielder Ryan Ludwick understands the perception that he and his 2008 season "came out of nowhere." Because there was a time when he felt like all of the mileage and meandering through pro baseball had landed him exactly there — nowhere. "I got lost in the shuffle," Ludwick said. "They had no clue who I was, who I had been or the kind of player I had been in the past. I'm fortunate to get a chance to show that."

STL Today

Albert Pujols Right At Home On All-Star Ballot

It just wouldn't seem right to have an All-Star Game in St. Louis without baseball's best player, Cardinals superstar Albert Pujols. Fans can now help ensure that Pujols makes the club.
Cardinals Official Site

The same day he drove in the eventual winning run for the Class AAA Memphis Redbirds, St. Louis native David Freese will find his name on the Major League Baseball All-Star Game ballot which debuted Wednesday at Busch Stadium. Freese is listed in the field of National League third baseman, alongside Ryan Zimmerman of Washington and David Wright of the New York Mets.
Cardinal Beat

Ryan Ludwick Beats Injuries

Although a quick glance at Ryan Ludwick's statistics suggest he bloomed late in his professional baseball career, they do not mention the agony and pain he first endured.

Florida News-Press

Ryan Ludwick Struggles This Spring After Big Season

Before the question was even finished about how outfielder Ryan Ludwick had been stuck in neutral offensively this spring, Tony La Russa interjected a way to describe his All-Star.

STL Today

Built-Up Ryan Ludwick Scuffling At Plate

In January, Ryan Ludwick daydreamed aloud about hitting 50 home runs. Now, he'd settle for a few lousy singles.

KMOV

Can He Do It Again?

Ryan Ludwick is a very special case.

The reborn, oft-rehabilitated outfielder turned 30 last July 13, two days before appearing in his first All-Star Game, 23 days before taking his 1,000th major-league at-bat and less than four months before becoming the fifth Cardinal at his position ever to earn a Silver Slugger for offensive excellence.

STL Today

Don Baylor Thrilled To Be Back With Rockies

Clint Hurdle admired Don Baylor as an opponent during their playing careers. When Baylor was managing the Rockies in 1997 and hired Hurdle as hitting coach, Hurdle gained an immediate understanding of the preparedness that drove such a tough opponent.

Rockies Official Site

Ryan Ludwick Glad Contract Talk Is Over

Ryan Ludwick is pleased to have the validation of his first seven-figure contract, relieved to have avoided arbitration and delighted to have scored some financial security. Mostly, though, Ludwick said he's happy he spent Tuesday on the baseball field.

Cardinals Official Site

Ryan Ludwick Lands New Deal With Cardinals

Ryan Ludwick's faith was rewarded. The outfielder has agreed to a new one-year contract with the Cardinals, avoiding an arbitration hearing that had been scheduled for Tuesday. General manager John Mozeliak confirmed the deal on Monday evening.
Cardinals Official Site

Cardinals outfielder Ryan Ludwick and the club have agreed to a one-year deal and avoided tomorrow’s scheduled arbitration hearing. General manager John Mozeliak just confirmed that a deal was struck early this evening, allowing both sides to remain here in Florida and not race each other for morning flights to Arizona.
Cardinal Beat

The last of the St . Louis Cardinals players in salary arbitration has reached a settlement.
The Biz Of Baseball

With the announcement on Monday that the St. Louis Cardinals came to an agreement with All-Star outfielder Ryan Ludwick on a one-year contract for the upcoming season, the book is now closed on the club’s 2009 arbitration eligible-cases.
The Cardinal Nation

Ryan Ludwick arrived at his first spring training with the Cardinals in 2007 and found himself assigned to the placeholder group for workouts, the pack of hitters who filled in the blank spots on manager Tony La Russa's daily schedule. If that meant his group took batting practice after conditioning, so be it. They weren't the priority.
STL Today

Ryan Ludwick: Avoids Arbitration With Cardinals

Can Ryan Ludwick Duplicate Last Season's Success?

THE WATERCOOLER

QUESTION: It was not until he was 30 years old that Ryan Ludwick had his breakout season for the Cardinals, posting 37 home runs, 113 RBIs and a .299 batting average in 2008. Do you think Ludwick, who turns 31 in July, will come anywhere near duplicating those numbers in the next few years?

STL Today