How Dave Collins Became Player, Coach For Cardinals

The Cardinals gave Dave Collins a chance to extend his playing days and to begin a coaching career in the major leagues.

RetroSimba

We Wish Health & Happiness For Dexter Fowler. But In The End It's All About Performance

Derrick Goold, esteemed baseball writer at the Post-Dispatch and STLtoday, wrote an illuminating piece on Dexter Fowler over the weekend. Goold visited Fowler’s home in Las Vegas after the conclusion of the baseball winter meetings, and the subsequent interview was personal, insightful and made for a terrific read. I highly recommend it.

101 ESPN

Matt Carpenter Is A Great Leadoff Man. Why Does It Make So Many People Crazy?

Matt Carpenter is the Cardinals’ leadoff hitter.

101 ESPN

Marcell Ozuna Has Yet To Draw A Walk Edition

Marcell Ozuna singled to right field in the bottom of the 9th inning in yesterday's 3-2 loss to the Brewers, bringing his current hitting streak to ten games. He has not quite settled in with the slugging numbers that made him an All-Star in 2016 and 2017 - he only has three extra-base hits so far on the season - but he seems to be squaring the ball up pretty well, and he currently boasts a slash line of .308/.308/.404.

Birds On The Black

Leon Durham, Jeff Fassero, Jody Davis, Desi Relaford, Delino DeShields, Tony Fossas, Milt Thompson, & Darren Bragg Named Coaches In Reds' Minor Leagues

There will be changes in the coaching staff of the Reds' top Minor League affiliate, Triple-A Louisville.

Cincinnati Official Site

Cardinals Debut Was Sooner Than Planned For Brian Jordan

The Cardinals had hoped Brian Jordan would spend the 1992 season in the minor leagues and get the at-bats he needed to continue his development as a baseball player. Instead, two games into their season, the Cardinals promoted Jordan and put him into their everyday lineup as the right fielder.

RetroSimba

Orioles Not Willing To Go Beyond One-Year Deal For Denard Span

The Orioles liked Span as a right fielder and leadoff hitter, but they weren't offering more than one season. The deal would have been loaded with incentives.

MASN Sports

Mark Quinn Ready To Return To The Big Leagues

Mark Quinn acknowledged Thursday that when he was first approached about becoming the Orioles’ new assistant hitting coach, he wasn’t sure if he was ready. Quinn had built a highly successful baseball academy in Houston, where he found his post-playing-career passion in teaching hitting at a variety of levels for the past eight years.

Capital Gazette

Ray Lankford & His Stellar Debut With Cardinals

Put at ease by management and welcomed by teammates, including those he might replace, Ray Lankford quickly felt at home with the Cardinals and delivered a stellar performance in his big-league debut.

RetroSimba

How One Pitch Might Have Sent John Smoltz On A Path To The Hall Of Fame

It’s probably simplistic to say a single pitch could chart a pitcher’s path to the Hall of Fame, but that might be just what happened for John Smoltz.

Sporting News

The Story Of How The Cardinals Acquired Lee Smith

Unwilling to bend on principle, Cardinals general manager Dal Maxvill reluctantly traded a slugger he wanted to keep. In a stroke of good fortune, he got in exchange a closer who would rank among the franchise’s all-time best.

RetroSimba

Jeff Suppan, Milt Thompson, & Tommy Gregg Assigned Roles In Royals' Minor League System

The Royals announced their Minor League coaching staff and coordinators Friday, with several new faces joining the organization and others continuing successful runs.

Kansas City Official Site

Why Isn't Jason Heyward A Center Fielder?

“If he was such a good outfielder, why doesn’t he play center field?” This is a common refrain echoing around the hallways of UZR Incorporated, a not-entirely baseless question that generally pertains to highly rated corner outfielders. If they’re such defensive dynamos, why not put them in the most important outfield position?

Fangraphs

Milt Thompson & Rick Eckstein Candidates For Braves Hitting Coach Job, Terry Pendleton Stay At First Base

So, the Braves will continue to scour a still-growing candidate list that has included Manuel's former hitting coach Milt Thompson and former Nationals hitting coach Rick Eckstein, who recently left the Angels organization to become an assistant coach at the University of Kentucky.

Atlanta Official Site

The Cardinals' Mess In Right Field

Good afternoon to the BFIB. Take 3 on the Cardinals:

Bird Bytes

Stars Come Out To Pay Tribute To Late Jim Fregosi

They gathered to remember a baseball man, a guy who had spent 53 years in the game. And for so much more. They dropped what they were doing and traveled to Bright House Field from far and wide to remember Jim Fregosi as a friend and a colleague and a mentor. He built the relationships. And they came.

Atlanta Official Site

Tommy Gregg Named Omaha Hitting Coach & Milt Thompson Royals' Outfield-Bunting-Baserunning Roving Instructor

Managers in the Royals' Minor League system are moving up and, while they're at it, going home.

Kansas City Official Site

Danny Sheaffer Named Astros Roving Hitting Instructor

The Astros completed their Minor League staff assignments Tuesday, naming Jaime Garcia the pitching coordinator, Ty Van Burkleo the roving hitting instructor and Danny Sheaffer the roving catching instructor.

Astros Official Site

Milt Thompson In Running To Be Astros Hitting Coach

Milt Thompson, who spent more than five seasons as the hitting coach of the Phillies before being let go in July, has interviewed for the Astros' hitting coach position that became vacant when his former teammate, Jeff Bagwell, decided not to return.

Astros Official Site

Mariners Speak With Leon Durham & Milt Thompson About Hitting Coach Job

A former All-Star hitter, also synonymous with the Chicago Cubs' playoff curse two decades before anyone had heard of Steve Bartman, is being considered for the Mariners' coaching staff.

Seattle Times