Table of Content
- Additional 2023 Winter Warm-Up Autograph Tickets On Sale Friday
- Sean Kugler in filing: Cardinals firing him was ‘miscommunication’ or ‘mistaken identity’
- Skip Schumaker discusses Albert Pujols' final run with Cardinals
- MLB winter meetings winners, losers and takeaways: Our favorite (and least favorite) moves of the week
- Contreras wanted to be a Cardinal because of Pujols
- Cardinals part ways with longtime broadcaster after latest arrest
Fans of the St. Louis Cardinals will have a chance to see two of their new stars up close in January. Willson Contreras, who recently signed a five-year, $87.5 million deal with the team, and top prospect Jordan Walker will be signing autographs for fans at Winter Warm-Up. The offseason is in full swing and teams are making key additions to their roster before the 2023 season. The St. Louis Cardinals will have a new television play-by-play voice in 2023 after making a significant change to the booth on Thursday. The team announced that it is parting ways with broadcaster Dan McLaughlin by mutual decision after 24 seasons. The St. Louis star hadn’t homered in a week since hitting No. 699 and 700 at Dodger Stadium last Friday.
St. Louis became the first team to sweep the Yankees in a series of at least three games this year. Atlanta and the New York Mets are the only clubs in the majors to avoid that fate so far. St. Louis (60-48) moved a season-best 12 games over .500 with its first regular-season series sweep of the Yankees. The surging Cardinals moved two games ahead of second-place Milwaukee in the NL Central. Cardinals pitcher Jack Flaherty threw six innings of four-hit ball, allowing just one earned run in the 2-1 win.
Additional 2023 Winter Warm-Up Autograph Tickets On Sale Friday
Your favorite teams, topics, and players all on your favorite mobile devices. However, the real story happened prior to the start of the contest, when Pujols received a standing ovation and golden bat from the organization. For a man who has kept his cool throughout this final season, Pujols finally let out some emotion in front of the St. Louis faithful after a video tribute. Mercado will return to the team that drafted him back in 2013. The outfielder spent time with the Guardians and Phillies in 2022, producing a disappointing .207 average with four homers, 16 RBI, 17 runs and two stolen bases in 121 at-bats over 55 games.

The St. Louis Cardinals and Bally Sports have parted ways with longtime play-by-play announcer Dan McLaughlin. ST. LOUIS — Cardinals slugger Albert Pujols hit his 701st home run, connecting Friday night against the Pittsburgh Pirates. The Cardinals hired Kugler before head coach Kliff Kingsbury’s first season in 2019, and the assistant was promoted to run game coordinator in June 2021. Kugler was sent home before the Nov. 21 Monday Night Football game. "I was not in sync with my mechanics. I was missing my spots a lot," Montas said. "When you give that team a chance to hit those pitches, that's what's going to happen."
Sean Kugler in filing: Cardinals firing him was ‘miscommunication’ or ‘mistaken identity’
"It was a great night overall – a night I shared with my teammates, my family that were in the stands and, obviously, we came out with a huge win." "It’s pretty awesome to get back here, because I knew it was going to be like this," Pujols said, according to MLB.com. "It’s pretty good to be embraced by the fans like this. This is what I’ve been getting all year, but tonight was extra-special after reaching the milestone of 700.
New York manager Aaron Boone was ejected by plate umpire Ed Hickox in the fifth for apparently arguing balls and strikes. It was the 23rd ejection for Boone and his sixth this season. St. Louis won its season-high seventh straight in a slugfest that took 4 hours, 25 minutes — the longest nine-inning game in the majors this season. The Dominican Republic native hit at least .300 with at least 30 homers and 100 RBIs in each of his first 10 seasons.
Skip Schumaker discusses Albert Pujols' final run with Cardinals
But the three-time NL MVP started to find his stroke in August, swatting seven homers in one 10-game stretch that helped St. Louis pull away in the division race. The Cardinals have two more games with the Pirates at home before heading to Pittsburgh for the final three-game series of the regular season. While the next two games with be the final two regular season games at home for the Cardinals, St. Louis will still have a chance to watch Pujols in the postseason. Pujols’ 701st home run came in the bottom of the fourth inning on a 1-2 pitch from Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Johan Oveido in the final regular season home stand of Pujols’ career. His sluggish start to 2022 gave little indication he would hit the 21 homers needed to reach 700 — Pujols was batting .189 with a .601 OPS, four homers and 17 RBIs on July 4.
"Anytime you can cap off a sweep of a great team like the Yankees, it's huge," Arenado said. "We beat a team that's playing great ball, too. Where we're trying to go, you've got to win series. It's just great to see us playing good baseball, playing hard." St. Louis Cardinals' Paul DeJong is congratulated by teammate Nolan Arenado after hitting a three-run home run during the eighth inning of a baseball game against the New York Yankees Sunday, Aug. 7, 2022, in St. Louis.
Cardinals’ Albert Pujols hits home run No. 701 in final regular season home stand
Outside linebacker Randy Gregory and offensive lineman Billy Turner have been activated from injured reserve, the Broncos announced Saturday. The departure left yet another position group without an assistant. Arizona put running backs coach James Saxon on leave and eventually fired him after he was charged with domestic battery in Indiana that dated back to May. St. Louis completed a 6-0 homestand, its first homestand sweep of six games or more since September 2013. Judge gave his team a 4-1 lead with a two-run single in the second.
Pujols, surrounded by his five kids at a postgame news conference, said the Cardinals had not retrieved the 700th home run ball … yet. Pujols, who has homered off 455 different pitchers, circled the bases, pointed his index fingers toward the sky and clapped his hands as he crossed home plate, the theme from “The Natural” playing on the public address system. 22 home runs later, and Pujols has 701 total and can end his career the right way. If Cardinals fans have their way, it’ll end in a World Series — the third of Pujols career. The St. Louis Cardinals are a team that typically doesn’t splurge on top free agents, with a recent exception being their new catcher, Willson Contreras, who joined the team on a five-year, $87.5 million contract. The Cardinals are one of the many teams to have been connected to the free-agent lefty.
Chris Stratton (6-4) picked up the win, allowing two runs over 1 2/3 innings of relief. The Cardinals scored three times in the fifth to break a 6-all tie. Tommy Edman followed DeJong’s double with a run-scoring hit. DeJong was originally called out at the plate on the play, but the call was reversed after a replay review.

This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Quotes displayed in real-time or delayed by at least 15 minutes. It hasn’t been one long power trip for Pujols, an 11-time All-Star. He had more walks than strikeouts in 10 seasons and has never struck more than 93 times in a year. “It’s a number that Babe and Hank set way back when, a number of longevity, of stability, of greatness,” former Cardinals and Oakland Athletics slugger Mark McGwire, who hit 583 career homers, said of Pujols joining the exclusive 700 Club. He launched No. 699, a two-run blast that traveled 434 feet into the left-field pavilion, off Dodgers left-hander Andrew Heaney in the third inning.
More than two decades later, Pujols ranks fourth on baseball’s all-time home run list despite never hitting 50 homers in a season. He's third in RBIs , fifth in doubles , 10th in hits and 12th in runs . Heaney and Bickford became the 454th and 455th pitchers to give up home runs to Pujols. With the 2023 rotation set, the Cardinals weren't widely viewed as players in the current pitching market. But with just two starters signed beyond next season, the team needs to begin addressing the issue now. Querecuto has not appeared in an MLB game since 2016 and will now join the Cardinals at Triple-A Memphis.

Fans among a crowd of 50,041, who came to adore him during his five-month stint with the Dodgers last season, chanted his name and demanded a curtain call, and when Pujols obliged, he received a thunderous ovation. Pujols acted accordingly, and hit No. 701 on the same night against the Pittsburgh Pirates. Agreed Wednesday on a five-year, $87.5 million contract, Jeff Passan of ESPN.com reports. The St. Louis Cardinals set their sights on Willson Contreras from the very beginning of MLB free agency and the mission has officially been accomplished.
Contreras wanted to be a Cardinal because of Pujols
St. Louis Cardinals slugger Albert Pujols hit his 700th career home run on Friday night, connecting for his second drive of the game against the Los Angeles Dodgers and becoming the fourth player to reach the milestone in major league history. In bringing aboard Contreras, St. Louis has found a replacement for longtime catcher Yadier Molina, who retired following the 2022 campaign after 19 seasons with the Cardinals. With Molina's production having waned in recent years, the 30-year-old Contreras will provide a major upgrade at the position, particularly on the offensive end. Over the past two seasons, Contreras' 121 wRC+ ranks third among all catchers who have logged at least 500 plate appearances over that stretch. A week after becoming just the fourth player in baseball history to hit 700 home runs in a career, Pujols hit home run No. 701 in front of his home crowd at Busch Stadium in St. Louis, Missouri.