Cardinals news and notes: Tsunami, Piscotty, Rockies (and the Macho Man)

Today marks five years since the death of former Cardinal minor leaguer Randy Mario Poffo, better known as professional wrestler Randy "Macho Man" Savage. After graduating from high school in Downers Grove, Illinois, Poffo attended and played baseball at Southern Illinois University (maybe, the school isn't so sure) and went undrafted but was signed by the Cardinals in a 200-player tryout in 1971. His best season in the minors, where he was teammates with future MLBers Larry Herndon, Tito Landrum, and Jerry Mumphrey, was likely 1973 when he hit .282/.400/.441 in 215 plate appearances split between the GCL Red Birds and the Orangeburg Cardinals. Injuries soon forced him from the game and a legendary career in professional wrestling came calling.

However, in 1991, the Macho Man made a memorable appearance at Busch Stadium with Miss Elizabeth and joined Vin Scully and William F. Buckley, Jr. George Grande and Al Hrabosky in the booth for a half-inning in which we get to see Milt Thompson, Ozzie Smith, Ray Lankford, Pedro Guerrero, Felix Jose, and Todd Zeile take some swings against the Cubs. Savage's banter with the Mad Hungarian and Grande is something else. Watch the remarkable video here (h/t @kenM_9):

That's some good stuff. Here's what you may have missed yesterday at VEB:

Carlos Martinez

Carlos Martinez, our favorite pitcher, is doing well. Joe Schwarz chronicled a trip he recently took to Kreitner Elementary School in Collinsville, Illinois, to educate the students about his charity Tsunami Waves. And here are some photos Carlos took of his school visit as well as his trip to Mercy Hospital. He's the best.

Stephen Piscotty

I wrote about Stephen Piscotty's young career and how it compares to a few of his contemporaries. Pretty well, it turns out.

Future Redbirds

Cardinals645 shared a farm report if you're interested in the goings on of potential future Redbirds.

Cardinals vs. Rockies

It wasn't always pretty but the Cardinals pounded out a 13-7 win over the Rockies last night to get the series win. Matt Carpenter drove in six and hit a late home run which put the game away. You can read the game thread here and the recap here.

Have a great weekend, everyone.