Cardinals news and notes: Pirates, Flood

With yesterday being Labor Day, there was not a lot going on at VEB, but it seems as good of time as any to talk about Curt Flood. On Saturday John wrote a few words about Flood and what he meant to professional sports. I’d encourage you to read it.

From my own memory bank, I was lucky enough to meet Flood in 1990 before an old-timers game against the Braves. I certainly knew who Flood was from the books I had read on the Cardinals but it wasn’t until that day when my dad explained to me that Flood challenged MLB’s reserve clause that I realized he meant more to baseball beyond his stats - which were quite good, of course. And it wasn’t until years later that I actually understood what Flood was fighting for.

I have conflicted feelings on Ken Burns’s Baseball. It’s incredibly well-done and the chapters on the Negro Leagues should be required viewing, but I’ve always felt a detachment from the film because it spends so little time on baseball in the Midwest. Nevertheless, this clip from the film on Curt Flood is worth everyone’s time.

Here’s what happened yesterday at VEB:

Cardinals vs. Pirates

In what might be the most important season series to date, the Cardinals destroyed the Pirates yesterday - as they should - 12-6. Here’s the recap if you missed the action. Even better, VEB got a shoutout from the ESPN crew stemming from this post from our own Joe Schwarz.

Have a great Tuesday, everyone.