You may have heard that a few days ago former Cardinals slugger Pedro Guerrero suffered a massive stroke and fell into a coma. He has since woken up and is currently recovering in a New York City hospital. That is welcoming news.
The Cardinals acquired Guerrero in mid-August 1988 in exchange for aging ace John Tudor, who was sent to the Dodgers. Guerrero’s best days would end up being behind him, as were Tudor’s, but in his first full season with the Cardinals, Guerrero put up the type of numbers that looked great on the back of a baseball card (of which I had plenty): .311 batting average, 117 runs batted in, and 42 doubles (led the NL). It was enough for a third place finish in the 1989 MVP voting behind Kevin Mitchell and Will Clark.
Guerrero’s numbers declined in the few years that followed and by 1993 he was out of baseball. But for a few years, he seemed like one of the few legitimate power threats on a team that only hit 73, 73, and 68 home runs, respectively, in Guerrero’s three full seasons with the Cardinals. And for your enjoyment, here’s a video of him from 1989 smacking the ball all around Wrigley Field.
Get well, Pedro.
Here’s what you may have missed yesterday at VEB:
- This is a great piece from Joe Schwarz breaking down Carlos Martinez’s Opening Day start. The last two GIFs alone are incredible. Just check it out, trust me.
- Carlos’s charity is also accepting pledges per strikeout this season. Click here to learn all about it.
- I’m hoping Mike Matheny will pull the starters a bit earlier this season. I’m not confident but we shall see.
- Lance Lynn threw a solid game yesterday in his first real start since returning from Tommy John. Nevertheless, Ben Markham argues that the Cardinals probably shouldn’t extend his contract.
- Oh, and there was the baseball game. Here’s the write-up capturing the frustrating affair.
That’s it, have a great weekend everyone. And go Cardinals.