Careers of beloved stars Pujols, Molina end with roars from the crowd even in Cardinals’ loss
Existential threads of beginnings that have been woven into the history of St. Louis Cardinals baseball came to a firm and final end at Busch Stadium late Saturday night with hardly a sound of protest to be heard.
The 2022 season, capped by winning the Central Division and 93 games in the regular season but none in the postseason, ended with being swept from the best-of-three Wild Card series following a 2-0 Phillies victory.
The careers of Yadier Molina and Albert Pujols, both bound for bronze both here and in Cooperstown, NY, ended following an unforgettable reunion but an entirely pedestrian conclusion.
Each was welcomed by the roar of the crowd as they headed out for pregame warmups, Molina 40 minutes before first pitch and Pujols ten minutes later. Even a believing crowd, certain until the end that a saving rally was coming, couldn’t allow a moment to pass without appreciation. And as each was lifted for a pinch runner, the roars came again, in waves.
The period of certain team control over third baseman Nolan Arenado ended. Every expectation is that he’ll return for the 2023 season, but with a player option looming and market forces that could increase his earnings, an uneasy wait lies ahead.
The notion of the Cardinals as a franchise with the ability to seize the moment in the postseason and play up to their opponents, bigger than their own record, ought to have been ended as well. St. Louis has now lost five straight playoff games and nine of their last ten. In their last three games facing elimination, they’ve scored zero, one, and zero runs.
It’s the last conclusion, the utter collapse and abandonment of the offense, that has defined October for much of the last half decade. Paul Goldschmidt and Arenado, hitting third and fourth as they have for the vast majority of the season, went dead silent, combining for one hit in the series. Even Pujols, whose second half resurgence was perhaps baseball’s best story this season, mustered only two singles in two games.
With two runners on and one out in the bottom of the eighth inning, Goldschmidt and Arenado were due to hit. Each is likely to finish in the top three in voting for the NL’s Most Valuable Player Award.
Goldschmidt flailed at a pitch in the dirt for strike three. Arenado, to his credit, did manage to wave past a pitch that was at least in the strike zone. They combined to go 1-for-15 with six strikeouts in the series.
“Those guys carried us for the entire year,” manager Oliver Marmol said. “They did a phenomenal job of not taking any at-bats off. And at the end of the day, baseball is tough. They had a tough stretch there at the end.
“Those are ultra competitors that were giving everything they had. Proud of them.”
At his locker, after making plans to meet teammates over the offseason and for early spring workouts, Arenado was barely able to choke back tears.
“I just feel like I fit well here,” he said. “I think the city appreciates me – probably not after tonight – but I really loved it here, so hopefully we can figure it out.”
Such a turn of events really makes the outcome inescapable. Fans, especially in St. Louis, live for the minutia of playoff baseball. Dissecting the decisions and moves of a manager can be the lifeblood of the city as the weather grows cold; indeed, Marmol professed a “love” for those conversations in his office before the game.
What use are those conversations when the team’s most important pillars collapse? Under what microscope should selecting the right reliever be placed when picking a fan from the stands would have had the exact same result given the barren offensive output?
That this is the last memory of Molina and Pujols is the biggest disappointment. All season, each time they were asked, both spoke of a desire to win a championship. Never was it more important than this season, and never, at points, did it seem more inevitable.
“Everybody in that clubhouse is feeling it right now,” Marmol said. “It’s a tough one. When you know it’s Yadi’s last year and Albert’s last year, there’s this extra motivation to deliver for them and do something special and allow that story to end with a championship.”
Tommy Edman sat at his locker after the game, still half dressed in his uniform, staring into the middle distance, undoubtedly replaying the season’s final at bat in his mind. Juan Yepez, ever a Pujols shadow, followed him all the way to and almost through the door to exit to the parking lot.
Adam Wainwright, his own future undefined, was one of the last Cardinals in uniform. He declined, to the last, to clarify whether he planned to play next season, but did profess a decision was likely to come soon.
The story ends differently, with the record for games started as a battery for Molina and Wainwright and space in an elite club of 700 home run hitters for Albert Pujols. Those are nearly peerless feats in the game’s august history, and should and will be lauded as they deserve.
They are not a championship. Those are flags that fly forever.
“This was never about me,” Pujols said, at his own end. “This was about an organization that opened the door for me to finish my career here. My mission at the end of the day was to help this ballclub win every day, whether I was in the lineup or not.”
Some things, not even Albert Pujols can accomplish on his own.
This story was originally published October 8, 2022 at 11:17 PM.