Man, the other day I got sidetracked thinking about Placido Polanco and his time with the St. Louis Cardinals. It wasn’t like a major project or anything, just kinda popped into my head while I was sorting through some old baseball junk in the garage.
So, I started digging a bit, you know? Not online really, more like digging through my own memories and some old magazines I kept. Found an old scoresheet from a game I went to back then. Didn’t even remember Polanco played in that specific game until I saw his name penned in.
My Process of Remembering
First thing I did was just sit back and try to picture him in that Cardinals uniform. It’s funny how memories blur. I mostly remembered him solid, dependable. Not flashy, just a guy who got the job done.
Then I tried to recall specific things:
- His stance: Kinda upright, if I remember right? Always looked ready to slap the ball somewhere.
- Fielding: Smooth over at third base, sometimes second too. Made the plays, didn’t seem to boot many.
- Hitting: Always felt like he was a tough out. Didn’t strike out a ton, put the ball in play. Contact hitter, for sure.
I grabbed a couple of old baseball cards I had lying around. Found one of him actually with the Cards. Looked at the stats on the back. Yeah, confirmed what I was thinking – good average, not a lot of power, but drove in some runs. He just fit that team, you know? They had the big bats like Pujols, so having a guy like Polanco who could get on base or move runners over was pretty valuable.
Spent maybe an hour just reminiscing like that. Pulled out an old team photo from a program somewhere. Found him in there. Looked younger, obviously. It’s weird how time flies.
Final Thoughts
It wasn’t like I discovered anything new, really. Just spent some time jogging the old memory banks about a player I respected. Polanco was one of those guys who maybe didn’t get the huge headlines but was a key part of winning teams. His Cardinals years were solid. Good glove, good bat control. You need guys like that. It was a nice little trip down memory lane, prompted by finding some old stuff. Simple as that.
