Give Me Drysdale

Listening to the last several Cardinal games made me reflect on some famous quotes from three famous former St. Louis baseball players.

The topic was Don Drysdale, the former menacing pitcher for the Dodgers. Drysdale was known for owning the inside of the plate…and protecting his teammates.

Orlando Cepeda once said: “The trick against Drysdale is to hit him before he hits you.”  Dick Groat said hitting against Drysdale was like making a date with a dentist. And Mike Shannon said, “Drysdale would consider an intentional walk a waste of three pitches if he wanted to put you on base, he just hit you with one pitch.”

There are similar quotes from opponents about Cardinal Hall of Famer Bob Gibson.

Oh, how the game has changed.

The Milwaukee Brewers’ MVP Christian Yelich has bombed the Cardinals over the last several games and the Cardinals won’t pitch inside or put him on his behind. And that doesn’t make any sense to me.

Card Skipper Mike Shildt refuses to go old school on Yelich. He told reporters Wednesday, “I’m not going to bruise him because the guy’s got talent.”

Great. You have just announced to every slugger in the league that you aren’t willing to bust them inside.  Back in the day, players didn’t have batting helmets, elbow guards, and shin protectors. Today they have all that protection, but none of the fear that was once a part of the game.

Give me Drysdale.