Athletic Awards

Yadier Molina Adds to His Trophy Case

Yesterday afternoon, the Rawlings Gold Glove award winners were announced, and the St. Louis Cardinals managed only one winner from their 2012 squad. Yadier Molina, catcher extraordinaire, was that lone honoree, as the Redbird backstop nabbed his fifth consecutive award. It was, quite possibly, ... More >>

Midseason Reviews for Preseason Predictions -- Individual Awards Edition

You know, the All-Star break has come and gone. The second half (I should really put that in quotation marks, but screw it), of the baseball season is well and truly underway. I had a dozen different things I was planning on writing while the break was going on, all kinds of progress reports an ... More >>

Blues' Jaroslav Halak and Brian Elliot Named Top NHL Goalie Tandem

I wrote yesterday about the Blues' brain trust of head coach Ken Hitchcock and General Manager Doug Armstrong both winning awards for themselves at the NHL Awards this week. And certainly, having those two names out there as the tops in their respective jobs brings plenty of prestige to the Blues or ... More >>

Lance Lynn Gets Back on Track

For the first month of the season, Lance Lynn looked every inch a Cy Young award candidate. In winning his first six starts of the year, Lynn amassed a 1.40 ERA, a 3.36/1 K/BB ratio, and held opponents to a .507 OPS. He gave up two runs in exactly one start; the other five he gave up just one or zer ... More >>

Cy Young, MVP Predictions for 2012 MLB

You know, as a semi-professional sportswriter there are a few things toward which I am genetically predisposed. (Why semi-professional? Because I do get paid, but my talent and behavior are both, well, somewhat short of what is usually termed professionalism.) I love to hear myself talk, for one thi ... More >>

Seven Flyers Make Belleville News-Democrat All-Area First Team

Jennifer SilverbergLamontiez Ivy was named all-area first-team quarteback. Jeremy Nicholson was named first-team punter and honorable mention running back and kicker.​Today, the Belleville News-Democrat released their all-area football teams. The East St. Louis Senior High Flyers, whom we covered ... More >>

Kaboom: Readers debate the fate of East St. Louis and hunter Jeff Foiles

World Series Collectible Says Pujols Won MVP, Series Lasted 6 Games

Click image for larger view.​Anyone else out there confused by the television commercials this week from BigTimeBats.com? The company is blanketing the St. Louis airwaves with ads for its 2011 World Series collectible (right) that includes a ball and a plaque commemorating the Cardinals' eleventh ... More >>

Chris Carpenter: The REAL World Series MVP

In Carp we trust.​You know what's really a dick move? Just a couple days after a thrilling, beautiful victory in the World Series, and just one day after a parade that brought together thousands of strangers in the streets to celebrate a shared joy, taking to task the guy who won the Most Valuable ... More >>

Farmhaus Crashes Cards Celebratory Clubhouse

Via TwitterEric Scholle of Farmhaus with World Series MVP David Freese​The cook from Farmhaus hadn't expected to make it into the clubhouse of the World Series champion St. Louis Cardinals last night, let alone come face to face with hometown hero and series MVP David Freese. So when he asked Free ... More >>

Baseball's Best Night Ever

​I really, really hope everyone out there saw at least part of all the important games played Wednesday night, because chances are we may never see their like again. The 28th of September, 2011 should -- and very possibly will -- go down in history as the single greatest night in the history of ba ... More >>

Webster Vies For D-3 College World Series Bid

Conference Player of the Year Anthony Gemma​The Webster University baseball team pulled off an upset this week in the 2011 NCAA Division III South Regional Championship tournament by knocking off No. 1 seed Christopher Newport, the No. 2-ranked team in the nation by D3baseball.com. After dropp ... More >>

The Opening Day Crystal Ball: 2011 MLB Predictions

I actually dressed up like this to write this post. I predict the itching of this beard will soon drive me to madness. ​Just a bare handful of hours, now, until the Cardinals' 2011 season gets underway. Plenty of ink and bytes have been spilled talking about what the season may bring, lots of it r ... More >>

Adam Wainwright: Always a Bridesmaid, Never a Cy

commons.wikimedia.orgAdam Wainwright, contemplating the most likely candidates to beat him out for future Cy Young awards. ​I wonder if Cy Young Award Winner Announcement Day is just like the worst day of the year for Adam Wainwright. The way some people have particularly sad anniversaries marked ... More >>

Better Luck Next Year, Adam Wainwright

commons.wikimedia.org​The Curse of 2010 has taken away our hopes for playoff glory. Sadly, it appears it's also going to take away any hope we might have for seeing our players win much in the way of personal postseason hardware too. Jaime Garcia has already been shut down for the season, and ... More >>

Jaime Garcia and The Rookie of the Year Award

Every caption I think of comes off sounding like a threat to send mailbombs to Baseball Writers of America members, so I'm just going to quit trying. ​So over the weekend, I was sitting alone in my darkened shack watching any and all sports coverage I could find on the television. (This is standar ... More >>

The Ryan Howard Contract and What it Means to You

commons.wikimedia.org"How much did you get? Wow, that's a lot of money, mang. So that means I should be worth like a billion dollars, right?" ​Ryan Howard, St. Louis native and current-hated first baseman for the always-hated Philadelphia Phillies, just signed himself a capital 'E' Enormous contra ... More >>

Phillies' Ryan Howard Isn't Coming to St. Louis Anytime Soon -- Signs $125 Million Contract

Image SourceA photo of Ryan Howard where he isn't playing baseball.​Today, Philadelphia Phillies management cemented its commitment to first-baseman (and St. Louis area native) Ryan Howard with a $125 million, five-year contract, with a bonus structure that could result in the slugger earning $1 ... More >>

St. Louis Sports Hall of Fame Confirms Blues' Place as City's Red-Headed Stepchild

Missing: Brian Sutter's teeth and more Blues players in the St. Louis Sports Hall of Fame.​Need more proof that St. Louis is a "baseball town"? Check out the names (below) of the athletes and broadcasters inducted yesterday to the inaugural class of the new St. Louis Sports Hall of Fame. Ten of th ... More >>

Albert Pujols Wins MVP Award

commons.wikimedia.org​Bill James has called him the perfect player, and this year, the voters apparently agreed. Albert Pujols won his third MVP award today, second in a row, by a unanimous vote. In other news, the sun came up today in the East, much as had been expected. Pujols nearly d ... More >>

The Cy Young Shutout

Cy Young agrees with me. It's a shame his namesake award didn't go to a Cardinal. Hell, he even played for the Cardinals for awhile! If anything, I'll bet he's even MORE pissed than I am!​Sigh. What? Oh, no. Nothing. No, I'm fine. It's just... no, never mind. Well, I mean, it's just that ... More >>

Chris Carpenter, the Comeback Kid

Carpenter, shortly after being shot by an opposing player. He went on to throw 6 2/3 shutout innings later that day. ​Chris Carpenter was named yesterday the National League Comeback Player of the Year by Major League Baseball. It shouldn't come as a shock to anyone, of course, considering Carpent ... More >>

Albert Pujols' Comments Lost in Translation -- Again?!

Wikimedia Commons​Near the end of 2006, a tempest boiled over in the local sports teapot when Albert Pujols, in an interview with reporters in his native Dominican Republic, opined that maybe he, and not Ryan Howard, was entitled to that season's Most Valuable Player award, by virtue of the fact t ... More >>

WTF? Obama Wins NHL's Lady Byng Trophy, Too?

flickr.com/photos/brj_bringin_the_shit_up_in_here_bitchesThe Lady Byng Memorial Trophy would look swell on Unreal's desk, n'est-ce pas?​Unreal thinks we are just as worthy of the Nobel Peace Prize as President Obama. We have just as frequently expressed our support for world peace, though it's tru ... More >>

A Serious Number of Amazing Things About Chris Carpenter

Chris Carpenter is 11-0 since the beginning of July. In that time, he has held opponents to a batting line of .240/.286/.312, good for an OPS of .598. Basically, Chris Carpenter turns every major league hitter into a slightly more potent batter than this guy. Chris Carpenter is one of only two ... More >>

Blues End-of-Season Awards

To get your mind temporarily off last night's loss to the Canucks in Game 1 of the playoffs, and your cursing Roberto Luongo's name for the ridiculous saves he made, I wanted to hand out the regular season hardware. Mostly, I want to give out the awards before the playoffs have a chance to cloud my ... More >>

Slimmed-Down Albert Pujols on Sports Illustrated Cover

The last time Albert Pujols was in the national spotlight was back in November, when he won the National League MVP award. Back then, just a few days before turkey day and almost two months removed from the season, it looked like El Hombre, as some are prone to call the slugger, had laid into the de ... More >>

"Corky, This is Rickey. Rickey Needs Your Vote."

You know what? I was just going to let this whole thing pass without comment, because I've seen it everywhere else. But I can't. I just can't. It's just too damn much for me. Rickey Henderson is going into the Hall of Fame today. However, the greatest lead-off hitter in the history of the game ... More >>

Baseball Card of the Week: Special Dock Ellis (1945-2008) Edition

Dock Ellis, who in 1970 pitched a no-hitter for the Pittsburgh Pirates while tripping on acid, died Friday, December 19.In 2005 Ellis was the subject of a very good profile by Keven McAlester in the Houston Press. McAlester's piece begins with this anecdote:Thirty-five years ago, on June 12, 1970, P ... More >>

"Hey Bud, Let's Party": The Official Khalil Greene Welcome Post

Well, the trade is official, and Khalil Greene is now a member of the St. Louis Cardinals. The more I think about it, the more excited I'm getting over the potential this deal has to turn out as a big win for the Cards. I'm a big fan of Greene's defense, and while he's not so much on the walking (on ... More >>

RFT readers love Laurell K. Hamilton's vampire stories, Albert Pujols, and foodie trivia

Baseball Card of the Week: Dustin Pedroia

Today, we finish up our cardboard tour of the 2008 Award Winners with the American League Most Valuable Player. We had a Pujols card a while back, so rather than duplicate Albert, I thought we'd go with the mouse that roars, Dustin Pedroia.

2008 MVP Albert Pujols Shafted by the Media -- Again

They're at it again. On Monday, November 17, the Baseball Writers Association of America (BBWAA) announced that Albert Pujols had won the 2008 National League Most Valuable Player Award. The announcement was followed, of course, by a spirited round of bleating from the sports press -- who are, let ... More >>

Albert Pujols, Kevin Slaten, Ryan Ludwick and the '08 MVP

Well, the writers got it right. Hallelujah. And yet, even as I celebrate Albert Pujols winning his supremely deserved second MVP Award, I still just can't let go and simply be happy about the results. Even thought Jack is wearing this shirt for Kobe, it's still pretty cool. I bet he's a Pujol ... More >>

Baseball Card of the Week: 2008 AL Cy Young Winner Cliff Lee

'Tis the season of awards, the season when, each year, the magical faeries at the Baseball Writers Association of America vote on the various awards given out to players throughout the land. (Well, technically, the magical faeries that actually play and manage the games vote on some of them, and the ... More >>

Baseball Card of the Week: Howard, Pujols Battle for MVP

Welcome Back, Mark Mulder

It Hurts to Say It: The Case for Lance Berkman for MVP

San Diego's Weak Offense Evident Against Cards

Go! 4/13-4/16

Pujols Remarks Lost in Translation?

Pujols Remarks Lost in Translation?

The Times, They Are A-Changin'

But St. Louis sportswriters unapologetically cast MVP ballots

Good Sports

Skeet shooting? Women's hockey? Lindenwood's got it.

Best Rams Player

Torry Holt

Best College Athlete

Brad Smith
University of Missouri

Best Cardinals Player

Albert Pujols

Best Sports Value

St. Louis Swarm

Best St. Louis Ram

Marshall Faulk

Best St. Louis Blue

Chris Pronger