No…we’re not going back to the Elliot Ness days…it’s the Sports Look @ the Untouchables.

But my 1^st thought was—was Elliot Ness a real person? If so, what was the life of Elliot Ness? Actually– it was rather gloomy. The Chicago police group formed to fight organized crime was dubbed the Untouchables because they all refused bribes from the gangs(apparently, this was a novel idea in Chicago @ the time! )A group was formed to arrest…or maybe..just slow down the mob gangs. Ness had success with his group. His highlight  was his group working to get the arrest of Al Capone & other bootlegging operations in Oct 1931. His fame in Chicago was short-lived. He moved to Cleveland in 1932(maybe just to stay out of sight from the mobs?) and lived a sad life with several divorces, a career that stymied in Cleveland, and not much else. He died in 1957. Amazingly, already by 1959, Robert Stack was already Playing Elliot Ness on a TV show call the UNTOUCHABLES!! Which I watched it regularly. Presently, what Untouchables are there in the sports world?

…the Clearest UNTOUCHABLE MLB player right now is Shohei Otani. He’s locked up until 2043 with the Dodgers. Taking a totally different approach, Ohtani will be paid $2m/year from ’24-33. Then from ’34-43, he’ll receive $68m/year!!   Deferring his HUGE “pay day” for 10 years permits the Dodgers to afford other high priced players while he’s playing. Further, the huge increase in his salary over the last 10 years should deter other teams from attempting to acquire him during that time span.   

…An UNTOUCHABLE in the NFL is Patrick Mahomes.  His stats are if not the best, very good. He consistently leads the Chiefs deep in the playoffs. The Chiefs have played in 6 consecutive AFC Championship games! His varied ways of passing the football from overhand, sidearm, ¾ delivery, often while escaping a defensive lineman sprinting after him makes him a very entertaining player and a crowd favorite. There are plenty of good, very good, QB in the NFL but only 1 Mahomes!  With his favorite receiver, TE Travis Kelce, “seeing” Taylor Swift, KC has a huge football TV audience as well as some “new” fans who just want to see this guy Kelce (and hopefully Swift). Apparently, KC  is being seen by more women than any other team!  It’s made to order for the NFL…a star entertainer “with” an NFL star. The NFL is probably hoping that more of their players will be dating “stars” in the future:)

….In the MLB, the UNTOUCHABLE MANAGER in the MLB is Cleveland’s Terry Francona. He takes it 1 year at a time as he enters his 23^rd season as an MLB manager. He has led Boston to 2 World Series Championships. Now @ Cleveland, he’s worked hard to make them into a yearly contender despite being 26th in the league in salary! Using a skimpy budget, Cleveland has been in the playoffs 6 times in 10 years. In 2023, the Guardians spent $54m on the 26-man payroll. To give you an idea, the last place Cards were 17th in spending @ $83m.He blends old-school approaches with newer baseball analytics. Not just analytics!!(Cardinals take note!!) The 63-year-old Francona seems to play it year-to-year, now entering his 23rd season as an MLB manager with his third organization. He perfectly marries together analytics with old-school coaching. His teams have finished below .500 only once in 18 seasons since he came on board with Boston in 2004. His two World Series victories in Boston pushed open the door to a Hall of Fame induction and his success in Cleveland is pushing that door wider & wider! 

…On the Cardinals, the UNTOUCHABLE is Jordan Walker!  Yes…you may be surprised that it isn’t Arenado or Goldschmidt. The Cards have to see Walker as the star of the team in the future (maybe starting this year?). Goldchmidt is beginning the final year of his contract. I don’t see the Cards spending $26.5m/year as they’re doing this year for him if they post another anemic record. Nolan Arenado signed a 8 year contract for $260,000,000 with the Colorado Rockies, including $260,000,000 guaranteed, and an annual average salary of $32,500,000 in 2019. In 2024, Arenado will earn a base salary of $35,000,000.  Arenado has approval rights of any trade. Hence, it has to be to a contender. However, with the Cards sudden drowning last year in the NL Cen Division waters, he may be open to being traded. Keep in mind that for the DeWitts the Cardinals are a business. For Gussie, it was a hobby. Each owner takes the appropriate “road of action” to fulfill their goals. In this case—as a business. Meanwhile, Walker doesn’t reach free agency for 5 more years. He’s under the Cards complete control over these first 6 years.

….For the Blues, their UNTOUCHABLE is Robert Thomas. Thomas & Kyrou signed identical 8 year $65m contracts in July of 2022.  Either one of these guys would be difficult to trade with this salary scale vs their performance level. It seems that Thomas is still “growing” as a player and has surpassed Kyrou this year in performance.

…seemingly an UNTOUCHABLE manager despite sailing the Cardinals into a Titanic mode is Oliver Marmol. Ollie inherited a 90-win team when he took the reigns in 2022. Why was a 92 game winning manager fired?  According to one report from vivaelbirdos.com, Schildt & John Mozeliak had a (according to a tape recording) disagreement in a post-season meeting over keeping/releasing a player on the roster. That dispute between MO & Schildt was about retaining pitcher-Justin Miller. It got “hot”, words were exchanged and it led to the instantaneous firing. The icing on the cake was  Schildt throwing a binder @ Mo. That led to his firing on the “spot”.  Ollie Marmol sailed his team from a 93 win team in 2022 to a 71 win team in 2023. The fewest wins for a Cardinal team since 1938! (even before my time😊).  This deep dive from 1^st place to last place has not elicited any reactions from Cardinal Brass. Marmol, from all reports, is popular with the players—who cares?  He’s paid to win games not get smiles walking out the door each day.

…St Louis City’s UNTOUCHABLE is GK Roman Burki. Using his 6 years experience from Borussia Dortmund, he recorded  7 shutouts with the 2^nd most SAVES & 3^rd highest Save % in the league. As the season rolled along, his outstanding play was called upon more & more frequently. He was named the MLS Goalkeeper of the Year at season’s end.

…For the local press, the UNTOUCHABLES seem to some of our local colleges. No one seems to be able to find them in the sports pages!! St Louis U Women’s Soccer team has been brilliant for several years now. In the fall season of 2023, SLU Women’s soccer team posted a sparkling 19-3-2 regular season record.  In the A-10 (Atlantic 10) conference, the Billikens posted a 9-0-1 record. Next the Lady Billikens won the A-10 tourney. In their 3 wins, they outscored their opponents 10-0! After winning the first 2 rounds of the NCAA, the Lady Bills dropped the Sweet 17 game to Penn State 4-3 in 2 OT! A SUPER SEASON but basically untouchable by the press & radio.

…Also an UNTOUCHABLE read in the local press is on UMSL-Women’s Volleyball Team. In each of the last 2 years, 2022 & 2023. UMSL Advanced to the Elite 8 of the USA Championship. Each year the Tritons won their quarterfinal match.  But, each year, UMSL lost the National Semi-final match. In 2022 W. Texas A&M beat UMSL in the D-II National Semis. This year it was Cal State-LA who knocked off the Tritons in the NCAA Semifinals. Again, another tremendous season for the Tritons & HC Ryan Young. For several weeks, the Tritons were rated #1 in the USA for part of the season. Somehow, this outstanding team couldn’t find its way into the local sports page over the last 2 years.  

….Well, the ending is not UNTOUCHABLE….I’m thinking that many of you will have feelings about the UNTOUCHBABLES on my list. I’m NOT UNTOUCHBABLE…send me YOUR thoughts. Maybe, you won’t agree with my list or maybe, you’ll want to add others. Have at IT!! Send it via messenger or put directly on facebook Thanks for your time & read!  Bob