Welcome to the Sports lounge. There’s some excitement, anticipation, in the air. The GREAT ROBERTO will be reading a Crystal Ball in just a few minutes.  The Great Roberto is just about ready to begin this séance! 

…Roberto puts his hands over the Crystall Ball….nothing happened for a couple minutes…the crowd got “antsy”…was there going to be anything happening? Then Roberto jumps back…”it’s Here”, he says!   “Bill DeWitt”, he blurts out, then goes quiet with his hands on the Crystal Ball.  After a couple moments…. Roberto says…”here’s the whole story—Dewitt is going to sell the Cardinals sometime in the next 4 years!” The Great Roberto backs away, “It’s really logical…he’s a very shrewd businessman. He bought the Cards in 1995 for $150m. Currently the club is worth $2.5 billion!!! That’s a 1000% increase!!! With the slippage in play, dwindling attendance, a growing dissatisfaction & disinterest0 by the fans. DeWitt’s just not going to “stick around” just to be “one of the boys”. He’s a smart businessman. He can make tough decisions just like his family predecessors.

…..Let’s take a look @ Bill DeWitt Sr (born in 1902) was raised in StL. One of his 1^st jobs as a youngster was selling soda at the ball park as a 14 year old! In 1936, he joined the Browns as majority stockholder.  During the Depression, the Browns struggled to survive as the #2 team in ST Louis (which was one of the smallest markets in the league) during the depression. They drew a total of 80,922 fans for the entire 1935 season! Attendance rose after 1935…one reason was that the AL allowed the Browns to play more night home games than other AL teams. DeWitt, owner & GM, made some shrewd personnel moves as he used a stronger farm system & a shrewd scouting department to form a winning team. Nonetheless, DeWitt was ready to announce a move out of St Louis to Los Angeles in the week of Dec 8, 1941. When Pearl Harbor was attacked on Dec 7, the announcement was cancelled.

…In 1944, under GM Bill DeWitt, the Browns won their only American League pennant. They won just 89 games (losing 65), but outlasted the Detroit Tigers and won by a single game. They drew as their World Series opponents their formidable tenants at Sportsman’s Park, the Cardinals, who had won 105 games to breeze to their third consecutive National League championship. In the all-St. Louis 1944 World Series, the Browns took the opener and Game 3, but then they dropped the final three games to the Redbirds, who were in the process of winning three World Series titles in a five-year span. Nevertheless, DeWitt was named 1944 Major League Executive of the Year by The Sporting News to recognize his achievement.

….Many have smirked at the accomplishments of the Browns since it occurred during the war which severely caused a severe limitation in manpower. Nonetheless, the Browns had winning seasons in 1942, 1944 & 1945. ’44 was actually a pennant winning season for StL Browns and the outdrew the Cardinals (508,644-Browns; Cards-461,968) for the 1^st time since 1925.

…. DeWitt and the Browns also were among the early teams of the MLB to break the baseball color line. In 1947, they became the 3^rd team to integrate by purchasing the contracts of Hank Thompson and Willard Brown from the Kansas City Monarchs. But the “new” players fizzled. They struggled on the field & @ the turnstile and eventually sold the team in 1951 to Bill Veeck. Veeck moved to team to Baltimore in 1954. Just about ready to walk away, the Great Roberto suddenly saw  one light fade out and a different bright, very bright light blast onto the scene! Roberto blurts out, “the O’s  (Orioles) are for real this year. SS Gunner Henderson, only 22 years old, leads the team in HR (7), carries a .939 (OPS—on-base % + Slugging %), plays every day. Catcher Adley Rushman (26 years old) is the every-day catcher and is hitting at a .323 level. When compared to other MLB catchers, Rushman has the most total plate appearances; tied for 1^st in hits by a catcher in ’24; he’s 2^nd in runs scored by a catcher! Roberto seemed stunned as he says, “but….it’s just not Rushman.. the Orioles have 4 regulars batting over .300! and 4 regulars have 5 HR or more and 4 regular starters with an OPS over .900! Roberto stepped back to “clear his head”  It had been intense!!!

….That latest info stunned everyone and  the Great Roberto needed a break!  He stepped away but before he could turn his back, the Crystal Ball lit up the entire room. Roberto, stopped…then looked closer….it was a bright, bold, dominate blue color now. It was all about St Louis U’ new bball Coach-Josh Schertz! The Crystal Ball had row after row of new info about the Billikens new coach. He’s always joking (what a great change….hey man…playing a basketball game isn’t LIFE OR DEATH (spoken by one who was very, very engaged & loud during my coaching days😊). Schertz’s idol is Rick Majerus! That’s a perfect role model! Majerus, a HOF coach who built & formed a legitimate NCAA program @St Louis U. He took the Billikens to the 3^rd round NCAA Tournament. In 2011-12, the Billikens went 26-8 and were nationally ranked for the 1^st time since 1994. His protégé & successor, Jim Crews coached 4 more years and went 77-56. Let’s hope that Schertz can regain that “NCAA Tourney” feeling and excitement of SLU basketball! Footnote….maybe we’re expecting too much…Travis Ford did have 89 wins @ SLU. Only 6 mens basketball coaches had more than 89 wins in their “time” @ SLU! However, Ford didn’t seem to have a program that beat “good teams” with strong records. He didn’t win the “big” games, win a conference championship, or send players to the NBA.Soooo…. It was time for a “new start”.

….Still “caught up” in the excitement of the Crystal Ball, the Great Roberto catches his breath…gets quiet, and studies the crystal ball.  This time the Crystal Ball didn’t respond for a few minutes. Thank Goodness! Roberto was out of breath. A few minutes later, Roberto says, the Crystal Ball is showing some “new” cloudiness.  Roberto inched closer to get a better “read” on the situation. Finally, he pulls his head back and says ”the Cards minor leagues aren’t what they say it is” Just last week they brought up Jose Fermin and John King). Both players had arrived in the Cards system through trades. They really weren’t “Home Grown”—i.e. drafted & developed through Cards system.  King is 30 years old, a southpaw who’s best MLB year was in 2021 (he’s been up & down  few times) when he won 7 games. For his career, he’s 11-11 with a 3.91 ERA. There aren’t ANY players currently who signed & were developed by the Cards who have become  “stars” for the Cardinals. Neither of the current “stars” (Arenado & Goldy) of the team were brought up through the Cards system.

…The Great Roberto turns away, starts to walk away but suddenly….the Crystal Ball is RED HOT. Roberto wheels back around instantly!!  He leans over to read the crystal ball and immediately sees a Mizzou Tiger wearing a helmet appears with new faces under each helmet.  Yes…Yes..Roberto figures it out.. Mizzou is recruiting new players for 2025 signing! One of the latest to sign was 4-Star Eureka Off Tackle– Jack Lange !  Lange is 4-Star tackle from Eureka, MO and  is the fifth commitment of Mizzou Football’s 2025 Recruiting Class. The 6-foot-8, 275 pound Lange had a final four of Missouri, Wisconsin, Michigan and Nebraska. Big win for MU!!

….The Crystal Ball goes almost completely dark ! The Great Roberto, turns his eyes upward, mutters some frustration…or prayers (not sure which). Closes his eyes, instantly the Crystal Ball comes to life again. Maybe the cause was the Cardinals sending down one of their brightest prospects—Jordan Walker. Walker had a complete year last year…117 games; 465 plate appearances, 116 hits, 19 doubles, 2 triples, 16 HR and 51 RBI’s.  Not happy with that, the Cardinals changed, or tried changing, his swing this year. Not a good idea– in 20 games, 67 plate appearances–Walker had just 9 hits, 0 HR, 4 RBI’s. Does that look like the Cardinals have improved Walker?  Not every player swings alike. Not ever player swings the same way on every pitch. The current stance that Walker is in (on his toes with his left foot) looks very, very uncomfortable and unconventional. He’s probably thinking more about this stance than hitting the ball. Now….no one gets hits every game.  Only the all-time best hitters get hits 1/3 of the time. I have concerns that Walker will get so much new info/ new approaches/ “lets try this….” Stuff that he’ll never get back to what got him to the MLB last year! Sure the analytics can tell you something…but it can’t tell you how the batter feels at the plate, his confidence, his bat speed that comes from being relaxed. I hope that the Cards don’t continue to mess him up…oops…work with him!! With that, the Great Roberto stands straight up!  Turns, looks at all the crowd , bows, then says, “It’s over for today! You never know how long it’s going to last!”  Thanks for coming & reading!

…YOUR comments are always invited…even without a crystal Ball about the Great Roberto’s session!!! Everyone has an opinion-send it along or post on my Facebook page!😊 Bob