Are The Legends Less Legendary?

The old guard is passing away. Is the new guard their equal?

Ben Humphrey, on a recent episode of Cardinals Off Day, talked about a topic that Allen Medlock and I have discussed in the past. With the recent loss of Bob Gibson and Lou Brock, the icons that we knew growing up (assuming you are, like me, someone that can remember the ‘80s) are leaving us and it doesn’t feel like those coming up have the same gravitas.

Granted, it’s hard to replace not only Hall of Famers, but some inner circle Hall of Famers. The Cardinals of the ‘40s, ‘50s, and ‘60s didn’t just have great players, they had game-defining ones. Stan Musial was in the discussion of the 10 best players ever in baseball history. Gibson was in that sort of talk for pitchers. Brock was the best there was at base stealing, still today holding the National League record for steals in a season and a career. It was to the point where Red Schoendienst, a Hall of Famer in his own right that would have been revered in many a fan base, was almost overlooked because of the galaxy of stars that was Cardinal history.

We all have a finite time on this earth, though. Musial died in 2013, Red in ‘18, and the other two at the end of 2020. That era is no longer represented by players of that stature. The only real ties to that time period now are Cardinal Hall of Famers Mike Shannon and Tim McCarver. Shannon is revered for other means and is retiring after this season. McCarver is only occasionally around (COVID kept him out for 2020 and seems to be doing the same for this year) and, like Shannon, is known more for being a broadcaster than a player. Neither of them, of course, are enshrined in Cooperstown.

What’s the secret mix that makes a legend a legend? I think it’s someone that spent all or almost all of their career in St. Louis while also being a no-doubt Hall of Famer, one even casual baseball fans from other cities know about. Using that criteria, things are pretty sparse.

Now, the Cardinals are totally bereft. There is still Osborne Earl Smith, the greatest defensive shortstop of all time, who remains as the public legend face of the organization. He hosts the Cardinals Insider program, is always on hand for public ceremonies, and often gets tapped for public events such as a vaccination clinic or welcoming a sporting event, baseball or otherwise, to St. Louis. We still have Ozzie and we should cherish him while we do.

When you look to replace some of these legends we lost, though, it becomes a tough task. There’s no doubt that Albert Pujols will be of that stature and 2019 showed that he’ll be embraced wholeheartedly by Cardinal fans when he retires. Pujols is one of those inner circle Hall of Famers but, unlike the former legends, he’s going to spend a large part of his career away from St. Louis. (I hold out hope that, if we are to be made to suffer with a DH starting next year, Albert can come back and hit #700 wearing the birds on the bat.)

After that, is there anyone that reaches that standard? There are a lot of players that mean a lot to Cardinals fans, but none that were quite, well, legendary. Willie McGee is absolutely beloved in St. Louis and I truly believe he is the reason ownership came up with the Cardinals Hall of Fame concept. They didn’t want to retire his number, even though some were pushing for it, and this allowed them to honor favorite players and players that made an impact on the organization without the ultimate step of retiring numbers.

Scott Rolen and Jim Edmonds are of that line as well. Both had Hall of Fame cases, and Rolen should be inducted in a couple of years, but both also had time away from St. Louis. They were both excellent players but I don’t think they reach that iconic level we’re talking about. Even if he plays the rest of his Cardinal career as well as he’s played the first two weeks, I’m not sure given his time in Colorado Nolan Arenado would be considered in that same air either.

The homegrown Cardinals have been favorites but not to that level for the most part. Matt Carpenter is a guy that, so far, as spent all of his career in St. Louis and will get into the Cardinals Hall of Fame most likely, but he’s no legend. He’s probably the best of a crop of prospects that have been serviceable, even good, in the big leagues but nothing overwhelming. Adam Wainwright is close, given his almost Hall of Fame career, and you wonder if he’d not lost 2011 especially where he’d be ranked.

Of course, then there’s Yadier Molina as the exception that proves the rule. Yadi has been a Cardinal his entire career and in some ways has redefined the catcher position. The Hall of Fame argument is much quieter now as more and more people assume he’s already in. You can put Molina on the Mount Rushmore next to Musial, Gibson, Brock, and Smith (yes, I know, Rushmore only has four slots) and he wouldn’t look out of place. The rareness of this makes Yadi all the more special.

I do think that this is less the Cardinals than the state of baseball and, of course, the curse of living in the moment rather than having hindsight. It’s very possible that a generation or two from now will view players that we think are good, maybe great, as legendary folks. The stories about Rolen’s defense are only going to grow, of course.

More to it, though, I just don’t think legends come around as much anymore. It’s partly because there are more teams, so the talent spreads out. It’s partly because every play is filmed and every stat is analyzed, so there’s less room for myth-making and personal anecdote. Players move more, which lessens the connections to organizations. Plus baseball is more regional, as we know, and the best player on the planet plays after most people have gone to bed.

Perhaps we were just spoiled by such great teams and such long-lived players. Maybe having two players in this generation in Pujols and Molina is more than most fanbases get and we are just being greedy to want 4-5 of the best players of all time showing up at spring training every year. That’s certainly possible. Still, it feels like something is changing, that the new isn’t quite as good as the old.

And who knows? Maybe Dylan Carlson, Matthew Liberatore, and Nolan Gorman will take their spots in the pantheon at some point. Time may be always passing but the future is always ahead.