Rolen to enter Hall of Fame with Cardinals cap, McGriff no logo

Jerry Lai-USA TODAY Sports
1 Comment

COOPERSTOWN, N.Y. – Scott Rolen will have a St. Louis Cardinals cap on his Hall of Fame plaque and Fred McGriff will not have a team logo.

Rolen, a seven-time All-Star third baseman elected last month by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America, played for Philadelphia (1996-2002), St. Louis (2002-07), Toronto (2008-09) and Cincinnati (2010-12).

“I believe this decision accurately represents a pivotal portion of my career based on our teams’ successes in St. Louis,” Rolen said in a statement issued by the Hall of Friday. “I am grateful to Philadelphia, St. Louis, Toronto and Cincinnati for the opportunities given to me as a player, but more importantly, for how they embraced me and my family.”

McGriff, a five-time All-Star first baseman elected by the Contemporary Baseball Players Era Committee in December, played for Toronto (1986-90), San Diego (1991-93), Atlanta (1993-97), Tampa Bay (1998-2001 and 2004), the Chicago Cubs (2001-02) and the Los Angeles Dodgers (2003).

“In discussing my career with the Hall of Fame,” McGriff said in a statement, “we decided that with no logo on my plaque, I can equally represent these cities and the incredible fans in Toronto, where I got my start, Atlanta, where we won the World Series, and my hometown of Tampa Bay, as well as my time in San Diego.”

Both will be inducted into the Hall on July 23.

Catfish Hunter (1987), Tony La Russa (2014), Greg Maddux (2014), Roy Halladay (2019) and Mike Mussina (2019) all have caps with no logos. While Yogi Berra (1972) has no logo because the head is tilted on his plaque, it appears he’s wearing New York Yankees pinstripes.

Cardinals sign pitcher Miles Mikolas to 3-year, $55.75M deal

cardinals mikolas
Rhona Wise/USA TODAY Sports
0 Comments

ST. LOUIS — Miles Mikolas is sticking with the St. Louis Cardinals.

The right-hander signed a three-year, $55.75 million contract on Friday that will carry through the 2025 season.

The new deal replaces a $68 million, four-year contract signed in February 2019 that covered the 2020-23 seasons and was set to pay $15.75 million this year.

Mikolas will receive a $5 million signing bonus payable July 1 and will make $18.75 million in 2023 and $16 million in each of the following two seasons. Mikolas can earn a $250,000 bonus for winning a Cy Young Award, $50,000 for All-Star election or selection or winning a Gold Glove, $100,000 for League Championship Series MVP and $150,000 for World Series MVP.

Mikolas is scheduled to make the second opening-day start of his big league career next Thursday when the Cardinals host Toronto. Mikolas went 12-13 with a 3.29 ERA last season while helping St. Louis to the NL Central title.

“Miles stands among the top pitchers in the game today, and has continued to provide a steady presence for us both in the rotation and inside the clubhouse,” St. Louis general manager John Mozeliak said in a statement.

Mikolas is 45-40 with a 3.79 in 143 games with San Diego, Texas and St. Louis. He recently pitched six shutout innings in two appearances for the U.S. in the World Baseball Classic.