Dan and I met in 2008. Not too long after that, knowing Dan was a huge St. Louis Cardinals fan, I bought Dan an “Albert Pujols” jersey. Official St. Louis Cardinal jerseys are very expensive. However, Dan loved the Cardinals, and I loved Dan. Plus, we all thought Albert would spend his whole career with the St. Louis Cardinals.
Turns out we were wrong. Albert played his last game with the Cardinals in 2011. He moved on to the Angels in 2012 where he signed a 10 year $140 million deal. Everybody in St. Louis was mad at Albert. He’s all about the money, everyone said.
Everybody in St. Louis, and I mean just about everybody, had an Albert Pujols jersey. I thought of starting up a little craft business where I turned his number “5” on the jersey into a dollar sign. People could wear them as an expression of their dislike of Albert’s leaving.
But I didn’t do that.
Dan was mad, too. He put his Albert Pujols jersey on the “give away” pile. That kind of hurt me. I spent so much on that jersey. I took the jersey off the “give away” pile and put it in the back bedroom closet. Then I forgot about it for ten years.
The next year, in 2012, I bought Dan a David Freese shirt. It wasn’t a jersey, but rather a shirt with “Freese” on the back. Still, it cost more than I would usually spend on a shirt. But this was for Dan, and after all, David was a home town hero. He’d be with the Cardinals for a long time.
Then in 2013, the very next year, the Cardinals traded David. Dan put the shirt in the “give away” pile. This time, I let it go. But I thought. This has got to stop.
The next birthday or Christmas (I can’t remember which one), I asked Dan, “Who is your favorite Cardinal player of all time?”
Here’s his answer:
Problem Solved!
But lo and behold, things changed again!
Albert’s back, baby!
Are we still mad? Some people are; some have gotten over it. I’m not sure Albert’s leaving was so much about money as perhaps ego. Why is it so often some superstar wants more money or else he or she is leaving? They don’t need the money, right?
In any case, Albert’s a good guy. He does a lot, and I mean A LOT of charity work. I, for one, can look past any human failings we other humans think we perceive. After all, I’d like others to do the same for me.
This will be a great year for us Cardinal fans. It’s the last year where Adam Wainwright, Yadiar Molina, and Albert Pujols will be wearing the Birds on the Bat.
And Dan will be wearing his Albert Pujols jersey once again.
Chambers on the Road 
Such is the way of professional sports,Betty. We often refer to the buying and trading game as a “meat market”. I’m happy that you saved the jersey and that Dan is going to be able to wear it again. Thanks for the entertaining read!
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You are welcome. When I was little, I thought the St. Louis Cardinals were all from St. Louis. For a Texas team, they’d all be from Texas. I’d give them the surrounding area, but not too far. I was disappointed when I found out they were all hired from wherever! Albert will retire from the Cardinals (where he began his MLB career), so his jersey will be a classic – like Bob Gibson’s jersey. I’d be really kicking myself now if I had given it away! Enjoy your day!
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Great love story, with an important message.
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Thank you. Yes, a very important message: Never put an item given to you by your partner on the give-away pile. 😉 Enjoy your day!
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This is such a funny story, and so true about athletes. Who would have thought a specific player’s jersey would come back in fashion? Apparently, you did! Great save!
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We would have never guessed Albert would be back! I’m glad I saved it, but will it keep me from de-cluttering other stuff? 🙂 It will be a fun year for “Cardinal Nation!” Enjoy your day!
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How interesting. Sure glad you saved the Jersey. Great Save. Have a great weekend.
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Me, too! Hope you have a great weekend, too!
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My mom used to say, “Don’t get rid of those clothes, son. Someday they’ll be back in style.”
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Moms can be very wise!
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Ah, see? Everything comes around again, or so it did in this case. My sports interest (baseball primarily) is really only based in the past now. The strike of 1994 was a wakeup call to me that players aren’t really the ones I idolized back when I was a kid. That Gibson jersey resonates for me because I’ll never forget how he mowed down 17 of my beloved Tigers in game one of the ’68 World Series. The Tigers went on to win the series, but Gibson’s game one is still one for the record books! A good choice on Dan’s part. – Marty
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Bob Gibson was truly a legend. Dan loves baseball, and I am a fan by association. The St. Louis Cardinals is a very good organization, and there are a number of players who I admire because of the charity work they do. I also think sports is a great “social lubricant” – providing common conversation between people who are very different. Lastly, I think of my mom who is 99 – and my uncle who passed away at 94 almost 4 years ago. The Cardinals provided a lot of entertainment for them and connections to others.
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Baseball trades are the dirty business part of the game. I grew up in Ohio and was a Reds fan. I remember to this day how sick I felt when Frank Robinson was traded to Baltimore. I was devastated. Today, I root for my hometown team — the Tampa Bay Rays — though it is hard to find a connection to the team because they trade away all their good players. Ever year, it seems, there is a new roster. Bob Gibson was a hard throwing pitcher. Whenever I here his name I think about the television commercial where he threw fastballs at a sheet of Lexan and couldn’t break it.
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Ha! I don’t remember that commercial with Bob Gibson, but it sounds like a fun one. St. Louis is really a sports town – and especially baseball. I do have to say I was really disappointed with the out of left field firing of the manager Mike Shildt last year. I hope to see him excel somewhere else before too much time goes past. Many of the Cardinal players are “classics” and many do so much for good causes. Go Cards! Go Tamba Bay Rays!
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