Photo courtesy Memphis Redbirds
Yadier Molina in action in 2004
When the Memphis Redbirds take the field at AutoZone Park for Opening Night on May 4th, it will end a painful drought of almost 600 days without professional baseball in the Bluff City. Major League Baseball conducted an abbreviated 2020 season, though with no fans allowed in stadiums for pandemic concerns. Throughout the minor leagues, however, ballparks were dark and silent for the first time in over a century. The Redbirds remain cautious, with attendance limited to 3,000 fans to start the 2021 season. But baseball is back. So here’s a brief Redbirds refresher to complete your family’s return to the ballpark.
New landscape. For their first 22 seasons (1998-2019), the Redbirds competed in the Pacific Coast League, winning four championships (2000, 2009, 2017, and 2018). But the PCL is no more. The minor leagues have been restructured into regional divisions, in part to reduce travel expenses for clubs with tighter profit margins than their parent clubs in the major leagues. The Redbirds will now compete in the Southeast Division of Triple-A East (one of five divisions at the Triple-A level). Gone are series with the likes of the Tacoma Rainiers or Sacramento River Cats. The Redbirds’ new division rivals are the Durham Bulls (affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays and here on Opening Night), Charlotte Knights (Chicago White Sox), Gwinnett Stripers (Atlanta Braves), Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp (Miami Marlins), Nashville Sounds (Milwaukee Brewers), and Norfolk Tides (Baltimore Orioles). The Redbirds will also face the Louisville Bats (Cincinnati Reds), connecting the franchise with the city it called home before moving to Memphis 23 years ago.
Notable alumni. Former Redbirds light up the big leagues every season, particularly in St. Louis with the Cardinals. Yadier Molina played 37 games for Memphis way back in 2004, but earlier this month he became only the sixth catcher to play 2,000 games in the major leagues, and the first to do so for a single franchise. Pitcher Adam Wainwright — a teammate of Molina’s in Memphis 17 years ago — has climbed to third place on the Cardinals’ alltime wins list. Other former Redbirds you’ll find on the Cardinals’ current roster: shortstop Paul DeJong, outfielder Dylan Carlson, starting pitcher Jack Flaherty, and relief pitcher Alex Reyes, among several others.
And it’s not just in St. Louis where Redbirds alumni perform. Albert Pujols hit a home run to win the 2000 PCL championship for Memphis at AutoZone Park, an early hint of the future Hall of Famer he’s become. Now in his 21st big-league season, the Los Angeles Angel has climbed to fifth in career home runs with more than 660. He won a pair of world championships and three MVPs with the Cardinals from 2001 to 2011.
Outfielder Randy Arozarena helped the Tampa Bay Rays reach the 2020 World Series and was named MVP of the American League Championship Series (the third Redbirds alum to earn that honor). First-baseman Luke Voit of the New York Yankees led all of baseball last season with 22 home runs.
Members of management. Current Cardinals manager Mike Shildt managed the Redbirds for two seasons (2015 and 2016) before being promoted to a coaching position with the Cardinals. In 2019, Shildt became on the third Cardinal skipper to earn National League Manager of the Year honors. The Cardinals’ current first-base coach (Stubby Clapp) and third-base coach (Pop Warner) also managed in Memphis … after playing with the Redbirds. The Redbirds’ current manager is Ben Johnson, who starred in the late Nineties for Germantown High School.
A series means six. Historically, the Redbirds have played four-game series against their PCL rivals. No more. In another effort to reduce travel expenses, Triple-A teams will host six-game series. When a team shows up on a Tuesday night at AutoZone Park, settle in for the better part of a week. Because teams will get to know each other, and will likely face an opposing starting pitcher twice in the same series. The Redbirds will host, on average, two series per month. In May they face Durham (May 4-9) then Louisville (May 18-23). Nashville comes to town August 17-22.