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Defector

David Roth

St. Louis Cardinals shortstop Brendan Donovan (33) as seen during a Major League Baseball game between the St. Louis Cardinals and the Kansas City Royals on May 18, 2025. Just a real Cardinals-looking guy.

Podcasts

A Residence At One Cardinal Way, With Will Leitch

Willson Contreras On Eating Grip Tape: “It Was Disgusting. It Was A Bad Taste.”

Ray Ratto

Bobby Witt Jr. #7 of the Kansas City Royals takes the field in the second inning during the game between the Kansas City Royals and the Minnesota Twins at Target Field on Monday, August 12, 2024 in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

An Only Moderately Disgusted Overview Of MLB’s Wild Card Races

<p>Staff Writer</p>
<p>Find me on Signal @DefectorChris.19</p>


Chris Thompson

The Sucky Cardinals Are Headed Into Unfamiliar But Well-Charted Waters

Willson Contreras of the St. Louis Cardinals reacts/screams after getting hit with a J.D. Martinez swing in a game on May 7, 2024.

Willson Contreras Broke His Arm In The Small Margins

Patrick Redford

Yuki Matsui #1 of the San Diego Padres stands during the daily workout at Peoria Sports Complex on February 12, 2024 in Peoria, Arizona.

Nike And Fanatics Have Truly Fucked Up MLB’s New Uniforms

Newly acquired Los Angeles Dodgers designated hitter Shohei Ohtani puts on his jersey for the first time as Chairman of the Los Angeles Dodgers Mark Walter looks on during a press conference on December 14, 2023 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, CA. (Photo by Brian Rothmuller/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

Early Reviews Suggest That MLB’s New Jerseys Suck Ass

General view of Busch Stadium during a game between the St. Louis Cardinals and the Oakland Athletics on August 14, 2023 in St Louis, Missouri.

Joy Is Where You Find It, Even If That Means In St. Louis

St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Adam Wainwright throws what looks like a circle-change against the Kansas City Royals

Chasing A Round Number In A Zero-Sum Season

Tom Ley

Still from a police body camera showing Rally Runner at the Jan. 6 riot

Life's Rich Pageant

Rally Runner Has Fallen

Justin Verlander of the Mets leaves the mound during his win against the Washington Nationals on Sunday, July 30.

You Have To Know How Bad You Actually Are

Cardinals catcher Willson Contreras makes a pouty face after being retired in a game against the San Francisco Giants.

The Cardinals Are Not The Cardinals

Maitreyi Anantharaman

St. Louis Cardinals designated hitter Willson Contreras (40) walks through the dugout to the on deck circle during a regular season game between the St. Louis Cardinals and Los Angeles Dodgers on April 29, 2023 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, CA.

The Cardinals Have A Problem And A Scapegoat

MIAMI, FLORIDA - APRIL 14: Madison Bumgarner #40 of the Arizona Diamondbacks throws a pitch during the first inning against the Miami Marlins at loanDepot park on April 14, 2023 in Miami, Florida.

Madison Bumgarner Is Going Loudly, But Not Proudly


<p>Dan McQuade was a founding member of Defector. He died in January 2026.</p>


Dan McQuade

Rockies Mascot Avoids Clean Double Leg Takedown, Assailant Avoids Capture [UPDATE: Captured]

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<p class="sc-77igqf-0 bOfvBY">Vince Guerrieri is an award-winning journalist and author in the Cleveland area. He likes Lake Erie perch sandwiches, Jim Traficant and long walks on the field at League Park. His website is <a class="sc-1out364-0 hMndXN sc-145m8ut-0 kGbjEv js_link" href="http://vinceguerrieri.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-ga="[[&quot;Embedded Url&quot;,&quot;External link&quot;,&quot;http://vinceguerrieri.com/&quot;,{&quot;metric25&quot;:1}]]">vinceguerrieri.com</a>, and you can follow him on Twitter <a class="sc-1out364-0 hMndXN sc-145m8ut-0 kGbjEv js_link" href="https://twitter.com/vinceguerrieri" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-ga="[[&quot;Embedded Url&quot;,&quot;External link&quot;,&quot;https://twitter.com/vinceguerrieri&quot;,{&quot;metric25&quot;:1}]]">@vinceguerrieri</a>.</p>
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Vince Guerrieri

(Original Caption) Cardinals Clinch NL pennant. St. Louis, Missouri: Redbird coach Wares (right) shakes hands with winning pitcher Max Lanier, after the first game of a double header with the Cubs when the Cardinals clinched the National League pennant again this year. (Left to right seated) Chuck Klein; Lanier; Stan Musial; (left to right standing) George Munger; Ernie White; manager Billy Southworth; Danny Litwhiler; owner Sam Breadon, and Wares.

How The Cardinals Nearly Lost The War For St. Louis

A Phillies employee pours beer over Bryce Harper's head

The Phillies Didn’t Unravel

Lauren Theisen

Tyler O'Neill rounds the bases after hitting a home run

Oh Christ, It’s Getting Late And The Cardinals Are Hot Once Again

CHICAGO, ILLINOIS - AUGUST 22: Albert Pujols #5 of the St. Louis Cardinals celebrates his solo home run during the seventh inning against the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field on August 22, 2022 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)

Albert Pujols, Lost And Found

The Real Albert Pujols Is Still In There Somewhere

Barry Petchesky

LOS ANGELES, CA - JULY 16: Masyn Winn #1 of the St. Louis Cardinals fields the ball in the third inning during the 2022 SiriusXM All-Star Futures Game at Dodger Stadium on Saturday, July 16, 2022 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Daniel Shirey/MLB Photos via Getty Images)

Masyn Winn Brought The Heat

Luis Paez-Pumar

Starting pitcher Sandy Alcantara #22 of the Miami Marlins pitches in the first inning against the St. Louis Cardinals at Busch Stadium on June 29, 2022 in St Louis, Missouri.

Sandy Alcantara Will Pitch As Much As He Wants To

Laura Wagner

It’s A Great Brawl When Stubby Clapp Tackles “A Big Strong Guy”

Miles Mikolas Will Not Accept Any Excuse For His Teammates’ Inability To Pitch Straight

Justin Turner and Cody Bellinger celebrate in a Dodger win.