The St. Louis Cardinals Caravan will make its annual trip to Springfield on Friday, January 13. The Caravan will be held at Hammons Field in the Indoor Training Facility and is scheduled to start at 12:15pm. Lunch will be available for purchase at the event.
This year’s attendees will feature current St. Louis Cardinals and former Springfield Cardinals OF Stephen Piscotty and INF Greg Garcia, along with 2016 Texas League All-Star 3B Paul DeJong. Former St. Louis Cardinals Tom Lawless and Kyle McClellan will also be a part of the Caravan. KMOX Sports Director Tom Ackerman will serve as the emcee for the event.
Since becoming the 72nd all-time Springfield Cardinal to make his Major League Debut with St. Louis on July 21, 2015, Piscotty has been an integral piece of the Cardinals offense and outfield corps. Through just a year and a half in the big leagues, the 2013 Springfield Cardinal has hit .282 with 29 home runs, 50 doubles and 124 RBIs in 216 career games with St. Louis. A staple of the 2016 club, Piscotty led the Cardinals in runs (86) and RBIs (85) last season, while hitting .273 and adding 22 home runs in his first full campaign.
A fellow former Springfield Cardinal, Garcia has been an invaluable utility infielder ever since debuting with St. Louis on April 28, 2014. Through 162 career games, Garcia has compiled a .261 average with five home runs and 22 RBIs while tallying 79 hits and 42 runs. With a knack for the big moment, Garcia led the Cardinals in 2015 with nine pinch hits and has gone 16×48 (.333 average) as a pinch hitter through the last two seasons. In a career-high 99 games last year, Garcia hit a career-best .276 with three homers, 11 doubles and 17 RBIs.
The top ranked third base prospect in the Cardinals system, DeJong took the Texas League by storm in his debut season with Springfield in 2016. Named to the 2016 Texas League Midseason All-Star Team in just his first full professional season, DeJong led Springfield with 22 home runs and 29 doubles, while hitting .260 and finishing 2nd on the club with 73 RBIs. After his powerful 2016 campaign, DeJong was recognized as an MiLB.com St. Louis Organizational All-Star and is currently ranked as the Cardinals #15 overall prospect.
Lawless and McClellan both bring a wealth of experience to the Caravan roster. A member of the Cardinals World Series squads in 1985 and 1987, Lawless is well-remembered for his dramatic game-winning home run in Game 4 of the 1987 World Series against the Minnesota Twins. McClellan, who made 17 starts during the Cardinals Championship Season in 2011, suited up with St. Louis from 2008 – 2012 and logged a 19-23 record with a 3.69 ERA through 261 appearances.
A familiar voice on the Cardinals Radio Network, Ackerman is Sports Director at KMOX and oversees a department that serves as the flagship station for the St. Louis Cardinals and St. Louis Blues. In addition to his work as a host on Cardinals broadcasts, he is also the lead sports anchor on KMOX’s “Total Information A.M.,” calls play-by-play for numerous sports and emcees a multitude of events throughout the St. Louis area.
Coinciding with the afternoon program at Hammons Field, the Springfield Cardinals will have a Garage Sale featuring jerseys, helmets, bats, and many other Cardinals collectibles used by some of your favorite players here in Springfield.
Doors will open for the 2017 Cardinals Caravan at 11:30am, with the event scheduled to run from 12:15 – 2pm. Admission for the Cardinals Caravan is $5 for adults and $3 for kids (ages 3-12). All admission proceeds will benefit the Children’s Miracle Network.
In addition to appearing at Hammons Field in the afternoon, the Caravan will also visit Mercy and Cox South Hospitals, as the players visit the pediatric ward and other areas.
On Friday evening, the Caravan will continue on to JQH Arena for the Bass Pro Shops Tournament of Champions, presented by Chevy Dealers of the Ozarks, where the players and Cardinals staff will sign autographs. A ticket to the Tournament of Champions will be required to attend the evening autograph session at JQH Arena, and times for the signing will be announced at a later date.
As in previous years, the St. Louis Cardinals will be implementing an Autograph Ticket system at each stop of the Caravan. The first 400 kids (15 and under) through the door on the day of the event will receive a free Autograph Ticket which guarantees one autograph from each current and former player. Due to high demand, autographs will only be available for fans 15 and under.
Additionally, as a new component to the 2017 Caravan, the Cardinals and Missouri Farm Bureau Insurance are teaming to fight local hunger. At select Caravan stops, fans can bring a nonperishable food donation to help those in need through Feeding Missouri’s fine partners. Donations will be collected at all eight Missouri stops, in addition to the Quincy, Illinois and Dyersburg, Tennessee stops.
