Ray Mileur
January 26, 2005
2004 Memphis Redbirds (AAA) Season Highlights
Reported by Ray Mileur
The Memphis Redbirds finished in 2nd place in the Pacific Coast League's East Division with a record of 73-71. The Redbirds played their best baseball in the final six weeks of the season, posting a 33-23 record (.589) after July 10.
Kevin Witt, who we thought might make the major league roster last season out of spring training, led the PCL with 36 HRs and finished 3rd with 107 RBI. His 36 HRs tied for 10th in Cardinals' minor league history and tied for the 3rd most HRs hit by a Cardinals' minor leaguer since 1960.
Kevin batted .374 with 14 HRs and 41 RBI (that's a career year for most players) in August, earning Cardinals' Minor League Player of the Month honors.
Don't look for Kevin Witt to start bashing home runs out of Busch stadium, Witt signed a deal to play for Yokohama in 2005.
Despite spending part of the season in the Major Leagues, Danny Haren led the PCL with 150 strike outs, tied for 4th with 11 wins and was 10th in the league in ERA. Danny Haren was traded to Oakland as part of the Mark Mulder deal a move that caused some concerned from many fans. He was 2-2 with a 6.04 ERA as a starter for the Cardinals, including a June outing against the Cubs where he allowed 10 earned runs in three-plus innings. Better as a reliever, he was impressive in the post-season, allowing just two runs and eight hits in eighth-plus innings of work. He'll get a chance to start in Oakland.
John Gall batted .352 with 9 HRs and 27 RBI in June and hit .329 with 6 HRs and 21 RBI in April. Gall was named to the PCL All Star Team, and was the Cardinals' Player of the Month for April. Gall finished the season with a .292 batting average and 22 HRs and 84 RBI. Gall could see some times in the majors this season and is already on the 40 man roster. There are a lot of Gall fans who think the slugger is ready to play in the majors now, the trouble is there is not an opening for him in St. Louis.
Scott Seabol batted .321 with 17 HRs and 41 RBI from July 1 to the end of the season (62 games) His second half performance has not gone unnoticed, at this time Seabol is on the Cardinals 40 man roster. A right handed hitter, Seabol will be hard pressed to make the Cardinals roster out of spring training.
Coming tomorrow - 2004 Tennessee Smokies (AA) Season Highlights
