Albert Fred "Red" Schoendienst wasn't a legendary talent on the baseball field; he was a legendary person who gave his life to the game, injecting with knowledge, grace, and decades of service.
Lacking the wicked bat of Stan Musial or the arm of Bob Gibson, Schoendienst hustled for 19 years in the Major Leagues. An 11-time All-Star and three-time top 5 MVP voting finisher, he started his career with St. Louis and ended it under the Arch, with brief stops in Milwaukee and New York stuffed in between.
You won't drool at the 84 lifetime home runs or .387 slugging percentage, but you'll be impressed with the fact that Schoendienst never struck out more than 32 times in a season or the six seasons where he accumulated 177 hits or more. For the advanced statistics crowd, Red's 42.3 lifetime WAR won't dazzle, but he was so much more than an average or individual stat.
Red Schoendienst was the epitome of hard work and hustle. He didn't craft a career in baseball. The man opened up a life that didn't close up until he took his last breath on June 6 at the tender-hearted age of 95 years young. The first thing I remember about him is the fact he slept on a bench during tryouts when he was trying to be a Cardinal. I read that in a book when I was a teenager and suddenly believed all the "I slept in a car to make it" stories. If Red did it, the story was true.
I never met the guy, but I felt like I knew everything I needed to know about him when I saw him ride the bullpen cart around the field during spring training or when he was hitting grounders with a fungo bat in his 90's. How many 90-year-olds do you know who would put on a uniform and venture down to spring training to try and connect with young baseball players? He didn't just talk the talk; Red walked and lived it.
Truth be told, I knew something was wrong when he wasn't at Busch Stadium on opening day this year. He was getting older for sure, but that number was merely a state of mind for a guy like Schoendienst. If he was able, the man would be there in a red coat waving at fans in a convertible. He didn't want pity, an abundance of attention, or a waver in trust. His absence soured a game that the Cardinals lost.
Without Red in-house, a sea of red didn't glimmer as easily. When I got back from a cruise to Cuba and found out he had passed away, I was sad. 95 years should be enough for anyone, but there was a part of me that thought Red would live forever. Baseball does that to you. It makes you think the impossible can be a reality.
Here's the thing about Red: NOBODY can come up with a bad word about him. The words that would form that sentence don't exist. They were never manufactured. How many people can you say that about that have come across you in this life? People who everybody could love and adore. While he was flawless on a baseball field, Red Schoendienst was near perfect in life.
That's not to say his career on the field wasn't extraordinary. Schoendienst was a part of five World Series winning teams, two as a player and three as a coach/manager. After the Cardinals won the World Series in 1964, Johnny Keane quit, and Red took over. He managed for parts of 14 seasons (12 full and two as interim), winning over 1,000 games and a World Series. A guy who slept on the bench to make the team ended up with five World Series rings.
Born in Germantown, Illinois, Schoendienst didn't go far after his playing and coaching days were finally over. He took his last breath in Town and Country earlier this month, laying to rest in a place that had come to love him unconditionally for decades. You didn't want to just play like Red; you wanted to be like Red. He was first class.
In his first season in the Majors, Red stole 26 bases. He stole the heart of Cardinals and baseball fans everywhere soon after.
Rest in peace, Red. You were a legendary person. The best of us.
Thanks for reading,
DLB