Shortstop Paul DeJong could have said something in those two-plus months he was marooned at Class AAA Memphis, sent there by the Cardinals because he was hitting .130 in St. Louis.
After a slow start, DeJong began hitting lots of home runs. But still nobody was calling his name to return to the big leagues until last weekend, when he rejoined the team in Washington.
DeJong, who has 98 major-league home runs and an All-Star ring, said he saw no reason to pop off.
“I thought it was actually easier as time went on,” he said before Wednesday night’s scheduled game at Busch Stadium was called because of rain.