This will be my 43rd spring training covering the Cardinals, who start their 2021 camp Wednesday in Jupiter, Fla. This, surprisingly, covers only a half-dozen managers — Ken Boyer, Whitey Herzog, Joe Torre, Tony La Russa, Mike Matheny and Mike Shildt.
St. Petersburg days (1979-97)The first 19 of those springs—from 1979-97—were spent in St. Petersburg, Fla., with the seagulls circling Al Lang Stadium, hard by Tampa Bay.
The media worked in the umpires’ locker room — right next to the showers — when the Cardinals were going through their early spring paces at the Busch Complex on the north side of town.