Infielder Jerry Buchek, who died at age 76 on Jan. 2 in Springfield, Mo., was a Cardinals “bonus baby” in the 1960s and wound up spending five seasons in the major leagues with the Cardinals and New York Mets.
The McKinley High product rarely was a regular here, playing behind the likes of Dick Groat, Julian Javier and Dal Maxvill, but he was valuable enough to earn a World Series ring.
Buchek, who signed at age 18 and began play in the Cardinals’ system at Class AA in 1960, was in the big leagues a year later at 19.