The Cardinals charged to the National League Eastern Division title in 1982, fueled by an eight-game September winning streak, including five wins in three days at New York.
But their shortstop during that stretch wasn’t future Hall of Famer Ozzie Smith.
It was switch-hitting backup Mike Ramsey, who started 14 games in succession at short when Smith had a leg injury. He didn’t hit much during this stretch but he didn’t miss anything either in the field.
“When you lose a guy like that, it was, ‘Oh, wow!' He was a big part of what was going on,’’’ said Ramsey.