STAN MUSIAL

Bill Virdon, who helped the Pittsburgh Pirates to the 1960 World Series before enjoying success as manager of the Houston Astros, has died.

Derek Jeter put the finishing touches on his Hall of Fame speech as the plane that carried him to the enshrinement ceremony in Cooperstown, New York, was landing.

Puerto Rico's Yadier Molina reacts after tagging out Venezuela's Ali Castillo during the first inning of a Caribbean Series baseball game at Teodoro Mariscal Stadium in Mazatlan, Mexico, Monday, Feb. 1, 2021. (AP Photo/Moises Castillo)ST. LOUIS – The St. Louis Cardinals signed catcher Yadier Molina to a one-year, $9 million contract Tuesday, keeping the nine-time Gold Glove winner with the only organization for which he's played for an 18th season. The 38-year-old Molina hit .262 with four home runs in 42 games during the pandemic-shortened 2020 season, his last under a $60 million, three-year deal. He is third on the franchise list in games played behind Hall of Famers Stan Musial (3,026) and Lou Brock (2,289). Molina is a career .281 hitter with 160 home runs, and he's played in at least 110 games every season but his first and this past season, which was shortened by the pandemic.

(AP Photo, File)It was the summer of 1963, Bob Gibson was already well on his way to establishing himself as one of the most fearsome, intimidating pitchers in big league history. As Rose recalls that night in St. Louis, he was playing second base when Gibson hit a double early in the game. “He just walks by and says, ‘It was a slider, rook.‘”The baseball world and beyond was talking about the great Bob Gibson, a day after the Hall of Fame ace died at 84 in his hometown of Omaha, Nebraska. Rose, without looking it up, knew he hit .307 lifetime against Gibson, going 35 for 114. Hall of Fame pitcher Jim Palmer remembered how Baltimore second baseman Dave Johnson would occasionally run in from the mound to “and say give them the Bob Gibson!”“I’d say, there is only 1 Bob Gibson.

St. Louis Cardinals' Harrison Bader celebrates after scoring during the third inning in the second game of a baseball doubleheader against the Minnesota Twins Tuesday, Sept. 8, 2020, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)ST. LOUIS Backup catcher Matt Wieters acknowledges he might have to get in better shape for the St. Louis Cardinals. Wieters hit 14 foul balls during a grueling 19-pitch at-bat that finished with a deep flyout with the bases loaded during a wild rally that sent the Cardinals over the Minnesota Twins 6-4 Tuesday night for a doubleheader split. Wieters set the Cardinals record for a plate appearance in that span, topping 17 pitches seen by Rick Ankiel in 2008. Everyone says St. Louis is a baseball town, and my father absolutely was a baseball guy.