ST. LOUIS — Outfielder Carlos Beltran and the St. Louis Cardinals agreed to a two-year, $26 million contract Thursday night.

Beltran, 34, likely will play right field. Allen Craig was penciled in to play right until undergoing a knee surgery that will sideline him for at least the first month.

“Beltran is a proven outfielder who obviously has been a tough opponent against the Cardinals for many years,” Cardinals General Manager John Mozeliak said in a statement released by the team. “It is going to be nice to have his bat and competitive nature working for us instead of on the other side of the field for the next couple of years.”

Beltran, a former center fielder and six-time All-Star, batted .300 with 39 doubles, six triples, 22 home runs and 84 RBIs in 142 games with the New York Mets and San Francisco Giants. Beltran won Gold Glove Awards from 2006-08.

The switch-hitting Beltran has had injury problems in the past, but if he’s healthy, he figures to be a force in a lineup that will try to recover from the free-agent defection of Albert Pujols to the Los Angeles Angels.

New Cardinals manager Mike Matheny could bat Beltran third or fifth, assuming left fielder Matt Holliday remains in the cleanup spot. Lance Berkman, who played right field last season, will take over at first base for Pujols.

Beltran has a .283 career average with 302 homers and 1,146 RBIs in 1,768 games. His signing makes him a teammate of pitcher Adam Wainwright, who caught Beltran looking at a called third strike to end Game 7 of the National League Championship Series in 2006 when Beltran was with the New York Mets.

The Cardinals went on to defeat the Detroit Tigers in the World Series.

Beltran also had a big series against St. Louis in the 2004 NLCS, that series also was won by the Cardinals in seven games.

St. Louis will be Beltran’s fifth team, following the Kansas City Royals, Houston Astros, the Mets and Giants.

Backup catcher Gerald Laird(notes) will be leaving the St. Louis Cardinals. The free agent signed a one-year, $1 million contract with the Detroit Tigers to play backup to all-star catcher Alex Avila(notes). Laird played only 37 games for the World Series champion Cardinals. He was the primary catcher for Detroit in 2009 and then shared catching duties with Avila in 2010.

Laird batted .232 in 2011 with a homer and 12 RBIs and scored 11 runs. He was a steady replacement for the younger Yadier Molina(notes). Molina came through with many clutch hits and plays late in the season for the St. Louis Cardinals as they made it to the playoffs and then won the dramatic World Series in seven games over the Texas Rangers.

Laird’s departure isn’t critical to the Cardinals. ESPN reported St. Louis signed him to a similar contract for the 2011 season. Molina is still healthy and will be a great backstop. Molina is under contract through the 2012 season as St. Louis picked up his $7 million option for next season. The Cardinals’ catcher had his best year batting with a .305 average at the plate and 65 RBIs to go along with 14 home runs.

Molina is also one of the best defensive catchers in the National League. In 2006, he threw out 50 percent of the men who tried to steal bases.

General manager John Mozeliak said the team’s priorities are signing free agents until the winter meetings close. That includes superstar Albert Pujols(notes) who will be courted by other teams in his free agent period. Teams have until Dec. 12 to finalize contracts for the 2012 season and avoid possible arbitration.

St. Louis will try to keep the successful team fro the 2011 World Series run intact as much possible. Manager Tony LaRussa retired days after winning the title. Former catcher Mike Matheny was hired as his successor.

Much of the offseason news with St. Louis will revolve around Pujols and which team he will end up with after the free agent period is over. Laird’s exodus from the team is the first free agent lost after they won the World Series. St. Louis may call up catcher Bryan Anderson(notes) from AAA Memphis to take Laird’s spot. He played 98 games for the Redbirds with a .281 average and 37 RBI as a starter.

William Browning was born in St. Louis and is a lifelong St. Louis Cardinals fan. He currently resides in Branson, Mo.

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By
Sportsmail Reporter

Last updated at 10:26 AM on 29th October 2011

St Louis Cardinals completed their magical comeback season by beating the Texas Rangers 6-2 in a deciding Game Seven to clinch the World Series.

After left-fielder Allen Craig caught David Murphy’s fly for the final out, the Cards rushed into the infield to celebrate a season in which they overcame a 10-1/2 game deficit in the last month to reach the playoffs and battled back twice in the postseason for their 11th Major League Baseball crown.

Confetti filled the chilly night air as the raucous, white-towel waving crowd at Busch Stadium roared in delight and fireworks lit the sky.   

‘There’s just one way to describe it – it’s unbelievable, amazing, incredible,’ Cardinals manager Tony La Russa said in a ceremony in the middle of the diamond. ‘It’s hard to imagine it actually happened.’

The World Series Most Valuable Player award went to hometown hero David Freese, whose two-run triple in the bottom of the ninth sent Game Six into extra innings before his 11th-inning home run won that game for the Cardinals to force the decider.

Freese, who also won MVP honours in the National League Championship Series against Milwaukee, drove in two runs on Friday and finished the Fall Classic with seven runs batted in.   

‘This is definitely a dream come true,’ the 28-year-old third baseman said after being awarded the trophy and a new sports car. ‘This is incredible.’

It was a wrenching defeat for the Rangers, who had twice been one strike away during Game Six of clinching their first title in 51 years of existence, and who had fallen last year to the San Francisco Giants in their first Fall Classic.

‘I just told my team they are champions,’ said Texas manager Ron Washington. ‘Someone had to win and someone had to lose and it was the Cardinals who won.   

‘It was in our grasp and we didn’t get it done. We fought hard but the Cardinals were too good. My hat’s off to the Cardinals, they cleanly beat us.’

The Cardinals rallied one last time in their season of heart-stopping comebacks by spotting the Rangers a 2-0 lead in the first inning before surging to victory.

After back-to-back run-scoring doubles by Josh Hamilton and Michael Young in the first off St Louis starter Chris Carpenter, the Cards immediately tied the game in their half of the first on a two-run double by Game Six hero Freese.   

A solo home run by Craig in the third inning gave St Louis a 3-2 lead before Texas pitching unravelled in the fifth. St Louis tacked on two more runs in the fifth without a hit as the Texas bullpen wilted.

Scott Feldman, who had relieved starter Matt Harrison, issued a one-out walk to Craig and then hit Albert Pujols with a pitch. The runners moved up on Lance Berkman’s ground out and with first base open, Freese was intentionally walked.   

Yadier Molina walked on a full-count pitch just outside the strike zone to force in a run. Left-hander C.J. Wilson, the Game One and Game Five starter, was brought in to face Rafael Furcal and he hit the shortstop with a pitch to allow another run to score for a 5-2 St Louis lead. Molina drove in the last St Louis run with a seventh-inning single.   

Cardinals starter Carpenter, pitching on a short rest period, went six innings for the series-clinching win, giving up two runs on six hits while striking out five.

‘It’s awesome to get the World Series back in St Louis and get another ring,’ said Carpenter, who was also a member of the 2006 World Series-winning Cardinals team.   

Pujols, the three-times National League MVP who put on a record-setting offensive display in Game Three with three home runs, five hits and six runs batted in, was thrilled.

‘Two months ago we were supposed to be at home watching the World Series,’ said Pujols. ‘Now we are the world champions.’

 

 

Area St. Louis Cardinals fans packed area bars and restaurants with plenty of red Sunday afternoon to cheer on their team in the first game of the National League Championship Series.

Donald Wozniak of Peoria watched the Cardinals’ 9-6 loss to the Milwaukee Brewers from the friendly confines of Johnny Vig’s Scotch and Cigar Lounge with his friend Zach Hedeman and other fans.

“It’s going to be a tough battle against the Brewers, but we have high hopes,” said Wozniak, who inherited his love for St. Louis’ ballclub from his father. “We ended the season on a roll and battled back against the Phillies, so we got some fight in us.”

Beating the team with the best regular season record in baseball in the first round of the playoffs was nice, said Hedeman, but it’s far from over.

“My grandfather grew up in Missouri, so being a Cards fan is a family heritage for me,” the Peorian said.

Peoria resident Jerry Velpel sported a bright red Cardinals pullover at Kouri’s Pub on Sunday to show his pride. He’s been a fan of the team since Stan Musial was setting records for them as a Hall of Fame outfielder in the ’40s and ’50s.

“It was exciting beating the Phillies, but the Brewers are a tough club,” said Velpel, who makes it to Busch Stadium, where the Cardinals play their home games, up to a dozen times a season with friends and family.

Velpel travels down to Fort Myers, Fla., to work for the Minnesota Twins during spring training each year, helping direct autograph seekers and keeping distractions for the ball players to a minimum. He’s a St. Louis Cardinals fan first and foremost, but he’ll go see any team play.

“I’m just an all-around fan of baseball,” he said.

Rob Kenny has been a fan of the Cardinals since he was 4 years old. He said he never once thought they’d make the playoffs this year, so just seeing his squad play Sunday was enjoyable.

“We have experience, so I like their chances, but this is the sixth extra game this season, so that’s a gift in itself for me,” said Kenny, who was born and resides in Peoria but has a loyalty to the baseball team from St. Louis that is unparalleled.

“If I was only allowed to cheer for one team in any sport, I’d cheer for St. Louis Cardinals baseball,” he said.

The Cardinals continue their series against the Brewers on Monday in Milwaukee.

Eric Engel can be reached at 686-3194 or eengel@pjstar.com.

One of the rare players who has enjoyed recent, albeit limited, success against Halladay is Cardinals outfielder Lance Berkman.

During the Phillies’ 11-6 win over the Cardinals in Game 1, Berkman opened the scoring with a three-run, first-inning home run off Halladay.

The Phillies righthander promptly shut down the Cardinals during the remainder of his time on the mound. After Berkman’s one-out home run, Halladay allowed just one hit until he departed after the eighth.

It was the second time in a two-week span that Berkman had taken Halladay deep. On Sept. 19, Berkman hit a solo home run in the first inning off Halladay in a 4-3 Cardinals win in Philadelphia.

To put that in perspective, Halladay surrendered 10 home runs in the regular season, and nobody hit more than one.

Berkman, who is 2 for 5 lifetime against Halladay in the regular season, isn’t very impressed by his limited success against the Phillies righthander.

“I think it’s meaningless,” Berkman said in the Cardinals clubhouse. “He is going to go out there tomorrow night and be really good and be really tough, and what you have done against him in the past or what he has done against you is irrelevant.”

Berkman said past performance isn’t a good way to judge a pitcher-vs.-batter matchup.

“Most of the time when you are talking of a good pitcher, it’s what he has that night,” Berkman said. “If he has good stuff, you do the best you can, and if he doesn’t, maybe you have a chance.”

 

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Contact staff writer Marc Narducci at 856-779-3225, mnarducci@phillynews.com,

or @sjnard on Twitter.