Medwick

While Pujols would become the first NL player since Ducky Medwick of the 1937 Cardinals to win the Triple Crown, baseball is featuring one of its most competitive seasons in the standings in recent years.

Divisions bunched up nearing break; Pujols stands alone 2009

Doan had arranged for World Series hero Joe Medwick, a New Jersey native, to join his Cardinals teammates as Bushwick-for-a-day.

Satch, Dizzy & Rapid Robert Timothy M. Gay 2010

An hour or two later, as the giddy Cardinals readied themselves to depart the clubhouse, detectives insisted that Medwick disguise himself by yanking a civilian hat over his ears.

Satch, Dizzy & Rapid Robert Timothy M. Gay 2010

With the Cardinals already leading 9-0 in the top of the sixth, Medwick had slid cleats-up into third, spiking Detroit third baseman Marv Owen and triggering a brief wrestling match.

Satch, Dizzy & Rapid Robert Timothy M. Gay 2010

Medwick was “none the worse for having gone into the fruit business on a minor scale recently,” joshed the Eagle in a reference to the torrent of apples and oranges that had been thrown at Ducky by Detroit fans eight days earlier.86 Nonetheless, Ducky-Wucky, as his bride called him, went hitless against lefty “Neck” Stanley and his wicked emery ball—a scuffed-up pitch that behaved like a spitter.

Satch, Dizzy & Rapid Robert Timothy M. Gay 2010

Then his first eight games after attending this farce Pujols went 3 of 26, with one RBI, effectively ending his opportunity to become the first National League player since "Ducky" Medwick in 1937 to win the Triple Crown, while his team went into a full-scale-swoon.

Dave Zirin: The Summer of Our Sporting Discontent 2010

Joe "Ducky" Medwick, a future triple crown winner, was a muscular loner who barely had a word that wasn't bile; Leo "The Lip" Durocher, a future Hall of Fame manager, a natty big spender who was later suspended a year for associating with gamblers, was a slick-field no-hit shortstop, and the team's captain and designated trash talker.

Alex Remington: The Gashouse Gang: A Decent Book About the Most Memorable St. Louis Cardinals Team 2010

With the Cardinals already leading 9-0 in the top of the sixth, Medwick had slid cleats-up into third, spiking Detroit third baseman Marv Owen and triggering a brief wrestling match.

Satch, Dizzy & Rapid Robert Timothy M. Gay 2010

Then his first eight games after attending this farce Pujols went 3 of 26, with one RBI, effectively ending his opportunity to become the first National League player since "Ducky" Medwick in 1937 to win the Triple Crown, while his team went into a full-scale-swoon.

Dave Zirin: The Summer of Our Sporting Discontent 2010

At the insistence of Commissioner Landis, who was attending the game, Medwick was removed from the field, ostensibly for his own protection.

Satch, Dizzy & Rapid Robert Timothy M. Gay 2010