Thanksgiving is later this week, which means that Black Friday is as well. And the Cardinals have a perfect gift that will be available that day: tickets to the Winter Warm-Up.

(And, of course, the new alternate jerseys will be widely available starting Friday too.)

The Winter Warm-Up is Saturday, Jan. 19, through Monday, Jan. 21, at the Hyatt Regency St. Louis at the Arch. The event times are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday, and 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Monday.

Past popular attractions will return for 2013. Fans can interact with their favorite players through autograph sessions, play interactive games, share memories with Hall-of-Famers, meet Fredbird, find collectable memorabilia, bid on one-of-a-kind items at live and silent auctions, experience live presentations, and ask questions of players, owners, scouts, broadcasters and officials at Q&A sessions.

The prices for admission passes, which are valid for all three days of the Warm-Up, will remain the same as the last few years – $40 for fans age 16 and over, $10 for children age 5 to 15. Kids under 5 are admitted free of charge. Members of the military, police and fire departments with an active ID will receive one free adult pass, which must be obtained in person at the Busch Stadium administrative offices. Autograph tickets will be sold online beginning Wednesday, Dec. 19, through Monday, Jan. 14.

Tickets can be purchased online at cardinals.com/winterwarmup, in the official Cardinals Team Store at Busch Stadium and at Cardinals Clubhouse stores located around St. Louis.


The fact we generally refer to Albert Pujols as “That Guy Who Used to Play First Base” might show our feelings regarding him leaving the Cardinals, but he does still live in St. Louis and the Pujols Family Foundation is still there as well. And he still does great work within the community. Last Sunday, Albert recruited some of his former Cards teammates for the fifth annual Pujols Family Foundation All-Star basketball game — and it sounds like it was a terrific night.


Last Monday, Mitchell Boggs brought his World Series ring along as he went to visit patients at Children’s Hospital at Erlanger in Chattanooga, Tenn. There are a couple of great photos from the visit here.


Chris Carpenter was one of the guests at the Granite State Baseball Dinner in Manchester, N.H., last night. He also donated an item for the fundraising auction, according to this from the New Hampshire Union Leader: “The auction at tonight’s dinner features a four-day fishing excursion with the Cy Young Award winner and two-time World Series champion. The highest bidder (and a guest) will join Carpenter on a yet-to-be-scheduled trip to Gaspe, Quebec. The package includes travel, lodging, food and much more.” A note to whoever purchased the trip: let me know if you need a guest to go with you … This follow-up article from today doesn’t say who that bidder was, but does have a lot of good info (and a pic) about CC.


Of course we all know that Yadier Molina finished fourth in the NL MVP voting. But he did receive two first-place votes, and Stan McNeal of the Sporting News said Yadi should have been MVP. Also, it was terrific to see Matt Holliday, Allen Craig and Carlos Beltran also receiving votes (and not just token 10th place votes like Chipper Jones, Miguel Montero, Angel Pagan and Hunter Pence received).

Speaking of awards, Jason Motte was named one of the winners of the Hilton Smith Award for relievers of the year in the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum Legacy Awards Class of 2012. Mike Trout and Andrew McCutchen are the recipients of the Oscar Charleston Award for the AL and NL MVP.


Finally, minor leaguer Mike O’Neill has been getting some attention lately. Check out this interview with him where he discusses hitting (he had the top on-base percentage in minor league baseball in 2012, .458) at Fangraphs. In addition, he was one of the nominees for the Arizona Fall League’s Dernell Stenson Sportsmanship Award. Cole Kimball of the Nationals was named the winner yesterday.



Christine Coleman is the senior St. Louis Cardinals reporter for Aaron Miles’ Fastball. Follow her on Twitter, @CColeman802, or email aaronmilesfastball@gmail.com. Also follow @AMilesFastball for the latest updates.