Sure, it would have been simple (and obvious) to spotlight either of the most recent Cardinals to wear 26 today, as we’re now that many days until the Cardinals take on the Cubs at Wrigley Field on April 5. I could have written hundreds of words on Trevor Rosenthal (more than I have, anyway) or Kyle Lohse, but I’m always a sucker for good stories.

And what’s a more iconic baseball story than one about a father and a son — especially a father and son winning World Series championships for the same team?

Neither Ed Spiezio, No. 26 for the Cardinals from 1964 to 1968, nor Scott Spiezio, who wore his dad’s number as a Cardinal in 2006-2007, was a star player. Ed only played in 132 games total in his Cards career, with 281 plate appearances and one World Series at-bat in 1967 and one in 1968. Scott played in 201 games, and did very well in the 2006 NLCS — hitting a game-tying triple in Game Two at Shea Stadium before So Taguchi won the game with a homer off Billy Wagner. And probably the less said about the ending of Scott’s Cardinals (and baseball) career, the better. (Let’s hope this encouraging story from last May is still holding true today.) Continue reading →