St. Louis Cardinals bid farewell to minor league legend

The St. Louis Cardinals conducted a minor roster move on March 19 that likely flew under the radar of the casual fan, but the Cardinals' choice to cut ties with minor league first baseman Chandler Redmond will bring a tear to the eyes of rabid Cardinals supporters and farm system aficionados.

The Cardinals parted ways with a titan of the minor leagues.

Andy Warhol's legendary line of "In the future, everybody will be world-famous for 15 minutes" has never been more relevant than now, with the advent of social media turning your everyday average Joe into a worldwide sensation. The quote certainly applied to Redmond in 2022, when he accomplished one of the rarest feats in baseball history while with the Double-A Springfield Cardinals.

Not only did the power-hitting Redmond slam four home runs in a game, which is impressive in its own right, but each home run had a different number of men on base: zero, one, two and three. Redmond's "home run cycle" was only the second time in recorded professional baseball history in which this has occurred, and his bat was saved as an exhibit at the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum.

Redmond also made news in 2024 when he became the all-time leader in home runs for the Springfield Cardinals after hitting his 60th career bomb for the squad, passing Xavier Scruggs, who had received cups of coffee with the major league club in 2014 and 2015. Redmond ultimately walloped 66 home runs in his Springfield career.

Unfortunately, Redmond's time with the organization looks to have reached its conclusion, as the Cardinals released him after providing him two plate appearances in 2025 spring training. Redmond hit .200 in a 20-game sample with Triple-A Memphis in 2024 after a promotion from Springfield. At 28 years old and with a similar profile to Luken Baker, not to mention a crowded first base position in St. Louis, Redmond did not appear likely to make an impact with the Cardinals in the near future.

When Cardinals fans think of cult heroes, players such as Bo Hart and Jeremy Hazelbaker spring to mind. Redmond will likely never reach those pinnacles, but minor league mavens will always look fondly upon his time in Springfield, and his historic game in 2022 will remain etched in the annals of baseball lore.