These 2 former Cardinals are dedicating their lives to preserving those of others

When former St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Anthony Reyes started Game 1 of the 2006 World Series, the stress was undoubtedly palpable for the rookie. He was up to the challenge, delivering a sparkling performance, as he pitched eight innings of two-run ball and retired 17 consecutive batters from innings 1 through 6. But that was small potatoes compared with the perils he would face after his baseball career concluded, when he became a firefighter in Los Angeles County, California.

Reyes received the calling from his father, Rick, who had also worked as a firefighter. Reyes was on the front lines during the Southern California wildfires in 2017, and as the fire brigade scrambles to contain the blazes incinerating parts of Los Angeles County in 2025, Reyes has returned to the minds of Cardinals fans.

Reyes was a 15th-round pick by the Cardinals in 2003, eventually emerging as the team's top prospect in 2005 and 2006, according to Baseball America. But beyond his World Series performance, his major league career didn't pan out as the Cardinals had hoped, as he amassed a 5.38 ERA in 220.2 innings from 2005 until mid-2008, when he was dealt to the Cleveland Indians.

After Reyes retired from baseball in 2012, he returned to the University of Southern California and became an emergency medical technician upon graduation. He was later accepted into the Los Angeles Fire Academy, graduating in 2017.

Former Cardinals' Anthony Reyes and Mark Hamilton are making a difference in the world in their life after baseball

Reyes wasn't the only semi-recent Cardinals player to devote his life to rescue services. Mark Hamilton had cups of coffee with the Cardinals as a pinch-hitter and occasional first baseman in 2010 and 2011 and hit .197. After calling it quits in 2014, Hamilton began working toward a medical degree, which he received in 2020. He then started his medical residency in June 2020 at Long Island Jewish Medical Center and North Shore University Hospital in the city of New York, helping patients who were afflicted with the then-novel COVID-19 and other conditions.

For most major league baseball players, their time in the big leagues is the pinnacle of their careers. But for Reyes and Hamilton, baseball was merely a prelude to something much more meaningful to them and to those they serve.