Ex-Cardinals Hurler Pays Tribute To St. Louis Legend With New Number For New Team

The former rising star still has love for the franchise's rich history

Scott Neville | Feb 16, 2024

Ex-Cardinals Hurler Pays Tribute To St. Louis Legend With New Number For New Team /

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The St. Louis Cardinals made some notable changes from last trade deadline through spring training, shedding ties with some important pieces in order to retool and climb back into contention.

Some of the players who were dealt were career-long Cardinals who -- at one point -- appeared to be on track to become staples of the organization.

One homegrown hurler certainly fit that bill after showing his Cy Young-caliber arm in his first couple of seasons in the big leagues -- right-hander Jack Flaherty.

After finishing fourth in National League Cy Young voting in 2019, he started to decline and underperform the massive expectations set upon him by early career success.

The Cardinals traded him to the Baltimore Orioles at last year's trade deadline and he's since signed with the Detroit Tigers. Despite moving on, however, the former Cardinals starter decided to pay tribute to a franchise legend with his new number.

"Jack Flaherty threw his first official side session today in Tigers camp. He picked No. 45 in part for Hall of Famer Bob Gibson, who talked a lot with him during his early years in St. Louis," MLB.com's Jason Beck shared Thursday.

The 28-year-old did not become a lifelong Cardinals hurler, following in the footsteps of Gibson. He did, however, dominate out of the gate and continues to show loyalty to the franchise that drafted him in the first round of the 2014 Major League Baseball Draft.

Flaherty's ode to Gibson is a nice touch that will be well-received in the Cardinals community.

More MLB: Former All-Star Starting Pitcher Available; Cardinals Would Be Logical Landing Spot

Published Feb 16, 2024

SCOTT NEVILLE

Scott Neville covers the St. Louis Cardinals for FanNation's "Inside The Cardinals" on Sports Illustrated. Before starting "Inside The Cardinals", Neville attended Merrimack College, where he earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Communication and Media with a minor in Marketing. Neville spent all four years with Merrimack's radio station WMCK, where he grew as a radio/podcast host and producer. His propensity for being in front of a microphone eventually expanded to film, where he produced multiple short films alongside his then-roommate and current co-worker Stephen Mottram. On a journey that began as a way to receive easy credits via film classes, he received a call from "It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia" star Charlie Day. Day advised him to make a feature-length film, which he completed his senior year. While writing the film, Neville completed an internship for United Way as part of their NFL Partnership Program. Neville ran the blog for a team of interns and hosted an internet show called "United Way's NFL Partnership Series" where he interviewed NFL alumni. After college Neville wrote for SB Nation's "Over The Monster," a Red Sox sister site of the flagship brand. His work would eventually lead him to a job as a content producer with NESN, where he would cover all sports. After developing as a writer with the top regional network in the world, he was given the opportunity to join FanNation and the Sports Illustrated Media Group as the publisher of "Inside The Red Sox." After a few months as the top Major League Baseball site in the program, Neville sought expansion and pitched "Inside The Cardinals," one of the newest additions to FanNation and the Sports Illustrated Media Group. The successful launch and quick rise of "Inside The Cardinals" led to Neville joining the Baseball Essential ownership group, a national baseball site under SIMG. Follow him on Twitter: @ScottNeville46 Email: nevilles@merrimack.edu