ST. LOUIS -- Using the 37th anniversary of Whitey Herzog's first day as Cardinals manager, the organization introduced #CardsRatPack, their latest social media based fan engagement tribute, on Friday.
The campaign centers around a pack of 24 illustrated baseball cards that will be revealed beginning on July 12. Over the 12 weeks that follow, the Cardinals will release two #CardsRatPack baseball cards each week, and those cards will come to life as part of episodes in a social media series. Each card will feature a cartoon design that highlights a player who Herzog managed.
Details on how fans can collect those cards will be announced by the organization in the coming weeks.
The Cardinals are also asking that fans share their memories of Herzog via social media using the hashtag #CardsRatPack. The club will chose one fan's personal video and transform it into a professionally-animated cartoon that will be included in the #CardsRatPack series.
The campaign has a charitable aspect to it as well, as the Cardinals will be raising money for the Whitey Herzog Youth Foundation throughout the rest of the season. Herzog's foundation serves to promote and improve youth baseball programs throughout Missouri and Illinois.
This #CardsRatPack initiative is the latest in a run of social media campaigns the Cardinals have created to recognize some of the most famous faces in franchise history. Past tributes have highlighted the careers of Stan Musial (Stand for Stan), Mike Shannon (#LikeMike), Red Schoendienst (#LoveRed2) and Lou Brock (#STLisLou).
To learn more about this campaign and the cartoon video contest, visit cardinals.com/ratpack.
Molina sits again
Persistent back stiffness kept catcher Yadier Molina out of the lineup again on Saturday. According to manager Mike Matheny, Molina's stiffness was the result of sleeping awkwardly.
"I know he was hopeful last night that it would ease up on him, but it was still pretty locked up," Matheny said. "I think in an emergency if something happened to [Eric] Fryer, he could sit back there. But we're going to wait another day."
This marks the first time Molina has been out of the lineup on consecutive days this season.
Worth noting
• The Cardinals have not announced who will start the second game of Tuesday's doubleheader against the Brewers, but it will be someone from their Triple-A Memphis staff. The likeliest choices would be Luke Weaver or Marco Gonzales, both of whom are already on the 40-man roster.
• In his first game since being reassigned to Memphis, outfielder Randal Grichuk threw out two runners at the plate and delivered a walk-off single in the ninth inning on Friday. Grichuk also struck out three times.
• As part of Play Ball Weekend, the Cardinals distributed plastic bat and ball sets to kids in attendance on Saturday. Several players also donned special Play Ball T-shirts during their pregame on-field work.