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By early Wednesday afternoon, another Cardinal Nation pilgrimage had already commenced infiltrating the wide promenades and tight, dusty construction walkways that ring old Busch Stadium. These were the typical faces of the Redbirds' expansive Midwestern empire; anxious young faces and sentimental old ones dressed in varying shades of scarlet and white, each one quietly treating this old gray lady like some precious touchstone.
They scribbled little love letters on every precious inch of Busch's pillars and walls. Some took pictures. Others simply lingered around, reverently touching the walls, caressing the statues or peeking through the openings near the centerfield gates trying to sneak an obscured view of the pristine playing field.
Yet now as a humid afternoon turned to breezy, nearly flawless autumn night, this special old ballpark was sprinkled with the devoted remnants of a sold-out crowd of 52,438 who were trying to cope with the painful reality of the National League Championship Series coming to an abrupt, non-storybook ending.
It was past 11 p.m., and the worst news of the night - a season-ending, stadium-closing, 5-1 loss that saw this NLCS conclude in a 4-games-to-1 rout by the Houston Astros - had vanished from all the stadium scoreboards. A night that started as an uplifting, old-fashioned Cardinal revival meeting and turned into a tearful, regrettable last call for 39-year-old Busch Stadium. Back in his clubhouse office, manager Tony La Russa was still dealing with media postmortems, when he was told that there were still several thousand fans in the stands still chanting "Let's Go CARD-NALS!"
"Really?" he said. "Hold on, I'll be right back."
He dashed into the back rooms of the clubhouse and soon, a steady stream of players came out and went back out through the dugout tunnel, climbed the dugout steps and in bare feet and flip flops greeted the crowd with gentle waves and appreciative applause.
"That was special," said pitcher Jeff Suppan when asked about the sight of all those cheering loyalists who could not go away. "St. Louis special."
The perfect script for Busch Stadium's final call would have been another trip to the World Series, an ideal way to cap off the final season in old Busch with a championship celebration. But Cardinal Nation will instead have to settle for a fitting ending that ultimately suits this revered old place to the T with its proper Midwestern sensibilities.
In the bottom of the ninth, with every failed swing of a Cardinal at-bat, camera flashes flickered to record what they hoped would be some 11th-hour miracle redux from Game 5 in Houston. But Larry Walker struck out, then John Mabry went down whiffing at a Dan Wheeler fast ball.
Then at 10:20 p.m., Mark Grudzielanek came to the plate.
First pitch - Strike looking.
Second pitch - Single to left. Hope.
Then Yadier Molina came to the plate.
First pitch. Last pitch.
Molina swung, lofted a fly ball to right field, right into the mitt of Houston's eagerly waiting Jason Lane.
End of the game.
End of the season.
End of Busch Stadium.
The crowd started to boo at the sight of another team celebrating on the precious grass of Busch Stadium for the second agonizing October in a row. But they caught themselves quickly. This still is Cardinal Nation, and even a sad ending wouldn't provoke these folks to show a rude dark side.
Instead, they stood and politely cheered the Astros, who were out in the middle of the field, reveling in the giddy satisfaction that all their previous postseason failures had finally ended. The Astros were bound for Chicago for a World Series duel with the American League champion White Sox.
Then they shifted their emphasis from being proper, dignified hosts, to being passionate, if not disappointed Cardinal lovers.
Most of the crowd couldn't bear to stay, but the 30,000 plus who did not stream out the gates stayed in the aisles, stood on their feet and exploded in a spontaneous "Let's go Cardinals" chant. They had arrived early, and they had every intention of staying late. Busch Stadium's doors were about to close forever, but not before this heartbroken crowd washed it thoroughly with a proper mix of tears and cheers.
By 11:30, more than an hour after the game, the crowd had thinned out, but the stubborn 500 or so who hung around the dugout, acted like they had no intention of leaving. On the infield grass, St. Louis police Sgt. Jim Welby looked at the crowd and smiled. "To be honest with you, I really don't care how long I'm here," he said. "I could stay here all night, too."
Just over his shoulder, you could see the dark silhouettes of large construction cranes peaking just above the upper rim of the stadium. In a few days, the wrecking balls will be attached to them, and this old baseball jewel will come tumbling down.
And just about then, those stubborn, passionate folks who stood behind the dugout, started another rhythmic chant.
"Hell no, we won't go! Hell no, we won't go!"
But they knew better. This night was over. This season was over. The doors were about to close.
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And that is why St. Louis has the BEST fans in baseball!
Thanks Big Dude for showing why St. Louis Cardinals fans are a class act.
Astros fans had a lot of good memories (and a few bad) from the Astrodome, but once it was in the rearview mirror we didn't look back. I actually was at the dome for Kile's No Hitter a few years ago. I saw Mike Scott pitch one of his last games there, a four hit, complete game shut out against the Mets. Once you're in your new stadium you won't miss Busch as much as you think you will. I got to see a game at Busch a few years ago when I was there on business. Glad I can add that to my list of baseball memories.
