For those who believe that baseball heroes only reside between the lines of play, this writer might humbly direct your attention to a particular member of the St. Louis press box. Derrick Goold, a longtime writer for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch who covers the Cardinals, was the subject of a piece from colleague Rick Hummel today after Goold came to the rescue of a 64-year-old man at Busch Stadium on Sunday. Mike Flanary, a St. Louis-based videographer, collapsed in the Cubs dugout and was briefly without a pulse before Goold rushed to his aid and administered life-saving CPR. Flanary was brought to a nearby hospital, where he was treated for the effects of a heart attack and stroke; he remained in critical-but-stable condition on Sunday evening.
“In the medical field, when you save somebody like this, they call it a clinical save,” said Washington University’s David Tan, who was the stadium doctor on duty at Busch on Sunday. “This is a clinical save that was started by Derrick Goold. Period.”
In far more trivial news from around the game…
- Much has been said about Jose Abreu’s ongoing flirtation with White Sox management about his potential return to the Chicago dugout in 2020–we understand by now that both team and player are interested in a reunion, although Abreu’s contract is up this offseason. For what it’s worth, the player’s teammates were unequivocal on Sunday in their advocation for an Abreu return, as detailed in a piece from James Fegan of The Athletic. “It doesn’t make sense for him to not be a White Sox,” pitcher Lucas Giolito said. “He’s an example for us and I think he’s the guy,” outfielder Eloy Jimenez opined. “I don’t see his skill set right now diminishing in any way, shape or form,” manager Rick Renteria offered. Opinions will vary on what kind of deal Abreu–who posted a 115 wRC+ in 690 plate appearances this year–should elicit, but those around the South Side clubhouse clearly believe he’s an integral part of the team’s next step toward contention.
- Posts were aplenty on the job status of Phillies manager Gabe Kapler on Sunday, which should come as little surprise, considering that Kapler has been beleaguered with near uniformity by fans and press alike in his second season as Philadelphia’s manager. In comments made to Scott Lauber the Philadelphia Inquirer after Sunday’s game, it seemed that Kapler, for one, had had enough speculation for one season (link). “It’s definitely not a conversation I need to have right now in this room,” Kapler said to reporters about forthcoming conversations with Philly management. “It’s a private conversation. My job is to focus on managing the Phillies even after Game 162.” If Kapler is indeed removed as skipper in the City of Brotherly Love, he will finish his tenure with a 161-162 managerial record.
José Abreu.
33 HRs. 123 RBIs leads the AL.
.283 Avg 179 Hits. 37 2bs.
The guy is Absolutely Valuble. !!!
Pay szyat man hizz money!!
Thanks Teddy.
So that puts Mr. Goold at 1/1 in the save category.
Funny, but true!!
Way to go Derek!
We need more people like him in our society
Goold is one of the most respected and most followed beat writers in baseball. Former President of the Baseball Writers Association of America, he regularly appears in and on CBS, ESPN, KMOX, St. Louis Post Dispatch, Baseball America, and the MLB network. He now adds “life saver” to his resumé.
Prediction: He will join St. Louis writers Spink, Stockton, Broeg, and Hummel in the Hall of Fame.
That’s really good on Goold… what a guy. Hopefully the Cards will offer him a baseball job, something in the front office, or at least give him an interview. It’s hard to stand out as a baseball writer or to move up/ahead, especially since the quality standards are so low, but Goold would deserve it after this, so hopefully they give him a shot. Good on him… he’s a hero.
Lol what?
I’ll 2nd that emotion. WHAT!!??
Ah you clearly dont know Goold… Goold wants to be a beat writer for Cardinals, he has made that clear it was a dream & goal of his to do.
Getting a the baseball beat isnt so easy, and why do you claim the standards are so low? Baseball isnt Fox news or Breitbart/InfoWars.. Now those are low standards.
Almost as bad as Huffpost. See I can be annoying and bring politics into conversations they don’t belong as well.
Great job, Derek Goold.
All the Pirates beat writers would have done is complain that Nutting is too cheap to hire medical personnel before wandering off to a buffet table.
Just to be clear, that was a joke. I don’t actually think that of any of the Pirates’ beat writers.
The local columnists, OTOH, would step right over the guy.
As many as possible should try to learn CPR, you never know. Great job saving a life!
Here is a 2 minute refresher in CPR. Get training if you don’t already have it.
youtu.be/VKGzXUB9FQs
I think Abreu is a little overrated, but love that his teammates like the guy so much. It feels like the WS are on the cusp of contention, and re-signing Abreu might aid in that transition.
Get over .500 with some young pitching in process of breaking out before claiming WS contention.
Teufelshunde4 WS in the commenters post stands for white Sox not World Series.
Also Twins went from 78 to 101 wins in one year with basically three free agent signings and one trade (Schoop, Cruz, Marwin, and Odorizzi). White Sox have a similar if not better core of young guys to supplement. Not unreasonable that if they spend to fill holes this offseason they could at least compete for the ALC crown.
Bravo, Mr. Goold.
He seems like a good guy but I don’t really believe in him as a clubhouse leader, they’ve never won with him despite all the numbers, too many gidp. 2 yrs 25 mil, or 3/ 30 tops, he won’t find more in free agency. Likeable dude just a singular skill set and a contending team would push Eloy to dh more.
2/$20 million with incentives/escalators and team option in 2022.
Abreu’s history is quite fascinating. In Cuba, he played for the Elephants and was much heavier compared to today. He represents only a handful of players who fled in a well over max-capacity boat. In Abreu’s case to Haiti, where the US has accessibility.
Yasiel Puig, my choice for the White Sox this off season, also fled to Mexico where the Dodgers could get a look at him.
I could see both of them signing in Chicago on similar contracts, 4years somewhere in the $50-60M range.
The Cardinals should have Goold throw out the first pitch for them in the playoffs and announce his heroic action live to the crowd.
That type of news is awesome.