Fans celebrate Pujols’ return to St. Louis
By Andy Martinez
ST. LOUIS — Frank Caz dug through the back of his closet at his Fullerton, Calif., home before packing his bags for his trip to Busch Stadium this week.
That’s where Caz found the No. 5 Pujols Cardinals jersey that he bought after the three-time National League Most Valuable Player helped St. Louis win the 2011 World Series.
“I’ve never worn it since,” he said. “But when we were going to come down here I said, ‘I got to wear it on Friday because that’s when he’s going to get the most respect.’ That’s why it’s still all pristine and clean.”
Although he lives close to the stadium Pujols has called home since the 2012 season with the Los Angeles Angels, he didn’t wear his 2011 World Series jersey until Pujols returned to Busch Stadium on Friday for the first time since he signed with the Angels after that title.
It was a no-brainer for the Caz family to make their annual trip to Busch Stadium for Pujols’ return.
“When the schedule came out, I was like, ‘Oh wow. I want to come down here,’” Caz’s son Josh Caz said. “That’s when my father was like, ‘You know what? We’re going to go to the game.’”
Frank and Josh Caz have been longtime Cardinal fans. The elder Caz grew up admiring Ozzie Smith. He passed his love of the Cardinals onto Josh, who grew up loving Pujols.
“Growing up, (Pujols) was my favorite because he was just that guy,” Josh Caz said. “After the 2011 (season) I was like, ‘Man, I’m still going to be a diehard Cardinals fan, but Pujols is (still) my favorite.’”
The Caz family wasn’t the only family who enjoyed Pujols’ special return back to St. Louis. They were part of a sellout crowd of 48,423, which was the second largest crowd in the history of Busch Stadium III.
Pujols received six ovations on Friday at Busch Stadium. It was clear how Pujols had touched so many folks during his 11 seasons with the Cardinals from his 2001 Rookie of the Year campaign to his 2011 championship season.
He inspired fans throughout the region with his work on and off the field. For some, it was more personal than others. Growing up in St. Louis, John Mena felt the isolation of being in the minority as a Bolivian-American. He remembers usually being the only Latino in his groups.
Mena knows the value of having a Latino role model in a city where there aren’t many Latinos.
“I had some (opposing players) to hang my hat on, (Roberto) Clemente and a few others,” Mena said.
But there wasn’t that Latino hero who wore the uniform with the two birds on the bat.
Mena yearned for a Latino player who had a last name like his and looked and sounded like him to captivate St. Louis.
“I really missed out having a lot of Latin Cards,” Mena said.
This current generation of Latino fans don’t have that void. Albert Pujols became an icon to millennial Latinos in St. Louis, like Mena’s nephew, Joe Quick.
“I’m a big hockey fan and stuff, but you don’t really see a lot of teams have that culture around,” Quick said. “That’s why I really got into baseball. I saw people who liked the same type of music, had the same type of culture, to see them on the field, see their names, it made me feel (like I) fit in.”
That’s why Mena and Quick knew they had to be at Busch Stadium when Pujols returned.
“To have one of the greatest Cardinals ever be Hispanic, it was a great sense of pride,” Mena said.
Quick was blessed with not one, but two beloved Latino Cardinals in Pujols and catcher Yadier Molina.
“St. Louis has a growing Latino population,” Quick said. “But, it just feels really special to have in the game of baseball, Molina (and) every one of those guys. I feel like it really culminates it all.
“It’s definitely great to have two of the greatest Cardinals of all time be Latino. … I had to be here. It was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity (and) I knew I had to come. I remember seeing him as a kid and there was a certain confidence in the air every time he came to bat. It’s nice to see the magic is still in the air here.”