Ryan Ludwick’s Guide to Las Vegas
LAS VEGAS — A few more years like 2008 for Ryan Ludwick and this story could be come the stuff of legend, an origin tale set in Las Vegas with a healthy helping of baseball cliches.
Several years ago, a young scouting director just starting to get his toehold in the business jetted to Las Vegas to see a certain power-hitting outfielder. Ludwick was widely considered one of the best, if not the best, outfield prospect in NCAA baseball, hammering homers and leading the UNLV ballclub. He became a Rebel because the other schools that recruited him wanted him to pitch. He’s lefthanded. His brother pitchers. The signs lined up. But Ludwick wanted to hit. And John Mozeliak, that young baseball brass and St. Louis Cardinals’ director of scouting, wanted to see Ludwick hit.
One problem: Ludwick overslept.
On the day Mozeliak came to Vegas to scout Ludwick as a potential draft pick, Ludwick missed his alarm clock and was late to the ballpark. He’s told the story several times — Jeff Passan, for example, wrote it up for Yahoo! Sports during the season — and Mozeliak has described how he always kept in mind the player he went to see play, but didn’t see start. Mozeliak always had an eye out for Ludwick, and that’s how they came to talk before the 2007 season and how Ludwick came to be a Cardinal. And you know the rest. An All-Star invite this past season, 113 RBIs, tied for the team lead with 37 home runs and so on …
“Mo gave me that chance I was looking for,” Ludwick said after receiving the Silver Slugger this season.
In an email to me yesterday, here’s what Ludwick suggests we look for while in Vegas:
As for my old town of Vegas, here’s a couple of faves.
Favotite hotel: The Venetian.
Favorite show: Lance Burton.
Favorite restaurant: Piero’s.
Favorite mexican food: Roberto’s Taco shop.
Favorite burger: obviously In and Out burger.
Favorite auto dealer: Findlay Toyota, got to get my bro some pub.
Oh yeah, best sushi: Sushi Fever.
Best hotel off-strip, which is where I would prefer to be: Red Rock hotel and casino.
Hope that’s good.
Take it easy D, and I hope you enjoy your stay.
Hope to, too. There’s an In and Out in my future. But first coffee. Turns out, that alarm does go off plenty early here.
-30-
Derrick Goold said he was going to Mizzou for capital-J journalism, but after growing up in the Time Zone Baseball Forgot he was really drawn to MU sitting between two major-league cities. Goold joined the Post-Dispatch in 2001 after working for The Times-Picayune and Rocky Mountain News, covering sports from LSU to NHL and every level of baseball in between. 
DG, how is ludwick related to the findlays. i know some of them and just wondered, is he related or just friends? Vegas gets more facelifts than joan rivers. Have fun in the land of lost wages.
DG–
Does your schedule include pool parties at the Hard Rock? Hope so, for your sake.
-WB
Enjoyed the info from Luddy! Now I want to know the really important news–
has his baby arrived yet?
Nice post, DG…
It is a very possible scenario to consider that both Luddy and fellow Cardinal outfielder Rick Ankiel could have made it to the majors as pitchers. Luddy would appear to have apparently had the talent, and if not for injuries Ankiel most certainly would have become a starter in the bigs. Interesting to now consider they are both currently starting in the same outfield.
In n Out is the best fast food burger ever.
Gotta love Luddy tastes! As a STL native now living in Vegas….there is nothing better than In & Out, the Red Rock, Sushi Fever and Piero’s! Luddy knocked another one out of the park!
Although, does anyone have a favorite auto dealer? come on!
For the record, Ryan’s brother, Eric Ludwick (the same one who used to pitch for the Cards and who we traded to Oakland in the McGwire deal) is retired from baseball and is working as a sales manager at Findlay Toyota.
Eric posts occasionally on the scout.com site.
he’s right about Robertos,awesum!my wife didnt care for it,said there’s too many flies buzzin around.