The PD-Q: Ryan Ludwick
JUPITER, Fla. — St. Louis Cardinals outfielder Ryan Ludwick isn’t too overly concerned about the torso soreness that sidelined him the other day. He was, instead, semi-comforted by it because it gave him cause to realize something rather remarkable about missing a game due to injury.
He hadn’t done it in a long time.
After years lost and seasons abbreviated by a host of injuries, Ludwick said he’s gone two years without missing a game due to some ache, pain or worse … metal plate surgically inserted to keep a bone or something together. That’s a Ripkenesque streak for an outfield who once labeled himself as labeled “injury-prone.” Plenty has been written about what Ludwick pulled off last season, from All-Star invite to everyday player, to 100-RBI outfielder to Silver Slugger winner (in that order). The question presented most often to him this spring was the one posed in a Post-Dispatch headline this weekend: Can He Do It Again?
That’s a much longer answer. These questions are built for shorter, rapid-fire one as Ludwick took the PD-Q …
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Advice from a parent that has stayed with you is …
Wash your hands after using the restroom.
South Park or The Simpsons?
South Park
A memorable Christmas or holiday gift you received is …
Eric Davis signed jersey — Cincinnati Reds, No. 44.
The word or phrase you use too often is …
What’s up, bro?
Favorite superhero?
Garfield. He’s a superhero in my eyes.
Best fictional baseball player?
Roy Hobbs
Your greatest achievement is …
The birth of my child.
Current state of mind …
As of like right now? Like in this moment? Excited.
Your greatest extravagance or indulgence is …
Food. Steak.
Favorite ballplayer growing up?
Eric Davis
First car?
Mitsubishi Mighty Max
Current car?
Lincoln Navigator
Place you’ve got to visit before you die is …
Germany
Who would be in your Fave 5?
My wife, my brother (Eric Ludwick), my mom, my in-laws, my buddy Joe, from Cleveland.
The most embarrassing song on your iPod?
What kind of question is that? I don’t find this in embarrassing because it’s my wife’s favorite - Carrie Underwood.
Movie you’ll stop to watch whenever it comes on is …
Braveheart
Sing in the shower or in the car?
Both.
You know you’re in the minors when …
Post-game spread. The difference of the post-game spread.
I tune out when people talk about …
Themselves.
When I think of St. Louis, I think of …
The Cardinals, of course.
Your idea of perfect happiness, and don’t say “The Cardinals”.
Relaxing with my wife and kid.
Your greatest fear is …
Drowning
The actor to play you would be …
Oh, Skip Schumaker will love this one, Brad Pitt.
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Previous P-DQ: Adam Wainwright … CC Sabathia … Skip Schumaker … David Wright … Brian Barton.
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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. 
Luddy-
Remember when you were playing the DR team and you got on first base and the pitcher was starting you down and no one was covering the bag…he flinched and…what do you call that move?
For those who saw it…it was like a weeble wobble step stutter, almost face plant 3 feet short of the bag…
The smile on Luddys face the rest of the inning said it all. Man I love baseball.
Didn’t see that move, wish I had. There are a lot of guys that probably would have been on the DL after that, pulled hammy or oblique or torn ACL or dislocated disk in the back. Maybe he’s cured now! Hope he comes close to last year’s numbers and the Cards lock him up for a few years.
Garfield? The comic-strip cat, or the president?