JUPITER, Fla. -- With every major-league and minor-league player and coach gathered 'round, the Cardinals Saturday morning dedicated the batting cage facility behind Roger Dean Stadium to the memory of Dave Ricketts, the organization's long-time catcher, coach and instructor who died last July 13.
Ricketts mentored two generations of Cardinals catchers, including the organization's reigning Gold Glove winner, Yadier Molina. Married to his wife Barbara for 50 years, Ricketts signed with the Cardinals in 1957 and made his major-league debut in 1963. A member of the 1967 world championship team, Ricketts spread 213 at-bats over six major-league seasons. His most lasting contributions occurred in minor-league towns and in the facility that now bears his name. "He was a great guy... a guy who taught me how to teach the game," said Cardinals third-base coach Jose Oquendo, who attending the morning dedication before returning to Miami, where he will manage Team Puerto Rico in tonight's second round of the World Baseball Classic.
Oquendo thought Saturday's honor "long overdue" and regretted that it occurred posthumously. However, Barbara Ricketts believed Dave's low-key personality would have left him uncomfortable with such attention.
"Dave always said, 'I don't take the blame. I don't take the glory,'" Barbara Ricketts remembered.
Ricketts' influence remains profound enough that Molina cited his example in a recent conversation with Chicago Cubs catcher and reigning NL Rookie of the Year Geovany Soto. Molina and Soto are two leading members of Oquendo's Puerto Rican team.
Saturday's ceremony took place before camp swung into high gear. In town as Atlanta Braves bench coach, former Redbird third baseman Terry Pendleton attended, as did Hall of Famers Lou Brock and Red Schoendienst, team chairman Bill DeWitt Jr., general manager John Mozeliak and manager Tony La Russa.
A plaque affixed to the batting facility reads: "For 35 years (1974-2008), Dave Ricketts tutored every catcher in the St. Louis Cardinals organization. His tireless work ethic and mastery of the fundamentals of the position left an indelible mark on countless athletes, from rookies to Rawlings Gold Glove winners such as Tom Pagnozzi, Mike Matheny and Yadier Molina. Dave Ricketts' passion for the great game of baseball and for the men he taught will never be forgotten."
"This was his life," said Barbara Ricketts. "I always understood that. He loved what he did and the people he worked with. This is where he wanted to be."
