The Hidden and Not So Hidden Awesome Stuff to do in St. Louis

It has been a little while since I wrote the last piece, between March Madness and my laptop going out I hope you will cut me some slack. However since I have been absent from writing I have been doing some pretty awesome stuff, the Anything But Credible guys had me back on for a new episode you can check out and make sure to check out their new website to! I have also had the chance to do some pretty cool stuff around STL that gave me the idea for this topic. With the weather about to change this is the time where STL comes alive with a ton of awesome stuff to do, from street festivals to concerts to Cardinals games I am going to give a look at some of the cool attractions the city has to offer.

The Not So Hidden Attractions:

1. City Museum: Located at 750 N. 16th Street in downtown St. Louis, the City Museum is one of the coolest places you can go. It is basically a giant playground made from recycled materials that is perfect for kids and adults. If you live in STL and have never been you are not a true St. Louisian, if you are from out of town this needs to be on your list of places to visit. The City Museum offers an indoor and outdoor area to climb around and explore, going in the summer is optimal so you can enjoy both. I have been to a number of times and I guarantee I have not experienced the whole place, I have witnessed 50 year old men climbing around on their hands and knees with their kids following right behind. From the 10 story slide to the enchanted caves it is a place you have to visit, it is impossible to explain in words just how awesome this place is. https://www.citymuseum.org/

2. Busch Stadium and Ballpark Village: "Welcome to baseball heaven!" are some of the first words you will hear when you enter the ballpark and it is no surprise. The stadium is beautifully built and is relatively new so taking in a game is one of the best things to do during the season. There is always something going on at the ballpark as well with tons of cool giveaways and theme nights on the schedule. Get some tickets, sit back with a cold frosty one, and enjoy one of the best sports around. https://www.mlb.com/cardinals/ballpark

After the game walk right across the street and keep the party going at Ballpark Village. Built on the grounds of Busch Stadium II you can enjoy multiple bars or take in a concert during the winter. BPV is always hopping and you are guaranteed to have a good time, during the day you can check out the Cardinals Museum which gives you an in-depth look at the history of the Cardinals organization.
http://www.stlballparkvillage.com/

3. Six Flags: A quick 30 minute drive from the city, you can be riding roller coasters and enjoying the lazy river at Hurricane Harbor all located insider Six Flags. My family and I go to Six Flags at least once a year, we don't even go to Hurricane Harbor and we are there all day riding all the rides. They have numerous roller coasters, water rides to cool you off from the hot STL summer, games, and attractions to take in. Six Flags is always adding new rides to, so if you haven't been recently it's time to go back! https://www.sixflags.com/stlouis

4. St. Louis Arch: If you have never visited St. Louis, then you have to head down to the Arch grounds to check out this historic landmark. Built in the 1960's the Arch is something you have to see to believe and with the newly renovated grounds it is a beautiful place to go for the afternoon. You can buy a ticket and take a tram to the top of the Arch, the view will blow you away. You can see for miles and miles through windows located at the top and get some really cool pictures. After your tram ride you can enjoy the interactive exhibits which show you how the Arch was constructed and a little background on the landmark itself. This is a must see if you have never done it before. https://www.gatewayarch.com/

5. Forest Park: Art Museum, Zoo, Science Center, Golf Course, History Museum, numerous lakes, The Muny; Forest Park has it all. Check out one of the largest urban parks in the country which is  500 acres larger then Central Park in New York! Play some golf and walk over to the Zoo and see one of the best attractions in the whole country. With new exhibits at the Art and History museums you are guaranteed to see something cool every time you go. Want to catch a musical? Check out what the Muny is putting on and go enjoy yourself. Or want to go to a music festival? Come to STL in September and go to Loufest, a 2 day music festival that featured Weezer, Snoop Dogg, and Cage the Elephant last year. It was awesome last year and we can't wait to see who will be there this year.
https://www.forestparkforever.org/

6. Ted Drewes: After your adventures in STL, stop by Ted Drewes and enjoy the best frozen custard you will ever have that's a promise. Around since the 1930s they serve thousands, maybe millions of customers every year with their frozen custard. When friends come from out of town it is a staple of every visit and they always ask if we can go back, with a number of menu items, flavors, and toppings you will never run out of options. http://teddrewes.com/






The Hidden Attractions: 

1. St. Louis Curling Club: My wife and I went to the Creve Couer Ice Rink a few weekends ago for a "learn to curl" session. It was the most fun 2 hours we have had in a while, you get paired up with an experienced curler and they teach you the game. From scoring to strategy to how to throw the stone you get the full experience and even get to play a game against some other people in the training session. It was so much fun I have registered for a league and can't wait to start playing. If you are looking for a fun way to spend a few hours I highly recommend taking a "learn to curl" session.
http://www.stlouiscurlingclub.org/

2. The Axe House: Located in Valley Park this is a hole in the wall type place you can go to throw (you guessed it) AXES! The weekend before curling we went to the axe house and had an absolute blast. You get a quick tutorial from an experience axe thrower and then you are on your own throwing axes at targets. There are a bunch of games you can play or you can just throw the axes to work on your form. Not only do they have numerous types of axes you can throw they also have ninja stars and knives in case you want to try something new. The Axe House also has leagues you can join and they are pretty intense from what we saw. This was another awesome way to spend a few hours and get some frustration out if you need to. https://theaxehousestl.com/

3. Route 66 Park: Get out and enjoy the best mother nature has to offer! A beautiful 400+ acre state park with multiple bike and walking trails you can really get lost in nature out here. Want to bring your horse out for a ride? Go ahead there a trails for horseback riding as well. Fish for bass, catfish, panfish, and trout in the Missouri River while you are at the park. Keep an eye out for wildlife as well, you might spot some deer, various bird species and other wildlife in the park. https://mostateparks.com/park/route-66-state-park

4.World Bird Sanctuary and Lone Elk Park: Did you know you can see Elk and Bison in St. Louis? Head out to Lone Elk Park and drive through to see these magnificent creatures and walk the trails located in the park to get some exercise as well. It is a really neat place to visit if you have never seen some of these animals before and it is right in our backyard! After you enjoy Lone Elk head over to the World Bird Sanctuary and see some of the birds they have. They are responsible for taking in injured or sick birds, nursing them back to health, and releasing them back to the wild. However, these are not your normal everyday birds, they have owls, eagles, hawks, and falcons just to name a few species. They have classes and other materials to teach you about the birds and why they are so important to the world. http://www.worldbirdsanctuary.org/    https://www.stlouisco.com/parksandrecreation/parkpages/loneelk

5. Ambush and St. Louis FC: Have you ever been to a professional soccer game? If not St. Louis has two styles to offer: indoor soccer and outdoor. The Ambush are the professional indoor soccer team of St. Louis and their games are an absolute blast. I highly recommend checking them out if you have never been before. Constant entertainment and non-stop action are a few words that come to mind when I think about Ambush soccer. St. Louis FC is in the United Soccer League, which could be described as the Division II league to the MLS. These games are located at Worldwide Technology Soccer Park and have a great atmosphere with the St. Louligans getting the crowd fired up for the games. If you have never been to a professional soccer game I recommend check out St. Louis FC to take in a game. http://www.stlambush.com/                  https://www.saintlouisfc.com/

There are a few great places I hope you will check out whether you live in STL or are just planning to visit. I could write an extremely long post on all the attractions STL has to offer but I don't think everyone would read it for that long. Check out these places and let me know some of your favorite places to visit!

The Tragic End of Three 2012 Futures

On July 8th 2012, the future stars of Major League Baseball descended upon Kaufmann stadium in Kansas City. Both rosters were packed full of big names, bright futures, and dreams of changing some team's fortunes. The USA roster included the likes of Gerrit Cole (Pirates), Nolan Arenado (Rockies), Manny Machado (Orioles), Kolten Wong (Cardinals), Wil Myers (Royals); among many other hopeful names. The World roster consisted of Oscar Taveras (Cardinals), Yordano Ventura (Royals), Jose Fernandez (Marlins), Xander Bogaerts (Red Sox), Francisco Lindor (Indians); just to name a few. The final score was 17-5 in favor of the USA however the score was as relevant as the storyline of a Jason Statham movie. The main takeaway of the game was the future of the MLB was extremely bright. Three of those futures were ended much to soon in three different accidents.

Oscar Taveras was killed at the age of 22 in a car accident in his home country of the Dominican Republic. This accident also took the life of his girlfriend, Edilia Arvelo. Taveras' blood alcohol content was five times the legal limit at the time of the accident. Jose Fernandez was killed at the age of 24 in a boating accident in Florida along with two of his friends. Fernandez was legally drunk and cocaine was found in his system at the time of the accident. This past week another tragedy struck in the Dominican; Yordano Ventura was killed in a car accident at the age of 25. 

In the short time these three played in the Futures Game, you could tell all three had star potential. Yordano was the starting pitcher for the World Team in what would become his home stadium in Kansas City. He only pitched one inning but it was a clean inning; he then gave way for Fernandez to pitch. Jose also only had one inning but got two of his three outs by way of the strikeout; which would become a major part in his short pitching career. 

After the Futures Game all three players eventually made it up to the big leagues; Jose and Yordano in 2013, and Oscar in 2014. When Oscar was called up he was the second ranked prospect in baseball. He played in 80 games for the Cardinals with three homeruns and a .239 average; the numbers seem pedestrian but there were many flashes of his brilliance. In his first game Oscar hit a towering home run against the San Francisco Giants. In one of his final at bats, Taveras hit a game tying home run in the 7th inning of Game Two of the NLCS, once again against the Giants. When Jose Fernandez was brought up to the big leagues he immediately dominated batters and made it look easy while doing it. He was the 2013 Rookie of the Year and made two All-Star Game appearances in his young career. He was 38-17 in his career with a 2.58 ERA and that came with two seasons where he made a combined 19 appearances. He was always smiling, loved the game, and never let a moment pass him by. Yordano Ventura only made 3 appearances in 2013, however he started leaving his mark on the league in 2014. He was a starter for the Royals in 2014 and brought his fiery personality every time he took the mound. His career numbers were 38-31 with a 3.89 ERA but he will be remembered for a few other moments. In only his second start he threw one of the hardest pitches every recorded for a starting pitcher when he struck out David Freese with a 102.9 mph fastball. He was the winning pitcher in Game 6 of the 2014 World Series while honoring Taveras on his hat and cleats. While the Royals would lose that World Series they would get another chance in 2015 and Yordano would become a World Champ. 

All three of these young players had extremely bright futures and their lives were tragically cut short. When something like this happens with athletes or Hollywood stars it brings awareness around to these issues for a little while. However these tragic moments should remind all of us just how fragile life is and that these accidents occur everyday. It should make us take a step back and be sure everyone is reminded how important life is and that nothing is guaranteed. These three young men have also shown us to love what you do and to live your life to the fullest. All three of them showed an inspiring love for the game and for life. R.I.P Oscar, Jose, and Yordano; thank you for sharing your passion with us. 

Cardinals at the Break

As promised here is my take on the Cardinals at the MLB All-Star Break:

My take on the Cardinals changes every 2 weeks; they win 5 or 6 games in a row then go on a terrible losing streak and lose 7 or 8 in a row. They are an extremely tough team to gauge and I have flipped flopped on what I think they should do in the second half after a weird first half of the season. Part of me wants to say blow the team up except for a few core guys and go into a rebuild mode, while the other part of me says we are 41-44 and only 5.5 games back of the NL Central lead. The NL Central has been extremely bad this year, but I still believe the Cubs are the team to beat even with how bad they have played lately. They have dealt with a lot of injuries and a lot of guys not playing the way they should, which usually evens out in the course of 162 games.

I really like what the Cardinals have done lately however, they called up a few of the players from Memphis who have been dominating in AAA. Now I am not sure if these call-ups had to do with guys like Dexter Fowler, Kolten Wong, and Kevin Siegrist getting hurt and going to the disabled list. This opens up a roster spot for Luke Voit, Alex Mejia, John Brebbia, and Tommy Pham but all of these players have had solid contributions for the big league club. The Cardinals finally got rid of Jhonny Peralta and sent Aledmys Diaz down to the minors after his struggles which opened the door for some of this younger talent to emerge. The real question is what happens when Wong, Fowler, and Siegrist all get healthy? Or when Diaz starts hitting again in the minors? The front office is going to have some extremely tough decisions to make regarding who gets sent back down until rosters expand in September.

I am not a fan of the Cardinals coaching staff and believe this is some of the reason for the up and down season we are having. Our hitters and pitchers have struggled with a few exceptions but when they get sent down they start excelling again. We bring them back up they do well for a few weeks then they fall right back in the same problems they had before. For me this falls on the coaching staff not being properly prepared and willing to work with some of the younger talent the Cardinals have. In my opinion the Cards need to shop some of their guys around and see what they can get from other teams looking to bolster their roster. We have always been a team of aging, proven players that does not like to give roster spots to some of our younger talent. In  my opinion, the Cardinals have a decent farm system but nothing that jumps off the screen. Why not see what guys like Jedd Gyorko, Lance Lynn, or even Matt Carpenter are worth? If you can get a haul of some decent prospects for these guys it would definitely intrigue me. However I am sure the Cardinals will stand pat at the deadline and try to make the playoffs with the team they have and see what happens. Once you get in the playoffs anything is possible.