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The Tufts Daily
Where you read it first | Thursday, March 28, 2024

Unlikely heroes rise to prominence in crucial October games

In this year's clash of what are becoming two perennial National League titans, both the St. Louis Cardinals and the Houston Astros have found unlikely heroes to carry their star-studded offenses. Reggie Sanders and Chris Burke, who have both gone overlooked in their respective lineups, have sprung to life in the postseason, coming up with key hits to ensure big wins.

Sanders, who has started in left field for St. Louis for the past two seasons, frequently goes overlooked in a Cardinal outfield with stars Jim Edmonds and Larry Walker.

But in the Cards' NL Divisional Series matchup with the San Diego Padres, it was Sanders who propelled the team's offense, leading the way as the Cardinals swept San Diego in three games. Sanders drove in ten runs - more than any other player in the postseason's first round - and slugged a grand slam in the fifth inning of Game 1.

At the end of Game 3, in which Sanders again came through for St. Louis with a two-run double, he was met by his teammates in the locker room with a celebratory champagne drenching and a raucous chant of "MVP!"

While Sanders may not have been the expected star of the stacked Cardinal offense, this sort of success is nothing new for the 15-year veteran. Sanders is currently playing in his sixth postseason, and his fifth in the past six years.

In the 2001 postseason, Sanders anchored the Arizona Diamondbacks offense in the early going, hitting .357 in a five-game defeat of - ironically - the Cardinals in the first round. The D-Backs went on to win the franchise's first World Series title.

Sanders came out slugging in Game 1 of this year's NLCS as well, blasting a two-run home run off of Andy Pettitte in the first inning. The Cardinals didn't look back, eventually taking home a 5-3 win and an early lead in their quest for another National League pennant.

Burke's emergence from obscurity came as much more of a surprise than Sanders', as the 25-year-old made a name for himself in this year's divisional matchup between the Astros and the Atlanta Braves.

Burke, the Astros' first pick in the 2001 amateur draft, broke into the majors in July of last year, assuming the role of All-Star Jeff Kent's backup at second base. Manager Phil Garner, deeming this role unnecessary in the postseason, left Burke off the Astros' 2004 playoff roster.

With Kent's departure in the offseason and veteran Craig Biggio's move to second base to replace him, Burke began to see regular playing time in 2005, taking Biggio's departed place in left field. He also dabbled in backup roles at second and in center field, and was a frequent pinch hitter for Astros pitchers.

The biggest backup role of Burke's career came in Game Four of the Atlanta series, when he came into the game in the 10th inning as a pinch runner and failed to score. Burke would stay in the game, moving first to center field and then to left, and assuming Lance Berkman's spot - third - in the Astros' batting order.

When Burke stepped to the plate with one out in the bottom of the 18th inning, he was nothing more than 0 for 1 with a walk. But when Burke trotted home seconds later, having ended the longest game in postseason history with a home run, he was instantly an Astro legend.

With the Astros' momentum running high as Houston took on St. Louis in the opening game of the NLCS, Burke again did not disappoint. Just as Sanders had carried St. Louis with the team's only homer in Game 1, Burke was the only Astro to go deep, belting a two-run shot in the seventh, the only blemish on Cardinal ace Chris Carpenter's otherwise stellar night.

It remains to be seen whether these two players can continue to carry their teams through the postseason. And they might not need to, with names like Berkman and Albert Pujols in the lineups. But with some other stars from both teams - most notably Walker for the Cardinals and Jason Lane for Houston - nursing postseason slumps, some unexpected heroics definitely couldn't hurt. And in October, anyone can become a hero.