Jim Edmonds Searches for A Pennant in St. Louis

Baseball Digest, July, 2000 by Mike Eisenbath

"I wasn't trying to hit 30 home runs. I was just trying to get the ball up in the air with some back spin."

Ever since, Edmonds has been expected to live up to that 1995 standard. He has come close. He's not satisfied with close.

"I love that expectation," he said. "I want to be an all-around player."

The Cardinals saw that effort, that enthusiasm, that free spirit in the early stages of the season with Edmonds getting more comfortable with his new surroundings.

"I'm new here," he said. "I'm not going to step on anybody's toes. I'm just excited to be here. I'll try to stay low-key and do my job. I'll go about my business and play hard. That's all I'm really trying to do now. There have been some things said that weren't very fair to me. I'm just going to go out there and do everything I can to help this team win the pennant."

Jim Edmonds' Major League Batting Statistics

Ht: 6-1 WT: 212 Bats: left Throws: left Born: June 27, 1970

* Selected by the California Angels organization in the seventh round of the free-agent draft on June 1, 1988.

* Traded by the Angels to the Cardinals on March 23, 2000 for pitcher Kent Bottenfield and infielder Adam Kennedy.

* Won Gold Glove Award as center fielder in 1997 and 1998

Year    Team       AB      H    2B    3B    HR      R    RBI   Avg.

1993    Angels     61     15     4     1     0      5      4   .246
1994    Angels    289     79    13     1     5     35     37   .273
1995    Angels    558    162    30     4    33    120    107   .290
1996    Angels    431    131    28     3    27     73     66   .304
1997    Angels    502    146    27     0    26     82     80   .291
1998    Angels    599    184    42     1    25    115     91   .307
1999    Angels    204     51    17     2     5     34     23   .250