Before heading to his first Cardinals’ Winter Warm-up where his autograph would be in demand, Sonny Gray tried to work out a trade for a teammate’s Topps baseball card, and he was unsure Saturday if he pulled off the deal.
It’s a limited-edition Topps Heritage card, No. 97 of 98 made said the owner, and it features Gray’s new catcher Willson Contreras.
But in his Cubs gear, added the card’s owner.
And the owner is driving a hard bargain.
Gunnar Gray isn’t just going to give it to his dad.
“He’s asking for …,†Sonny said. “I tried to give him a signed Sonny Gray card.â€
Gunnar shook his head.
He’s got a hookup for those.
The Cardinals’ new leader of the rotation shared the press-conference podium Saturday with his son Gunnar, 8, and did more than talk about baseball cards. Sonny Gray, runnerup for the American League Cy Young Award this past season with the Twins, described how it felt to be at his first Winter Warm-up and what it meant for him to share it and ºüÀêÊÓƵ with his family. It was his wife who urged him to consider the Cardinals this past November despite being further along in negotiations with at least two other teams. Gray sported a khaki-colored Cardinals cap throughout the day — the only player to wear an STL cap into Saturday’s press conferences — and he spoke about the appeal of being with a historic organization.
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As he prepares for spring training, Gray threw off a mound Tuesday and Friday of this past week, and later Friday tried to swing that deal for who he’ll be throwing to this season.
“I didn’t trade (for) it?†Sonny said.
Gunnar shook his head.
During an appearance . Gunnar got his father’s card in a pack during the filming, and Declan asked if he could get it signed. Gunnar told MLB’s Carded that one of his favorite things about baseball cards is their back, where he can see how long someone has played in the majors.
“I got an Albert Pujols,†he explained. “I can’t believe he’s played on the Cardinals twice.â€
Sonny explained that he introduced his kids to baseball cards as a way to encourage them to get to know the players in the clubhouse. Break out a pack, break the ice. When Pat Neshek was with the Cardinals he organized signing parties around packs of Topps cards at spring training, gathering up teammates to respond to cards sent to them in the mail or open up new packs provided by the baseball card company. In the Twins’ clubhouse, some of the players’ kids would roam around ready with a card for an autograph. Gunnar would spot players as they entered the clubhouse, quickly shuffle through his fistful of cards, and then “beeline†to get a signature, Sonny told MLB’s Carded.
“Once they got that first one signed, they were incredible hooked,†he said.
And now here he is doing the same.
Trying to get a Contreras card as he gets to know Contreras.
Since signing a three-year, $75-million deal with the Cardinals, Gray has continued working out with new teammates Steven Matz and James Naile. He’s talked a few times with once and current teammate Lance Lynn, as well as pitching coach Dusty Blake and manager Oliver Marmol. Gray said he’s had time chatting with first baseman Paul Goldschmidt as well. Three or four times already this winter, Contreras and Gray have talked. Gray said it’s only natural because “it will be a lot of newness to both of us.â€
“From what I’ve heard and from conversations I’ve had with everybody, he’s a highly, highly competitive guy — which I like,†Gray said. “We’ll be right on the same page with that. He seems to be high energy, which I like. Conversations have been great. He seems to want to work, seems to want to get better, seems to want to learn, and every time we talk, he’s looking forward to bringing a championship back to ºüÀêÊÓƵ.â€
When Contreras signed with the Cardinals this past offseason, he requested reports on all of the pitchers, their tendencies, their stuff, and some of their struggles. He asked for video so that he could watch the pitchers ahead of reporting to spring training, and then once in spring training … well, he saw so few of them. The World Baseball Classic kept a handful of the Cardinals’ leading pitchers, including Miles Mikolas and Adam Wainwright, away from camp for a stretch, and Contreras did not log those innings.
This spring, he’ll have three new additions to the rotation – Gray, Lynn, and veteran Kyle Gibson. And they will all be starting in the same place together.
In their talks, Gray said he and Contreras have not plunged into the details of his repertoire or sequencing or mound habits. Gray will share photos of his children, exchange details about their families, and, yes, talk about chasing a championship together as Cardinals. The conversations have been more personal than pitching.
“I think it starts there,†Gray said. “If you don’t understand the person, and you don’t understand the background of the person, you don’t understand who the person is, then how are you expected to have a great working relationship with that person? I think it’s very important.â€
At spring training, there’s plenty of time to talk pitching.
And likely a chance for Gunnar to get that Contreras’ Topps Heritage card signed.
Imagine what his dad will have to offer to get it then.
“He’s tough,†the father said. “He’s tough.â€
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