Ten years ago Wednesday, even your goosebumps got goosebumps.
In the 11th inning, in the 11th hour, the quest for “11 in ‘11” was kept alive by 11 magical letters: D-a-v-i-d F-r-e-e-s-e.
When he homered to win Game 6, exuberance was experienced by everybody — it was out of a movie, it was out-of-body. But as we look back at the celebration from October 27, 2011, everyone’s everything was encapsulated by one body.
That of backup catcher Gerald Laird.
His glorious glee is part of St. Louis lore. A decade later, both Cardinals fans and 2011 Cardinals players refer to a cheering Laird, hopping out the dugout, high-stepping it toward home plate and then leaping forward — into the arms of no one.
“It just shows pure joy, you know?” said Jon Jay, Laird’s 2011 teammate. “Something that’s not planned. It just happens, spontaneously. And it came out awesome.”
That night, everyone was Gerald Laird; Gerald Laird was every one of you. Freese’s walk-off homer forced a Game 7 against the Rangers — Joe Buck said he would “see you tomorrow night” … and, indeed, the Cardinals won the World Series the next night.
“We’re big leaguers, but we’re kids at heart,” said Laird, 41, who played until 2015. “And when you work so hard, and you finally get to that moment to win a game? It doesn’t matter if it’s you or your teammates who did it, the kid comes out in you.
“That moment, I still hear about it. My parents will bring it up. It was just like I was back in a Little League game that we won. We wanted a Game 7 — this is what you played for your whole life. My family calls it the ‘Leaping Laird’ or something like that. Like my dad says, ‘It shows how much you enjoy it.’”
Gerald Lee Laird was a stud athlete — a second-round pick out of high school, he cracked the majors in 2003 and played 15 years in the bigs. But by 2011, he was a thirtysomething who had the look of a regular, relatable guy. On the Cardinals’ roster that year, the 6-foot-1 backstop was listed at 230 pounds.
Laird only played in 37 games that year — just 95 at-bats wearing the birds on the bat — but his impact was made by “immeasurables.” To this day, the guys from that club gush about this almost Gashouse Gang-like gumbo of personalities. There was Lance Berkman, “The Big Puma,” and Nick Punto, “The Shredder.” Rafael Furcal and Ryan Theriot, Octavio Dotel and the injured yet ever-present Adam Wainwright. And, of course, there was the gent who went by “G-Money.”
“Just the fun and laughter he brought to that clubhouse that year was really important,” teammate Daniel Descalso said of Laird.
October 27, 2011. You know the story. The Cardinals were down 3-2 in the series, down two runs in the game and down to their final strike in the season. The Texas Rangers fans, like St. Louis Blues fans would feel eight years later, were on the brink of their first-ever championship. And then, David Freese tripled. The jolt inside you might’ve felt like an electric volt. Two runs scored.
Game 6 was tied. Game 6 was still a game.
More humans became heroes. Josh Hamilton with his homer, Berkman with his hit.
And by the bottom of the 11th inning, Game 6 was tied, again. This time, 9-9.
As David Freese hit the ball into the St. Louis night, his teammates erupted from the first-base dugout. One Fox camera angle perfectly captured Laird. What happened next — beginning at 2:48 on the MLB’s official YouTube video of the homer — was wonderfully delightful.
Wearing a red hoodie and his white uniform pants, Laird shoots horizontally onto the field and shoot his arms vertically, while high-stepping his knees, as if barefoot on hot coals. He sprints toward Descalso and jumps into him, perhaps Leprechaun-like, but sort of bounces off him. Laird spots starting catcher Yadier Molina jumping near home plate. But as Yadi soars past him, Laird suddenly takes off into the air.
“The Michael Jordan leap?” Punto recalled. “Incredible, right? You didn’t know he was that athletic!”
But it wasn’t exactly Jordan’s Jumpman. It was quintessentially Laird. He jumped forward, arms outstretched, while his legs kicked back in mid-air. His mouth was open as wide as a strike zone. It looked like he was heading into someone’s arms, but he was headed toward no one, so he landed and bumped into, of all people, Descalso again. And then, Gerald just kept jumping, while awaiting the hometown hero to come home.
“His little ballerina leap, I think it just characterizes everything,” teammate Kyle McClellan said. “At that moment, you just don’t care. We’ve played for so long — and so hard — for that moment. And you just turn into little kids. I think that epitomizes his personality. He was such a big part of that team — one of those types of guys that played such great roles. I think that’s a good characteristic of him and how he helped our team that year.”
Laird lives in Arizona, where he coaches youth baseball. He loves sharing his experience. And his stories. When he visited St. Louis in September for the 10-year reunion, he felt transported back to the clubhouse from a decade prior.
“I don’t think there’s another team that could have did what we did,” Laird said. “I just think the personalities, the character we had on this team. And the Freese homer was just a great moment. And to this day, when they have it on MLB Network, I still get goosebumps.”
