This is the story of the St. Louis Cardinal who never played for the St. Louis Cardinals.
His name is Ed Kurpiel. He is a sweet man. A kind man. Will be married 50 years to Katie next January. He has lived a blessed and beautiful life so far, prioritizing family and fun. Had a bunch of baseball success, too. Even made the majors. But when he arrived, the coffee cup he got was empty.
Kurpiel has the bittersweet distinction of being a “phantom ballplayer.” That is a player who was called up to the majors — in Kurpiel’s case, the Cardinals in 1974 — but never got in a game. This is, understandably so, a rare oddity of baseball. It’s tracked by multiple websites — and in the past 50 years, there have been 51 “phantom ballplayers” in Major League Baseball.
