(Busch Stadium) For the second time in as many days, the St. Louis Cardinals announced a contract extension as outfielder Stephen Piscotty has signed a six-year contract (2017-2022) which includes a club option for the 2023 season.
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“As I think about Mr. Piscotty, one of the things that jumps out at me is that he embodies everything we look for in a player, in a teammate, and in a person,” stated General Manager John Mozeliak.
That was evidenced by Piscotty in his opening comments, who after thanking the Cardinals management, began going through a list of those who had helped him arrive at this point in his career.
“Throughout this process and really since I was drafted in 2012, the Cardinals have always treated me with the utmost respect,” began Piscotty. “I want to thank my agent Brody, the entire CAA sports team for the tremendous work they did in securing this deal with the Cardinals.
“This was a pretty easy decision for me. It came down to the fact that 1. I love this organization and 2. this deal gives myself and my future family financial security.
“I have so many people to thank. I’ll start with my teammates, some of them are here and I really appreciate that.
“I couldn’t ask for a better group of guys to go into battle with–I’m surrounded by winners, competitors, and outright studs. I get better just by being around you guys, so thank you. Also, this team this year is special and I think everybody got a glimpse of that last night. Look out for this team this year.
“To my family, I love you. Thank you for the support you continue to give me. To my girlfriend Carrie, thank you for the love and healthy distraction you provide me off the field. To my friends back home, thank you so much for your constant encouragement.
“I pride myself on two things 1. being a competitor and 2. being very coachable.
“I learned…(pause)…I learned competitiveness from having two younger brothers. All we did as kids was play ball in the backyard and I never wanted to get beat by my younger brothers. But they were good and always gave me a fight. To this day, I channel that competitive–I used it last night and I will use it tomorrow. It has helped me get to this point, so Nick and Austin thank you.
“It’s extremely hard to make it in this game alone, being coachable is something that I always stress to young kids. I want to thank all the coaches who have helped to shape my career, there are so many of you. This moment is a product of the outstanding guidance that I’ve received throughout those years.
“My dad was an incredible coach and still is. I can’t think of a time in my life when he wasn’t coaching me in some way. And while my mom wasn’t a coach on the field, she absolutely was a coach off the field–a life coach. To my parents, thank you and I love you.
“I’ll finish with this. To the fans, you guys are the best, hands down. We want to give you a lot to cheer about and I’m so excited about my future here in St. Louis. Thank you.”
Piscotty joins Yadier Molina, who reached a 3-year extension yesterday, as well as Matt Carpenter, Brett Cecil, Dexter Fowler, Jedd Gyorko, Mike Leake, Carlos Martinez, and Kolten Wong as current Cardinals that are under contract through at least the 2020 season.
Last season, Piscotty hit .273 with 22 home runs and 85 runs batted in–10 of those were game winning RBIs, which was tops on the team.
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