The reality of getting called up to the big leagues has yet to set in for Cody Stanley. “Not yet, I still have to have my family tell me what’s going on,” admitted Stanley with a smile. “Maybe I’ll wake up before long.”
Last season, Stanley was a Texas League All-Star and spoke about how his complete game was coming together–especially from a leadership standpoint. But even with his handling of the staff–plus 12 home runs and .333 batting average last season, the arrival in St. Louis came sooner than expected for the catcher.
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“I can’t speak for everyone, but for myself, you can’t ever expect to be called up,” said Stanley. “I never expected to get called up, I just want to play as well as I can play and try and do things the right way and hopefully get that opportunity. It certainly came quicker than I thought it would.”
The promotion is obviously the realization of a dream for Stanley, who was greeted by one of the first instructors he met after being drafted by the Cardinals in 2010–Mike Matheny.
“It was super special,” said Stanley of the welcome from his new manager. “I remember when I was in Johnson City, in Rookie Ball…He spent a week down there just kind of teaching us the ropes and showing us how to catch and fine tuning some things.”
“I was able to see some of his first games,” recalled Matheny. “(Cody) really worked hard and watched how he improved and just kind of followed and listened to the things he was doing to fill the gaps.”
Matheny, who is especially hands-on during Spring Training, stays in contact with other young catchers in the Cardinals organization but Stanley represents the first of those he’s worked with to reach the Major League.
“Yeah, I guess I never thought of it that way,” responded Matheny. “Cody was just drafted out of college and hadn’t been in the pro system very long, so he was really a quick study and good student. Was wide open to try and learn some new things and hear about kind of the things that had been taught around here by Dave Ricketts and what this organization expects from its catchers.”
Five years later to have Stanley walk into the Cardinals clubhouse was rewarding for both.
“He walked in and he was beside himself,” said Matheny. “He was ear-to-ear with smiles and you could tell there was a big sense of pride. That’s one of the great rewards of this job and even through the development levels–I know Mike Shildt, every time he gets the chance to go in and have the conversation with a Mitch Harris or somebody that’s coming up for the first time–to deliver that message and know that you were one of the people that invested into him and believed in him and gave him a chance–and they have to respond.
“Same thing happened, I consider, myself with Cody–just kind of keep trying to challenge him and help him patch up his game to where he could be here someday. And help him kind of picture himself being here someday and then to be here for it, it was very rewarding. I’m happy for him.”
Entering Wednesday’s game, Stanley was 1-3 (.333) having singled in his first at-bat.
Listen to St. Louis Baseball Weekly’s full interaction with Mike Matheny about Cody Stanley…
photo credit: Scott Rovak-USA TODAY Sports
