Today, February 24, is a special day for the St. Louis Cardinals.
First base coach and former second baseman Stubby Clapp is celebrating a birthday today.
The Windsor, Canada native is turning 50.
Clapp played just one season in Major League Baseball.
He was a member of the 2001 squad and was a teammate of Albert Pujols during his rookie season.
Last season, he made a name for himself by pulling New York Mets star Pete Alonso to the ground from behind during a benches clearing incident between the two clubs.
On Twitter, Cardinals reporter Jim Hayes wished Clapp a happy birthday and included an image of the first base coach taking down the Mets slugger.
Happy Birthday to Stubby Clapp, the man who took down the big strong guy. #STLCards pic.twitter.com/7UdoIwPqg5
— Jim Hayes (@TheCatOnBallyTV) February 24, 2023
This was certainly a surprising moment during last season.
Alonso is quite strong and possesses great power, while Clapp stands at only 5-foot-8.
But that didn’t matter to Clapp.
He had one goal in mind and he dove in headfirst.
His goal was to take down Alonso.
And in an impressive show of force, Clapp was able to do just that, grabbing the Mets slugger from behind and pulling him down to the ground.
Though Clapp wasn’t a household name during his brief playing career, he was always a well-respected figure in the Cardinals organization.
And with this epic takedown, he became a Cardinals legend and will forever be known as the man who took down Alonso, who is one of the strongest players in all of baseball.
Cardinals fans will certainly get a kick out of this.
Mets fans, not so much.
NEXT: MLB Recalls A Historic Albert Pujols First
