MEMPHIS, Tenn. • As part of the pregame ceremony Monday night at AutoZone Park, the Cardinals’ Class AAA affiliate had the three former Redbirds managers now on the major-league staff throw out a first pitch. Catching the throw from Stubby Clapp, the Cardinals’ new first-base coach, was John Brebbia, who in 2017 became the first player Clapp told he’d been promoted the majors.
The righthanded reliever was optioned six times in 2018 and told by Clapp, the Redbirds’ manager this past season, six times that he was headed back to the majors. Brebbia and teammate Mike Mayers were frequent riders on the Interstate 55 shuttle between the Cardinals’ top affiliate and the Cardinals’ bullpen.