JUPITER, Fla. • At precisely 12 noon, as if he planned it, Mike Matheny arrived to spring training on Friday the 12th, beginning his quest for No. 12.
He walked toward the Cardinals’ facility with that assured, slow-stepped cadence of his, as if it wasn’t just noon but high noon. Sure enough, of all the people milling about, there was Bill DeWitt Jr., near the facility’s door. And so, with happenstance significance, the Cardinals chairman was the first to greet the Cardinals manager, united in pursuit of the Cardinals’ 12th World Series championship.
“I look forward to this day, and the first part of spring training, every year,” DeWitt told me.