It had been nine months since he was at Busch Stadium in home whites with a chance to bring home runs and four months since he was in the laboratory of spring training testing his steadier approach, and still the situation that vexed Paul DeJong last season was waiting for him.
Just like he wanted.
In the first inning of the Cardinals’ first intrasquad game of “Summer Camp,” DeJong came to the plate with two runners in scoring position and one out. It was a hitting drill he’d been running over and over for months, and here it was — come to life.