Katie Woo | St. Louis Cardinals Reporter, The Athletic

Angie's list is now Angie, and we've heard a lot of theories about why. I thought it was an eco move. Fewer words, less paper. It was so you could say it faster. No, it's to be more iconic. Must be a tech thing.

But those aren't quite right. It's because now you can compare upfront prices, book a service instantly, and even get your project handled from start to finish. Sounds easy. It is, and it makes us so much more than just a list.

Get started at angie.com. That's A-N-G-I, or download the app today. One, two, three, four. Those are numbers, but you already knew that. If you want to know what number you're going to pay each month for your car, use Kelly Blue Book My Wallet on AutoTrader. They're really good at numbers.

AutoTrader. Plug in a Hyundai EV and the extraordinary happens. It's not just the ultra fast charging capability and long range in the IONIQ 5 and IONIQ 6, or the adventure seeking spirit of the Kona electric, or the groundbreaking 601 horsepower IONIQ 5N. And it's not just the comfort in knowing that every Hyundai EV is backed by a 10-year, 100,000 mile limited electric battery warranty. Hyundai's EVs transform a low hum into a loud adventure. They bring color to your journey and turn energy into main character energy. So forget everything you thought you knew about EVs and turn the extraordinary into something truly electrifying.

There's joy in every journey. EPA estimated 303 mile driving range for 2024 IONIQ 5 SE SEL limited rear wheel drive and 361 mile driving range for 2024 IONIQ 6 SE long range rear wheel drive with fully charged battery. Estimated range varies for other models and trims and depends on battery capacity, temperature options and other factors. Limited battery warranty covers defects and materials for 10 years or 100,000 miles, whichever occurs first. See owner's manual for complete warranty details and limitations.

Visit hondausa.com or call 562-314-4603 for more details. We're pleased to welcome Katie Wu, who is an insider for the St. Louis Cardinals and the athletic and is in Birmingham after a couple days of festivities. Katie, how would you describe what you just experienced tonight? It's still so surreal. I think it was maybe the most impactful and powerful experience I've had in the ballpark. I mean, just to be at Brickwood Field, the history entrenched in this ballpark, uh, the players here that were so, so critical and not just Negro league history, but baseball history to see baseball come together and really give these players and give this city, this ballpark, their flowers.

Uh, it's honestly, it's left me a little bit at a loss for words. I just, I am so thankful for this opportunity to be here and I'm grateful that MLB decided to do this because I really think what ultimately their goal was, and I do think they've achieved this is introducing a brand new era or a brand new encyclopedia, if you will, of baseball history to the casual baseball fans. And stars showed up from everywhere. I thought it was amazing that Barry Bonds was there. We don't see a lot of him anymore, but he felt like he needed to be there. Others like Ken Griffey Jr., who were a couple of baseball stars that you encountered and that you thought it was really neat that they were on hand? Well, I think, you know, just growing up in the Bay Area, seeing Barry Bonds there was surreal.

I actually saw him in the bathroom prior at lunch, so that was a cool experience. Um, you know, everywhere I went, it seemed that there was a prominent black player, former black player, prominent voice in baseball around. You probably saw Reggie Jackson, Cece Sabathia, Dexter Fowler, Adam Jones, and I was talking with Cardinals coach Willie McGee, who absolutely deserves to be in those groups of people, and he said that was one of his favorite parts, was to see how many different eras of black baseball was at the ballpark. And I think, again, that's what this whole event is about, is celebrating those players and what they've done for baseball. I was talking to Cece Sabathia on Wednesday, and he basically said, you know, he considers Rickwood Fields the birth of black baseball, and you could really feel that celebration.

Again, the history, the spirit, the fervor here comes to life on the field, talking from all the Cardinals players to the coaches to just random people in the stands. Not one single person had anything negative to say about this experience. It truly was, I think for me, you know, a once in a lifetime event. I actually got a tour of the place when it was empty, so happened to be in Birmingham for another work assignment, showed up there knowing the history, and the caretaker was outside and asked me and a friend if we would like to see the inside.

So I saw it with no people in it, which was pretty powerful. If you're describing Rickwood Field and the atmosphere tonight to someone who's never heard about it, what would you say about that old ballpark with all its character? Yeah, that's a great question, and part of the reason why I got here early was that I could just be able to walk around the ballpark and experience some of that history, and so you walk in through the patented green walls at the front. Rickwood Field is painted out in full letters on the front of the ballpark, and they actually still have six of the original ticket counters, bus offices, from 1910. And that's the first thing you see, and that kind of just got me in my tracks, and I was like, wow, it's 1910, you know, over 100 years ago, and it's still here. And the way that they've commemorated this field and turned it into a place of history, but also a fully functioning baseball field, was terrific. There was obviously a makeshift fence, but I actually was able to go behind the field and see the original wall that was built again in 1910, and the dimensions in center field were crazy. I was 478 feet, Amy, can you believe that? I kind of wish they would have kept it for the game just to see, but I was able to, you know, go up and actually touch the wall, and it's stuff like that when you're in a historic place that makes you feel connected toward a little bit more, and you know, I know the players felt connected out there.

I certainly did too in that moment. Katie Wu is a Cardinals insider for the athletic Cardinals Giants at Rickwood Field, a celebration of the Negro Leagues, and we're so excited to have her back on the show here after hours with Amy Lawrence. When this celebration was first planned, of course it was intended that Willie Mays would be there, a guy who grew up in the area, played his first baseball as a teenager at Rickwood Field. What did you hear about him tonight from the men who were there? Nothing but great things.

Is there anything else to say? Willie Mays, I mean, for me, I grew up a Giants fan, and if you grew up in San Francisco, you know Willie Mays, it's a rite of passage, and that rings true throughout baseball. So, to be able to just hear everyone's different stories, what I loved about the stories is they were all completely different, but they have the same theme, and it was that Willie Mays was kind, and he really cared about you.

He didn't care about relaying what he did in his career. He cared about the conversations with the people that he met, and I think that is just a remarkable legacy to leave. During the pregame ceremony, Ken Griffey Jr., Barry Bonds is God's son of four, and his son Michael Mays came out, and there was a special tribute to Willie, and his son said, you know, that he had talked about doing anything he could to be here for that night, but he found a different way to be here. So, people were on their feet, and he said something that will stick with me for a very long time.

His son said, you're already on your feet. You might as well let him hear you because he's listening, and you could just feel that kind of, of course, throughout the ballpark, that moment, it was really powerful, and I thought it was the perfect way to honor Willie, not with a moment of silence, but with a moment of celebration, and I think that's exactly what he deserved. A great moment, and another moment I love from pregame, and actually caused me to tear up, was the former Cardinal. In fact, the first black pitcher who pitched for the Cardinals, Bill Griesen, at 99 years old, was a teammate of Willie Mays. He's standing up there by himself, and he throws out the ceremonial first pitch. I will admit, I had not heard his story before, but now I am captivated, Katie. And isn't that the whole purpose of this game, right? I'm so glad you said that because now so many people are going to go home and be familiar with Bill Griesen's story, and this is a person, you know, I'm a professional baseball writer, and I was unaware of just how much significance he had in his career.

Exactly, I think this game is doing exactly what it was designed to do, to educate and promote another era of history. What a cool moment that was for Reverend Griesen. He's from Birmingham. He's been a pastor here for over 50 years. I was talking to Willie McGee, who had the honor of escorting him onto the field, and he said, you know, I didn't even know he was 99 because he didn't look like it, that he was able to throw the ball to Ron Tisley Jr., the son of Ron Tisley, another Negro League player. It was, I think, everything about this had symbolism, had meaning, and the best thing about this is that even though the game is over, there's so much to do.

There's so much to learn about, you know, it's never ending, and I'm looking forward to doing exactly that when I get back to St. Louis. Today's modern-day Cardinals, what do they have to say about being part of this occasion? Mason Wynn, their young, talented, 22-year-old shortstop, and the lone black player in either starting lineup was all about this event. He said pregame that it was very emotional experience for a stepdad to be here, and that had stepped out, would probably tear up, and as he was talking, he said, you know, I might tear up too.

I mean, he grew up on a little league team called the Negro League Legends, and now here he is playing shortstop at Rickwood Field in 2024. I was talking to Ryan Halsey, the closer, tonight, and he talked about how electric the atmosphere was. Everyone was beaming about this event.

I will remember Mason Wynn's energy and how it much meant to him for a very long time because you could see it, a real-life dream play out, and the history impacted on someone, but even at just 22, has obviously been impacted by so many things that we were here for. Everywhere all around, whether it was players, media members, fans, MLB personnel, I think would consider it as an overwhelming success. Katie Wu is with us from Birmingham covering the Cardinals and the Giants at Rickwood Field, but really the game becoming a secondary part of this incredible occasion.

It's after hours with Amy Lawrence. Have you been elsewhere in Birmingham where they have honored Willie Mays? I was here Wednesday night at the celebrity softball game, and that was an event in itself. Very light-hearted, very fun, but of course some time to recognize Willie, and one thing that I really liked was that the hall of fame, MLB's hall of fame, brought Willie Mays's plaque from Cooperstown to the event. It's the first time his plaque has left the hall of fame since he was enshrined in 1979, and the plaque event set up for maybe 10 minutes, and I look around and the line to take a photo with it is already out the door, and it stayed that way for two days straight. I did take a picture of course, but I thought that was just very cool for the hall to make those accommodations because as their president Josh Rawitch was telling me, given the circumstances, he doesn't think there's any place more suited for that plaque to be than where it was tonight. You know what this reminded me of a little bit, and certainly a different tone to this because of the Negro Leagues and Willie Mays, but it reminded me of how baseball adored that trip to Iowa to be at the field of dreams, and how much the guys who participated in it were really swept away by it.

This seems to have that flavor, but also with the bittersweet tone. Yes, absolutely. I think, you know, there's celebration, there's commemoration, but there's also a deep, deep understanding of just how flawed the past was in this regard. I mean, Reggie Jackson was very candid on the Fox broadcast about the experiences he had here, and you know, we focus a lot about the history, and naturally we try to think of like the history being positive or the like significance behind it, but there are some deep-rooted, unfortunate, very discouraging things that happen here that also need to be recognized and remembered so that we can move past it, and we can recognize the sacrifices or the trials and tribulations that last players faced in the Negro Leagues, and sometimes still face to this day. So yes, I think while the celebration was wonderful, and I think everyone enjoyed their time, there was an underlying meaning to this game as well that I think delivers even more importance.

I did love the joy. It felt like even through the TV, obviously you're there, there was such great joy, and often it feels like Major League Baseball, their decisions, they can't get out of their own way, but this was, if you will, a home run. It captivated everyone who was there, whether fans, media, players, as you point out, and I said to my husband, how much it matters to me that these men who've been either ignored or forgotten for so long in the baseball world finally had the chance to be honored.

Absolutely, I think you nailed it. You know, Major League Baseball did, in my opinion, not just went out of the park, and to see these players get their flowers, get their due, it wasn't that they necessarily wanted it, although I'm sure they did, but they deserved it. You know, they've earned this, and for far too long, they have been forgotten, and they've played such an instrumental part in baseball history.

I hope this is just one of many steps that MLB takes to further promote the Negro Leagues and the history of all of their baseball players. Did it feel like they were enjoying it as they came out on the field and had a chance to mingle with some of the current players? Oh, absolutely, and you know, there was an event this morning that many Cardinals and Giants coaches and staff attended at the Negro Southern Leagues Museum downtown, and that's something that Willie McGee was telling me that really moved him, was to be able to sit down and have conversations with these players and ask them, what was it really like? You know, how many games did you win? What was it like playing against the Caucasian team?

Was it as bad as what we hear in terms of the things that they have to deal with? All these things that are so accessible for Major League Baseball, there are not a lot of people telling Negro League stories, and this is an opportunity for many, many players to share those stories, and hopefully, again, it's just the beginning, and we can learn, continue to learn from all of these experiences, because I know just talking to Willie McGee for five minutes, I could tell how blown away he was from that experience. Well, you got to find Katie on Twitter at Katie J Wu, W-O-O, because she's got some great photos from her time in Birmingham.

A story to tell about the game as well, but really this is about the occasion, the honor, and the Negro Leagues getting their day, and hopefully one that, as you point out, doesn't become just an offshoot, but is something that's integrated now for baseball. She's with the athletic. We're always excited to have her here on the show. Katie, thank you so much for a couple minutes.

Amy, thanks so much. I enjoyed it. Plug in a Hyundai EV and the extraordinary happens. It's not just the ultra-fast charging capability and long range in the IONIQ 5 and IONIQ 6, or the adventure-seeking spirit of the Kona Electric, or the groundbreaking 601 horsepower IONIQ 5N, and it's not just the comfort in knowing that every Hyundai EV is backed by a 10-year, 100,000-mile limited electric battery warranty. Hyundai's EVs transform a low hum into a loud adventure. They bring color to your journey and turn energy into main character energy. So forget everything you thought you knew about EVs and turn the extraordinary into something truly electrifying.

There's joy in every journey. EPA estimated 303-mile driving range for 2024 IONIQ 5 SE SEL limited rear wheel drive and 361-mile driving range for 2024 IONIQ 6 SE long range rear wheel drive with fully charged battery. Estimated range varies for other models and trims and depends on battery capacity, temperature options, and other factors. Limited battery warranty covers defects and materials for 10 years or 100,000 miles, whichever occurs first.

See owner's manual for complete warranty details and limitations. Visit hondausa.com or call 562-314-4603 for more details. Start your summer road trip at Midas and get up to $30 off your next repair service. Plus get a free closer look vehicle check to make sure you're road trip ready. So if you need a brake service and alignment check or tune up, hit up Midas for up to $30 off.

For more details, request your appointment at Midas.com. Tune in is the audio platform with something for everyone. News? In order to secure convictions in a court of law, it is essential that we conclusively, sports, the step back three, music, and even podcasts. Whatever you love, hear it right here on tune in, go to tune in.com or download the tune in app to start listening.