Photo by flickr/Keith Allison
Often when sons reach the pinnacle of success in sporting endeavors, boastful fathers take credit for everything they taught their kids about the game.
That's not the case with J. Con Maloney and his son, Chris—the first-base coach for the St. Louis Cardinals. The Cardinals are currently playing in the World Series against the Boston Red Sox.
"He didn't learn anything from me," Maloney said of Chris. "He left me so far behind so long ago. We discuss baseball, and we discuss situations, and he's always right. I've never caught him being wrong."
A native and off-season resident of Jackson, Chris Maloney joined the major-league Cardinals in November 2011, just after the team won its 11th World Series championship. Before that, he spent five seasons managing the Cardinals' AAA affiliate, the Memphis Redbirds.
Chris Maloney, 52, attended Jackson's St. Joseph High School and graduated from Mississippi State University. His father has owned minor-league clubs including the Jackson Mets, Jackson Generals and Round Rock Express of Texas.
As manager of the Redbirds, Maloney guided the team to four winning records, which included a trip to the Pacific Coast League Championship Series in 2009 and 2010. Maloney also skippered the AA Springfield (Mo.) Cardinals and the AAA New Orleans Zephyrs, and has garnered numerous coaching awards.
After graduating from Mississippi State in 1983, Maloney signed on as a free agent with the New York Mets and then joined the Cardinals organization, for which he also played a season with Cardinals' now-defunct Springfield, Ill., affiliate.
After the Cardinals' Sunday-night loss, the World Series is tied 2-2. One more game takes place in St. Louis before the series returns to Boston Wednesday night for game 6. It's been a seesaw matchup so far, but Con Maloney said he's proud that his son is involved in an exciting World Series.
"You can have an absolutely terrible game, and the next game can be picture perfect—that's what makes baseball a lot of fun," Con Maloney said.
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