ST. LOUIS — Paul DeJong compared Friday’s game to seeing an old friend.
After spending parts of seven seasons with the St. Louis Cardinals, the Chicago White Sox shortstop returned to Busch Stadium as a visiting player for the first time.
Sitting in the visiting dugout while talking to reporters before the game, DeJong noted, “It’s a different view.”
“I’m just happy to be here with this team and excited to be in St. Louis,” DeJong said. “This park is iconic. I spent so much time here. The red seats. The Arch view. The fans are always into it, they always show out.
“A lot of great memories that I had here and I’m hoping to make some more this weekend.”
DeJong is one of four Sox players with ties to the Cardinals: Relievers John Brebbia (2017-19) and Dominic Leone (2018-19) and outfielder Tommy Pham (2014-18) are the others.
“St. Louis was the first team I broke in with, so it’s always different coming here,” Pham said. “Great fans, baseball fans. Tough place to hit, big gaps. But St. Louis will always have a special place in my heart.”
DeJong, who played with the Cardinals from 2017-23, also used the word “special.”
“You want to enjoy the moment when you get it,” he said. “Seeing all the smiles and seeing all the guys I used to share a clubhouse with was really special for me.”
DeJong played 698 games with the Cardinals, earning All-Star honors in 2019. They dealt him to Toronto on Aug. 1 last season, and after the Blue Jays released him, he landed with the San Francisco Giants on Aug. 23.
He signed a one-year contract with the Sox in the offseason as they looked for steady defense up the middle. He entered Friday slashing .216/.266/.405 with three home runs and six RBIs in 26 games.
DeJong, 30, said the past year has been “a real learning experience for me.”
“I’ve been able to get away from St. Louis and learn more about myself as I progress in my baseball career,” he said. “Coming back here gives me that perspective of where I’ve been and where I started. It’s nice to be able to come back and kind of reflect on what I’ve done and just enjoy the moment, really.”
DeJong and Pham received nice ovations when their names were announced in Friday’s starting lineup.
“I’m excited to see the fans,” said DeJong, who received a standing ovation and tipped his helmet to the crowd before his first at-bat. “They supported me throughout my whole career here and I’ve always valued the Cardinals franchise and their fans.”
While he got an up-close look at his former team Friday, DeJong has been able to catch up with the Cardinals from time to time.
“You can’t help but notice sometimes the scoreboards inside the stadiums. You can see what the team is doing,” he said. “Just keeping track of the roster and how the guys are doing. Baseball is a real tight-knit community, and I’ll always be a part of this community.”
This weekend is also a reunion for Cardinals pitcher Lance Lynn, who spent parts of three seasons with the Sox and will start against them Saturday.
“I’ve enjoyed all my stops,” Lynn said Friday.
Lynn went 25-22 with a 4.23 ERA in 70 starts for the Sox from 2021-23. His best season in Chicago was his first in 2021. He went 11-6 with a 2.69 ERA and 176 strikeouts, earning All-Star honors and finishing third in American League Cy Young Award voting.
The Sox traded Lynn and reliever Joe Kelly to the Los Angeles Dodgers last July for pitchers Jordan Leasure and Nick Nastrini and outfielder Trayce Thompson. The 36-year-old Lynn signed with the Cardinals in the offseason, and he’s 1-0 with a 2.64 ERA and 29 strikeouts in six starts.
“Everything feels good,” he said.
Lynn reminded the visiting Chicago reporters that he generally doesn’t talk about the opposing team before a start — or himself much at all. He said Saturday would be “just like facing any other team — do your homework and get ready to pitch.”
