Well-Traveled Sanders Comfortable in St. Louis

The last six years, it’s been the same old story for Reggie Sanders. At the end of the season, he’s out the door.

Finally, he appears to have found a home.

The well-traveled outfielder has quickly reached a comfort zone with the St. Louis Cardinals -- club No. 7 in season No. 7.

Sanders had a big first month: a .325 average with seven home runs and 21 RBIs heading into the weekend.

“Whenever you go to a new team, you want to start off well,” he said. “Even you don’t start off well, you still have to believe everything is going to be OK.

“But I think this has probably been my best start in a while.”

Already, Sanders has a pair of two-homer games and was batting .455 with runners in scoring position going into the weekend. He also led the team with six stolen bases in seven attempts.

Sanders’ biggest hit so far was a pinch-hit, bases-loaded triple in the eighth inning off Roberto Hernandez on Thursday. That liner erased 2-1 deficit, and the Cardinals ended up beating Philadelphia in 13 innings.

Before that hit, the fans were chanting “Reggie! Reggie!” for the player who has brought stability to right field, where J.D. Drew often was hurt. Drew was traded to the Braves in a deal for Jason Marquis in the offseason.

“The way he goes about it is one of the reasons a lot of us enjoy coming to the ballpark,” manager Tony La Russa said. “He’s such a pro. He’s a model citizen, a professional, the way he competes and cares about his teammates.”

And what if Sanders hadn’t tripled?

“He could have popped up,” La Russa said, “and I would have said the same thing.”

Sanders, 36, has been a good player for a long time -- good enough to wear all of those uniforms. He came up with Cincinnati in 1991 and stayed there through the 1998 season.

Since then he’s played for the Padres, Braves, Diamondbacks, Giants, Pirates and now the Cardinals.