Forget, for a moment, everything that's happened this offseason—Tony La Russa, Dave Duncan, and Albert Pujols leaving, Carlos Beltran signing, even Ryan Theriot leaving—and set your sights on a simpler time, back when the St. Louis Cardinals were nothing more or less than the 2011 World Series champions, owners of one of the most incredible comeback victories in the history of baseball, and the employer of backup catcher Gerald Laird, who liked not playing very often and jumping very high in the air when he was happy about things.
I present, for your viewing pleasure, Gerald Laird, Official Photoshop Meme of the 2011 World Series Champion St. Louis Cardinals(' Unofficial Blog Viva El Birdos.)
The full thread, with countless more photographs of Laird jumping through history, time, space, movies, videogames, geography, and Glee promos, can be found at Viva El Birdos, along with a pre-cropped Laird for your own nefarious use. I know Bryan Anderson and/or Tony Cruz are likely to be just as valuable as Laird in the rare occasions the Cardinals actually need a backup catcher, but as far as leaping exuberantly goes they're in a pretty deep hole to start.
(After the jump, perhaps the greatest animated GIF you will ever see, courtesy frighteningly skilled and more generally frightening VEB commenter d-dee.)
