“Then there appeared to him an angel of the Lord, standing at the right side of the altar of incense.” Bible verse? Of course, it is Luke 1:11. But in St. Louis this year, it could be from the diary of Walt Jocketty. The angel spoken of is none other than James Patrick Edmonds, formerly of the Anaheim Angels.

Jim Edmonds has been nothing less than an angel in disguise for the Cardinals.

Edmonds is hitting a robust .301 with 38 homeruns and 92 RBI, and adds to those totals daily.

In this era of sports where traded players flop as often as the Backstreet Boys are on the radio, it is rare that a player such as Edmonds has such a profound impact. Just think of all the “blockbuster trades” gone south: Omar Daal to the Phillies; Matt Karchner to the Cubs; and every trade that the Dodgers have made in the last five years.

This year though, the Cardinals found a winning lottery ticket in Edmonds. But, just as he has produced remarkable numbers, Edmonds was also a huge gamble.

In 1999 he had right shoulder surgery and hit a mere .250 with 5 homeruns. He was accused in the media of loafing in the field and causing dissension in the clubhouse. All rumors surrounding him had been negative, but still no one could deny what they saw on the field.

On March 25, 2000, Walt Jocketty pulled the strings behind what has turned out to be the biggest trade of this season. Jocketty gambled and by now it is evident that he made a smart move. By sending Kent Bottenfield and Adam Kennedy to the Anaheim Angels, Jocketty received more than he or anyone else expected.

Edmonds brought stability to the outfield that hasn’t existed for years. He already has two gold gloves, and with only 4 errors, his third may be on the way. What the Cards now have is a living Sportscenter highlight roaming centerfield.

Obviously, Edmonds cannot be the sole reason for the Cards’ resurgence to NL power. New additions Fernando Vina, Darryl Kile, Pat Hentgen, Dave Veres, and recently-acquired Will Clark have all played major roles in this year’s success.

Taking into account Big Mac’s injury, where would the Cardinals be right now without Edmonds? Of course, there is no way to tell, but it’s likely that without him there would be a power void in the outfield.

This leads to two questions:

First, is Jim Edmonds the comeback player of the year? In this case the numbers speak for themselves. The only player that will give Edmonds a challenge is Andres Galarraga of the Braves. Galarraga is coming back from cancer and is having an outstanding year in Atlanta.

Second, is Jim Edmonds the Most Valuable Player of the National League? If there has been a more important player to an organization than Jim Edmonds, let him please step forward. Before this season the Cardinals were the underachievers of the NL. This season, however, the revamped Cards are contending for home-field advantage throughout the playoffs.

The year 2000 in St. Louis hasn’t turned out to be the apocalypse some predicted, but actually a resurrection.

Edmonds will roam a reborn centerfield at Busch for the next 6 years for the bargain price of 57 million dollars.

Who knew that Angels really did come from Anaheim…