As Redbirds honor Cardinals shortstop Tommy Edman with bobblehead, his life story inspires

Not everyone gets a bobblehead, but the ones who do often have exceptional talent.

The ones who do made an impact on the city and their organization.

Each of these are true for St. Louis Cardinals shortstop Tommy Edman, the former Memphis Redbirds standout whose likeness was honored with a bobblehead night Friday. The bobblehead, given out by the Cardinals' Triple-A affiliate, showed him layout out for a diving catch during his Redbirds tenure from 2018-19.

“I enjoyed my time in Memphis,” Edman said. “(Having a bobblehead) shows that I made an impact while I was there.”

In 2019, Edman had his best offensive season — producing a batting average of .305 along with 29 RBIs and seven home runs, which was good enough for a call-up to the big leagues.

Four years later, Edman has developed into a star in St. Louis.

He became the first half-Korean player to play for Team Korea this past spring in the World Baseball Classic and developed into one of the most versatile players in MLB.

The biggest adjustment for Edman when he came to Memphis was mostly due to the level of competition.

“Every level you go up in the minor leagues, you're playing against better and better competition,” Edman said. “You’re playing against a lot of players who know what it takes to succeed.”

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Edman, 28, was hitting .237 with seven home runs and 28 RBIs entering Tuesday. He was drafted in the sixth round of the 2016 MLB draft, and as he climbed the ladder through the farm system, Edman credits his Asian heritage for pushing through the hardship.

“A big part of Asian culture is being disciplined with the work you put in and not only in the preparation, but in the end game,” Edman said.

Growing up, Edman was self-motivated. He never needed the push, and, as a result, his mother Maureen Edman became the anti-Tiger mom.

The Tiger mom stereotype is a style of parenting that has been linked with Asian culture for parents being controlling, strict and severe. Many Asian parents have been known to push their kids to the brink, but not for Maureen.

“What we realized was that the dream had to be theirs,” Maureen said. “Once you get past a certain level, no one’s pushing you to do what you need to do to succeed. It has to come from the person themselves.”

Maureen notes the importance of encouraging balance in the Asian community in order to increase participation in sports.

“Academics are obviously tremendously important, but (Asian countries have) emphasized (education) to the detriment of kids developing other interests and passions,” Maureen said.

With his strong passion and self-determination, Edman was able to represent Team Korea during the WBC this spring. Maureen was born in Korea, giving Edman the green light to play in the prestigious tournament.

Despite baseball players being routine-oriented, Edman ultimately decided to play in the WBC and forgo the usual spring training games. With his normal routine out the window, he got an "awesome experience" in return.

“To be able to represent an entire nation is something that most people don’t get to do,” Edman said.

Playing in the WBC will always hold a special place for Edman and the experience will carry him for the rest of his career.

“Just the fact that I get to travel to a completely different continent and compete at the highest level,” Edman said. “Seeing that the game is worldwide and people with a completely different culture embrace baseball was a cool experience.”

During the WBC, Edman was faced against his fellow teammate, Lars Nootbaar when Team Korea played Team Japan.

Nootbaar, whose mother is also Japanese, won the battle for bragging rights in a 13-4 win, but both were able to bond over the experience of having fans on the other side of the world.

As Edman continues his career with the Cardinals, he hopes to be a good influence for the Asian American community.

“I tried to play the game hard and try to be an inspiration for Asian athletes who do not have that many people to look up to past success at the national level,” Edman said. “Hopefully, they can come in and see that I’ve been an example of one who's been able to have some success.”

The Edman family keeps all the bobbleheads, from the Redbirds, Cardinals and even from the WBC.

Reach sports writer Jerry Jiang at JJiang@gannett.com or on Twitter @j_jiang30

This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: How Cardinals' Tommy Edman, of Korean decent, inspires Asian Americans