The Gold Gloves, along with the two World Series rings the Cardinals organization gave to him from the franchise's 2006 and 2011 championship runs, were sold at a sports memorabilia auction in California over the weekend.
When news broke that the Wizard would sell off his hardware, many questioned his reasoning. At the time, Smith cited estate planning purposes, which led some to believe that the former defensive star is struggling financially.
We'd prefer to not speculate about Ozzie's finances, but the whole thing certainly feels odd.
Sure it is great that the Wizard is sharing his hardware with fans who desire that kind of stuff. But it also feels strange to hear that the Hall of Famer does not care about his past accomplishments any longer.
Ozzie's willingness to sell his Gold Gloves may stem from the strained relationship he had with wit former manager Tony La Russa. Smith was away from the franchise for many years and maybe just feels disconnected with baseball at this point.
No matter how you dice it, hearing that Ozzie Smith sold his Gold Gloves is sad news to Cardinals fans everywhere.