After a season of tribulation and triumph, the 1987 St. Louis Cardinals were marching toward a World Series victory – only to come unraveled in the deafening, inflatable confines of the Minnesota Hankiedome. Still, it was a swell year, and many huzzahs of joy were flung at the marquee stars of the Redbird club: burly thumper Jack Clark, suave infield acrobat Ozzie Smith, thoroughbred base thief Vince Coleman.

But you’d have to look to the other end of the bench to find our favorite, number 11, the Secret Weapon. We speak, of course, of Jose Oquendo. Not only did this bearded 23-year-old bat a solid .286, he did it while coming off the pine to play all four infield positions, along with some time in the outfield. Jose O even pitched an inning, fer cryin out loud (he wouldn’t get around to catcher until the following season). The polymorphically proficient Oquendo went on to hit a crucial home run in Game 7 of the NLCS, sending the Cards to their third world series in six years.

The Pioneer DVR-RT500 DVD Recorder and VCR Combo shares the consummate versatility that made Jose Oquendo our favorite Cardinal. It’s a DVD player. It’s a DVD-R/RW recorder. It’s a VCR. It’s a CD player. It’s an MP3 player. It can copy your VHS tapes to DVD one night, and then turn around and do the opposite the next night. And it’s solid on the fundamentals, thanks to the legendary A/V shamans at Pioneer.

Why keep an extra shortstop and a first-base understudy on the payroll when one guy can do both? Whitey Herzog knew better. Do you?

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