CHICAGO • When Coco Crisp stepped to the plate Friday night and altered the course of the first World Series game at Wrigley Field in generations, he did so with a swing that still carried a little Cardinal in it.

Crisp’s career started with the Cardinals and by the time they traded him to Cleveland, way back in 2002, coaches like Mitchell Page had helped him rethink who he was a hitter. Crisp delivered the pinch-hit RBI single Friday for Cleveland’s 1-0 victory in Game 3, and a day later he explained that, yes, there was still part of that swing that came from Page.

“Shaping me – as a hitter,” Crisp said. “He was also one of those guys who spoke up for me when I was probably about to get released. You never know really in those situations. I guess because of my work ethic and trying to get better they talked about me when it was time to make cuts. ‘This kid works. He’s going to figure it out. He’s going to be a player.’

“If it wasn’t for them, there wouldn’t be this.”