Gabe Lacques

USA TODAY Sports

KISSIMMEE, Fla. — Even while he was with the St. Louis Cardinals, Colby Rasmus did not conceal his misery. Clashes with manager Tony La Russa led to a trade request, an upbraiding from franchise player Albert Pujols and his eventual trade to Toronto – three months before the Cardinals won the 2011 World Series.

Now 29, Rasmus found both success and financial security with the Houston Astros, accepting a $15.8 million qualifying offer that will enable him to hit free agency again next fall.

He also discovered that in the young Astros’ boisterous clubhouse filled with loose players, disco balls and DJs, playoff-caliber baseball and an unbuttoned vibe don’t have to be mutually exclusive.

“If you watch the Cardinals back then, we were like robots, very quiet. I was always waiting on somebody to make fun of my clothes or whatever I was doing,” Rasmus told USA TODAY Sports. “I developed some bad tendencies, and a defense mechanism in my own mind. And I feel that’s not necessary.

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“Some may say I’m being soft, or whatever, but I don’t really care. I’ve been through both sides. I feel that this is fun, and it’s enjoyable. These boys are going to look back on their time and enjoy being in the big leagues, not like, ‘Oh, man, every day was miserable. I’m good enough to be here, but it was terrible, I hated it.’”

As Rasmus speaks, 26-year-old outfielder George Springer is taking a selfie through the facemask of a Houston Texans helmet. It’s Springer who serves as house DJ for the team’s “Club Astros” postgame celebrations that started early in the team’s 86-win campaign that culminated in a five-game loss to the Kansas City Royals in the AL Division Series.

“It’s cool to see these guys having fun, man. This is the big leagues. It should be a blast,” Rasmus said. “You only get this short amount of time. There’s only so many people that get to do what we get to do.

“So why not enjoy it, man, and relish in the moment, and have a blast?”

In St. Louis, Rasmus arrived with high expectations as a first-round pick and top prospect, and a father highly engaged with his son’s career and the media. He said the environment often compelled him to “come to the field, look at my clothes and put my headphones on. To me, that’s not fun.”

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After 3 ½ up-and-down seasons in Toronto, Rasmus signed a one-year, $8 million deal with the Astros and had his most rewarding season, hitting a career-high 25 home runs and ripping four more home runs in the AL wild-card game and ALDS, as the Astros came five outs away from eliminating the Kansas City Royals.

As for the Cardinals? They’ve certainly done fine without him, winning a World Series, two pennants and four consecutive NL Central titles. The separation clearly worked out well for both parties, though Rasmus wonders if there might be a better way than the Cardinals’.

“You don’t have to act like a 50-year-old man, all grumpy and mean all the time,” he says. “To me, that’s pointless and not fun. To let these boys just be themselves and have fun is great, a good environment to be in.”

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