CINCINNATI — Jimmy Crooks had precisely 6 minutes before his pre-game catcher-pitcher meeting with his Class AAA Memphis teammate to plot Sunday’s game plan against Oklahoma City. He intended to use as much of that time as possible to review scouting reports and his notes while listening to some “get me right” music from rapper Future.

That was when manager Ben Johnson poked him until he took off the headphones.

“Why aren’t you in there?” Johnson said.

Crooks was sure he had slightly more than 5 minutes now.

He started to explain.

“I’m just messing with you,” Johnson said. “You’re going to the big leagues.”

Crooks and Redbirds teammate Cesar Prieto hopped on different flights Friday morning to reach the same destination by that afternoon — the majors. The Cardinals promoted Crooks an

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