RetroSimba

A short, successful stint as a Cardinals catcher revived the big-league career of Mike Shannon.

In 1964, Shannon was recalled from Class AAA Jacksonville and handed the Cardinals’ starting right fielder job after the July all-star break. He hit nine home runs and drove in 43 during the season’s second half, helping St. Louis win its first World Series championship in 18 years.

Shannon opened the 1965 season as the everyday right fielder, but went hitless in his first 14 at-bats and had just one hit (a single) in his first 23 at-bats.

Lunging for pitches out of the strike zone, Shannon never snapped out of his slump. He was batting .095 on June 1. Manager Red Schoendienst began trying several other players in right field.

On Aug. 6, the Cardinals were playing the Giants at St. Louis when San Francisco baserunner Hal Lanier slid into home plate in the fourth inning. Lanier’s spikes damaged the left thumb of Tim McCarver as the Cardinals’ catcher attempted to apply a tag. McCarver was lifted for Bob Uecker, the Cardinals’ only other catcher. Boxscore

Two days later, Aug. 8, Uecker was struck by a foul tip off the bat of Giants leadoff batter Dick Schofield in the first inning. The ball split Uecker’s right thumb, forcing him to leave the game. He required 12 stitches to repair the thumb.

McCarver was unable to play, so Schoendienst brought in Shannon to catch. According to The Sporting News, Shannon hadn’t caught in a game since he was a youth in sandlot baseball.

It didn’t take long before Shannon was tested. The Giants had runners on second and third with one out in the first when Willie McCovey lifted a pop-up in foul territory. Shannon made the catch and the Cardinals, trailing 1-0, got out of the inning without further damage.

In the fourth, Willie Mays was on first base with one out when Jim Hart lined a double to center field. Curt Flood retrieved the ball and fired it to shortstop Dick Groat, whose relay throw to Shannon was in time to tag out Mays. When Groat’s throw went to home plate, Hart broke for third base. Shannon alertly threw to third baseman Ken Boyer, who tagged out Hart, completing a double play.

Shannon fielded flawlessly (no errors, one assist, six putouts) and broke his batting slump, with a double (off Warren Spahn), a triple, a walk, a RBI and a run scored. The Giants, who won 6-4, didn’t attempt a steal against Shannon. The Cardinals used five pitchers, including two knuckleballers (Barney Schultz and Bob Purkey) and a left-handed sinkerballer (Hal Woodeshick). Boxscore

“I wouldn’t be afraid to go with Shannon after what he showed me out there handling Barney Schultz’s knuckleball and Hal Woodeshick’s sinker,” Schoendienst said to The Sporting News.

After the game, the Cardinals called up Dave Ricketts from Jacksonville to be the everyday catcher while McCarver and Uecker mended.

On Aug. 12 at Milwaukee, Shannon got his first big-league start at catcher. He was terrific, catching 12 innings, committing no errors and making six putouts. The Braves attempted no steals against him.

In the seventh, Shannon hit a solo home run off Wade Blasingame. In the 13th, Shannon’s two-out single off Phil Niekro scored Boyer from second base in the Cardinals’ 5-4 victory. Boxscore (Ricketts came in to catch the bottom half of the 13th and Shannon moved to right field).

Here is how the Associated Press reported Shannon’s performance:

Mike Shannon hits better wearing a catcher’s mitt.

Shannon started his first game as a catcher in an eight-year career yesterday and with his new view of life on a baseball field ripped a seventh-inning homer and then singled in the winning run in the 13th inning as the Cardinals edged Milwaukee, 5-4.

Shannon, who played himself out of a starting job in the outfield because of a .193 batting average before he turned catcher, now has four hits in eight trips to the plate as a receiver.

Shannon made one more start at catcher, Aug. 14, at St. Louis in the Reds’ 4-2 victory. Shannon made no errors, had nine putouts and kept Cincinnati from attempting a steal. Boxscore

McCarver was ready to return to the lineup. Despite his success in three games at catcher, Shannon was returned to the outfield. He did appear in one more 1965 game at catcher, replacing McCarver for the final three innings of the Cardinals’ 19-8 victory at Houston Sept. 30. Boxscore

After the season, Shannon reported to the Florida Instructional League to develop his catching skills. In November, The Sporting News reported:

The talented outfielder, ready to do almost anything to get untracked after his miserable 1965 showing, is concentrating on catching and boning up on the strike zone.

“Shannon’s been working on the fundamentals of catching, especially throwing,” Cardinals general manager Bob Howsam said. “He’s done a great job, too. We’re figuring him as an outfielder yet, but this gives him a chance to do many things.”

The Cardinals opened the 1966 season by shifting Lou Brock from left field to right field and starting Alex Johnson in left, with Shannon on the bench. Johnson struggled and was hitting .186 on May 17 when he was sent to the minor leagues.

Brock was moved back to left field and Shannon took over in right. He played well all season, hitting .288 with 16 homers.

Shannon did make one appearance as a catcher in 1966. On June 5, in the Braves’ 14-4 victory at Atlanta, Shannon replaced McCarver in the eighth and caught a flawless inning. It was his last game as a catcher. Boxscore

Shannon’s career statistics as a catcher: five games, 33.2 innings, 24 putouts, one assist, no errors, no stolen bases against and a 1.000 fielding percentage.

After the 1966 season, the Cardinals acquired Roger Maris from the Yankees to play right field and asked Shannon to learn another position: third base. He did so splendidly, becoming the starting third baseman for the Cardinals’ pennant-winning clubs in 1967 and 1968.

Previously: Cardinals came close to dealing Shannon