RetroSimba

No place like home for Cardinals farmhand Tony Freitas

August 17, 2026 by retrosimba

The Cardinals had a pitcher in their system who collected wins the way neighborhood kids flocked to an ice-cream truck _ in bunches.

A left-handed lilliputian who relied on control and off-speed pitches, Tony Freitas achieved 20 or more wins for six seasons in a row (1937-42) with Sacramento. The Cardinals offered to bring him to the majors, but Freitas said no. Sacramento was his home and that’s where he preferred to stay.

Besides, Freitas had been in the big leagues _ with the Athletics and Reds _ before the Cardinals acquired him, and though he had multiple highlights, including 10 wins in a row as a rookie and an epic 17-inning duel with Dizzy Dean, the overall experience wasn’t satisfying.

So, being in the minors, where he won a lot, felt appreciated and got to remain in his home state of California, was all right with him.

Freitas went on to pitch until he was 45. He is the career leader in minor-league wins for a left-hander (342). Only right-handers Bill Thomas (383), Joe Martina (349) and George Payne (348) have more career wins in the minors than Freitas.

In the fast lane

Antonio Freitas was the son of immigrants from the Azores, a cluster of Portuguese islands. Freitas and Eve Arden were born a week apart in Mill Valley, a town near San Francisco. Arden became an actress in movies (“Mildred Pierce”) and television (“Our Miss Brooks”). Freitas chose baseball.

A cabdriver who’d seen Freitas pitch semipro ball in Mill Valley recommended him to Sacramento manager Buddy Ryan, who arranged for Freitas, 20, to start a pro career with Class D Phoenix in 1928. In his first pro game he pitched a one-hitter, according to the Sacramento Union. A year later, Ryan put him on the pitching staff of the Pacific Coast League’s Sacramento Senators.

Freitas had consecutive 19-win seasons for Sacramento in 1930-31. He listed his height as 5-foot-7. His weight during the season usually dropped below 160 pounds. Freitas lacked velocity on his pitches, so he depended on an assortment of curves and changeups with pinpoint control.

He made up for his dearth of speed on the mound when he got behind the wheel of a car. Freitas drove like a demon, paying no attention to speed limits, and was arrested multiple times. When the leadfoot got cited yet again in August 1931, Marin County Justice Thomas Rudolff sentenced him to serve five days in jail.

A Brooklyn Dodgers scout had come to San Francisco to see Freitas pitch the next night. Sacramento club owner Lewis Moreing told the San Francisco News he pleaded with Marin County authorities to free Freitas just long enough to pitch in the game. The nation was in the grip of the Great Depression and it was important to Moreing for Freitas to be showcased in the hope a big-league club would make a lucrative offer to purchase his contract.

Freitas was released and escorted to the San Francisco ballpark by a deputy sheriff, who kept a close watch over the prisoner during the game. Freitas got the win, going the distance in a snappy one hour, 40 minutes, and was back behind bars by 11 p.m., the San Francisco Call-Bulletin reported.

The scout was impressed, the San Francisco News noted, but the Dodgers wouldn’t agree to Moreing’s purchase price, the Brooklyn Eagle reported.

In the groove

Back with Sacramento in 1932, Freitas pitched a no-hitter versus Oakland on May 5, his 24th birthday. Two weeks later, he was in the majors, dealt to the Athletics for a pitcher (Jimmie DeShong) and $25,000.

Managed by Connie Mack, the A’s were the three-time defending American League champions and featured a roster with the likes of Mickey Cochrane, Jimmie Foxx, Lefty Grove and Al Simmons. “I was a green kid, shy as the devil,” Freitas recalled to the Sacramento Bee. “I didn’t have enough guts to go up to somebody and ask them something. I was scared. I was in awe of the big names.”

Mack put the rookie in the starting rotation. In his debut, at home against the Washington Senators, Freitas pitched well. He retired 12 batters in a row, 11 of them on ground outs.

With the A’s ahead, 3-2, one out, in the ninth, Joe Cronin was at the plate for Washington. Catcher Mickey Cochrane told Freitas not to give Cronin a low pitch, but he did, and Cronin walloped it over the wall for a home run, tying the score. Freitas departed after 10 innings and Washington won in the 12th against George Earnshaw, but Freitas “made an impression with the crowd with his brainy and steady pitching,” the Philadelphia Inquirer noted. Boxscore

Freitas’ second start was against the Yankees. He walked the first two batters, then struck out Babe Ruth on a changeup. If the strikeout caused Freitas to have his head in the clouds, the Yankees brought him quickly back to earth. Lou Gehrig (single), Ben Chapman (triple), Bill Dickey (double) and Tony Lazzeri (single) followed with consecutive hits, giving New York a 5-0 lead on the way to a win. Boxscore

Freitas lost again, to Cleveland, then won 10 in a row. Nine of those wins were complete games, including a shutout of the White Sox. Boxscore

During that streak, Freitas turned a rare unassisted double play against the Browns. With one out in the fifth, the Browns had runners on second (George Blaeholder) and third (Jim Levey). Fred Schulte hit a high bouncer toward the mound. Freitas snared it, ran toward Levey, who had stopped between third and home, and tagged him before he could return to the bag. Then Freitas saw Blaeholder frozen between second and third. With Freitas in pursuit, Blaeholder retreated toward second. Freitas caught up to the runner, tagged him to complete the double play, but lost his balance. In the tangle, Freitas was spiked across the right instep and had to depart. Boxscore

Freitas completed his rookie season with a 12-5 record and earned the admiration of Connie Mack, who told the Sacramento Bee, “Freitas is a great pitcher because he has a wonderful change of pace, deadly control and the knack of putting the ball any place he wants.”

Duel with Dean

Imagine Freitas’ surprise when the A’s sent him a 1933 contract calling for a $1,400 pay cut. Mack blamed the economy. Freitas wouldn’t accept the offer and finally signed for the same amount he got in 1932 _ $1,000 a month for seven months, according to the Society for American Baseball Research.

He pitched three scoreless innings against the Cardinals in a 1933 spring training game, but the success from his rookie year didn’t carry over to his sophomore season. Freitas got hit often and was sent to the minors that summer. The Reds rescued him, bringing Freitas to the National League in May 1934.

On July 1, at Cincinnati, Freitas was matched against Dizzy Dean, who was on his way to 30 wins for the Cardinals that season. Freitas and Dean each pitched 17 innings, and Freitas stroked three hits versus the St. Louis ace. The Cardinals won in the 18th with two runs against Paul Derringer. Jim Lindsey (traded by the Reds for Freitas) got the save for the Cardinals. Boxscore

Freitas was 6-12 for the Reds in 1934 and 5-10 in 1935, when he beat the Cardinals twice. The wins came against the Dean brothers _ Dizzy and Paul. Boxscore and Boxscore

Home sweet home

In 1936, a lump formed on Freitas’ left elbow. For a month he “could not even comb his hair or butter his toast with his left hand,” the Sacramento Bee reported.

The swelling eventually faded but the Reds no longer wanted him. The Cardinals, though, were willing to take a chance. They bought his contract and sent him to their Columbus (Ohio) farm team.

Freitas earned 10 wins for Columbus in 1936. Afterward, he asked Cardinals general manager Branch Rickey to move him to Sacramento. The Sacramento Solons became a Cardinals affiliate in 1936, four years after Freitas had settled in the California capital city with his wife.

Rickey granted the request.

Comfortable at home, Freitas posted records of 23-12 for Sacramento in 1937 and 24-11 in 1938.

Rickey offered to reward Freitas, 30, with a promotion to the majors. “I said, ‘Mr. Rickey, I never felt good back there (in the majors) and I feel great out here … and I don’t care about going back up.’ ” Freitas told the Sacramento Bee.

In an interview with reporter Marco Smolich, Freitas explained, “I’ve had a shot in the American League and in the National League. Frankly, I think I got a raw deal each time. Why ask for more? The main thing is, though, that I’d just as soon pitch in my own backyard. I’m happy in Sacramento.”

Freitas’ next four seasons with the Cardinals’ farm club produced marks of 21-18 (1939), 20-19 (1940), 21-15 (1941) and 24-13 (1942).

Gene Lillard, who played with and against Freitas in the Pacific Coast League, told the Sacramento Bee, “He was about as smart as any pitcher in the league … He threw at different speeds … That made it difficult to time. Hitting is mostly timing.”

Henry Oana, who played for the San Francisco Seals, said to the Associated Press, “He’s got five different speeds. I can’t figure him out. When I get set for number one, he feeds me number four. Just when I’m ready for number five, he gives me number two. I wish he’d get out of the league.”

On the final day of the 1942 season, Sacramento, managed by Pepper Martin, needed to sweep a doubleheader against the Los Angeles Angels to win its first pennant. Freitas earned a save in the opener, then pitched a four-hitter for the win in the finale.

Man of many skills

Freitas spent the next three years (1943-45) as an aircraft mechanic in the Army Air Corps during World War II.

He pitched for Sacramento (1946-49), Modesto (1950-51), Stockton (1952-53) and did some managing, too. After that, Freitas worked from 1956-70 as a mechanic at Aerojet, a rocket and missile propulsion manufacturer.

In retirement, Freitas enjoyed fishing in the Sacramento River and tending to his garden, which included a small orchard of apple, lemon, orange and peach trees.

Posted in Games, Opponents, Pitchers, Prospects, Trades | 8 Comments »

Adios: Hector Espino gave quick hello, goodbye to Cardinals

August 10, 2026 by retrosimba

Just as Yankee Stadium was the House That Babe Ruth Built, perhaps Busch Memorial Stadium, which opened in downtown St. Louis in 1966, could have been the House That Hector Espino Built.

Known as Bambino Mexicano, or the Babe Ruth of Mexico, Espino was invited by the reigning World Series champion Cardinals to their big-league spring training camp in 1965.

A right-handed power hitter who played first base (his best position) and the outfield, Espino joined the Cardinals’ Class AAA Jacksonville Suns farm club in August 1964 and helped them win the International League pennant.

The Cardinals purchased his contract after they prevailed against the Yankees in the 1964 World Series. They were intrigued by Espino’s home run swing as they prepared to move from the former Sportsman’s Park to the new stadium in 1966.

Mentioned with the likes of Babe Ruth, Mickey Mantle and Harmon Killebrew, Espino was considered a sure bet to hit in the big leagues, but it didn’t work out.

Mexican marvel

A truck driver’s son from Chihuahua, Mexico, Hector Espino was 5-foot-10, 190 pounds “with a thick, muscular upper body and large, thick wrists,” according to Scott Ostler of the Los Angeles Times.

Taking a short stride, Espino hit with power to all fields while playing summers in the Mexican League and winters in the Mexican Pacific League. “No one can hit a ball farther and higher than Espino,” Joe Reichler of the Associated Press observed. “He has been known to have hit some drives 500 feet.”

Espino clouted more than 700 home runs in his pro career. According to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, he hit 453 in the Mexican League; 299 in the Mexican Pacific League. Espino also hit 28 homers in the Mexican minors and three more with the Cardinals’ Jacksonville club, MLB.com reported.

The Arizona Daily Star called him “Bambino Mexicano.” Espino’s Jacksonville teammate Joe Morgan (the future Red Sox manager, not the future Hall of Fame second baseman) recalled to Rob Terranova of MLB.com, “I remember them telling us we were getting the Babe Ruth of Mexico.”

In 1989, the New York Times rated Espino as “Mexico’s greatest homegrown (baseball) talent.” Rafael Dominguez of the Mexican Professional Baseball Hall of Fame described him as “the maximum expression of Mexican baseball.”

As Encyclopedia Britannica put it, “Although virtually unknown in the United States, Espino is considered by many in Mexico to be the greatest native-born hitter of all time and is a national hero in that country.”

Cleveland calling

Playing for the Monterrey Sultans as a rookie in the Mexican League in 1962, Espino, 23, made an immediate impact: .358 batting average, .457 on-base percentage, .613 slugging mark. In June 1962, The Sporting News reported that Espino “already was attracting major-league scouts, and (team) owner Anuar Canavati of the Sultans predicted the husky hitter would bring the club a fancy return on the open market in the near future.”

The Sultans and Cleveland Indians formed a working agreement for 1963. Espino and his Monterrey teammate, pitcher Mike Cuellar, were invited to 1963 spring training in Arizona and assigned to Jacksonville, a Cleveland farm club that year.

Ben Geraghty, who 10 years earlier managed Hank Aaron at Jacksonville, gave Espino a chance to play regularly in exhibition games and he hit well, including a game-winning home run against Tacoma on March 31. The next day, Espino was a no-show at Jacksonville’s workout.

In a story headlined “Suns wonder: Where did Hector go?,” Cuellar told the Jacksonville Journal, “I saw him in the morning and I told him where he was supposed to report. He said he understood but I haven’t seen him since.”

According to the Florida Times-Union, Espino “left camp without saying a word.”

Feeling homesick, he was located at Chihuahua, where he was visiting his parents, The Sporting News reported.

Espino opted to stay in Mexico and play for Monterrey.

Pennant push

The Monterrey club shifted Espino from the outfield to first base in 1964. Comfortable with the move, he responded with a big season at the plate: 46 homers and a league-leading .371 batting mark.

Meanwhile, the Jacksonville Suns became a Cardinals farm club in 1964. Managed by Harry Walker, the Suns were competing for the International League pennant. To help their chances, Suns general manager Bobby Maduro used his close ties to Monterrey management to arrange for three Sultans players to join Jacksonville after completion of the Mexican League season in early August.

The trio consisted of former Washington Senators pitcher Evelio Hernandez, shortstop Rigo Mena and Espino, who was expected to provide the right-handed power Jacksonville lost when Mike Shannon was called up to the Cardinals. “There were great hopes (Espino) would be the difference in the International League pennant race,” Jacksonville journalist Jack Hairston wrote.

The transition to a new team late in the summer and in a town that was deeply segregated and filled with racial tension was challenging. Intensely shy and introverted, Espino “spoke no English, had difficulty adjusting to the alien culture and, like many Latin players who come to the United States, he was homesick,” Leo W. Banks of the Arizona Daily Star noted.

Pat Corrales, then a catcher in the Phillies’ system, recalled years later to Newsday, “He had no way to communicate, and this Mexican superstar was treated like a rank amateur … What an insult.”

Jacksonville teammate Joe Morgan said to MLB.com, “I’m just not sure he ever got comfortable here … You definitely got the feeling he was homesick.”

Adding to Espino’s discomfort was the position he was required to play. The Suns put him in the outfield after he thrived at first base in the Mexican League.

A low point came during a doubleheader at Buffalo on Aug. 18. The Cardinals sent their 82-year-old consultant, Branch Rickey, to watch Espino play and assess whether the parent club should purchase his contract. What Rickey saw was a player who shouldn’t be in the outfield.

As Bill Kastelz observed in the Florida Times-Union, “His defensive play in right field was enough to make you turn your head away as he committed three errors in two games and failed to get two or three fly balls which were more or less routine, losing one because his cap fell down over his face.”

It dawned on the Suns that Espino might be better playing first base. Moved there, he began to feel at ease and his overall performance improved.

On Sept. 8, Espino crushed a home run (his 49th of the year) in a win that clinched the pennant. Through interpreter and teammate Coco Laboy, Espino told Wayne Minshew of the Jacksonville Journal, “I’ll take that one over all the rest of my homers.” In 32 games for Jacksonville, Espino hit .300 with 15 RBI, 15 runs scored and three homers.

Deal or no deal

According to the Jacksonville Journal, Harry Walker said Espino showed much potential as a hitter. The Cardinals purchased his contract for $25,000 and invited him to their 1965 big-league spring training camp at St. Petersburg. “Not since Bobby Avila teamed with Lou Boudreau in Cleveland’s pennant-winning years have the Mexican people had a baseball hero to compare with Hector Espino, Mickey Mantle’s counterpart south of the border,” the Associated Press declared.

Plans went awry, however, as the opening of training camp neared. Espino’s father became ill and the first baseman was given permission to report late, but then the Cardinals received no communication from him, the Jacksonville Journal reported.

A few weeks later, Espino’s luggage arrived without him in Florida. He’d taken a flight from Monterrey to Dallas, changed his mind about going to spring training and went back to Mexico. By then his checked baggage was on its way to Florida.

Espino never did report to the Cardinals. He wanted a share of the purchase price Monterrey Sultans owner Anuar Canavati received from the Cardinals for him, but Canavati refused. “When the (spring training) invitation came in 1964, I looked forward to going and wanted to continue with the Cardinals in 1965, but it was Canavati who stopped me,” Espino told the Arizona Daily Star.

He also said to the Los Angeles Times, “If they had given me the money, I’m pretty sure I’d have been there (with the Cardinals) a long time.”

Asked in 1985 whether he had regrets, Espino replied to journalist Leo W. Banks, “I would do the same thing over again.”

The Cardinals kept the door open. In August 1965, St. Louis general manager Bob Howsam told Larry Lee of the Columbus (Ind.) Republic that Espino didn’t want to play in the United States but added, “We’re keeping track of him just in case.”

Safe at home

Espino had one more flirtation with a major league franchise. In 1967, he agreed to report to Angels spring training at Holtville, a California agricultural town of about 3,000 residents and home to the annual Carrot Festival.

Holtville was 15 miles from Mexicali, a bustling Mexican city with the cantinas and strip clubs Holtville lacked. Before camp opened, Angels manager Bill Rigney issued a stern warning to his players about journeying to Mexicali at night. “I realize we are not at war with Mexico, but I would prefer my guys stay on this side of the border,” Rigney told Ross Newhan of the Long Beach Independent.

Espino notified the Angels he would remain in Mexico.

“He was some hitter, but he didn’t care about leaving Mexico,” catcher Elrod Hendricks, a former Cardinals prospect who played three years (1964-66) in the Mexican League before going to the majors, said to the Associated Press.

Testimonials to Espino’s talents from the archives of the Los Angeles Times and Arizona Daily Star included:

_ Maury Wills, who managed the Hermosillo Orange Growers to a Mexican Pacific League title in 1971 with Espino at first base: “Espino is about as fine a hitter as I ever saw. He should have been in the big leagues five or six years ago.”

_ Frank Lane, ex-Cardinals general manager: “He was one of the great hitters … In the major leagues, he would have been a .320 to .340 hitter, with power.”

_ George Brunet, who played 10 seasons in the Mexican League after pitching for the 1971 Cardinals: “If he got a chance in America … he would have been just like Harmon Killebrew.”

_ Eddie Leon, an American League infielder and Espino’s Mexican League teammate: “I saw Hector when he was 36 and even at that age I thought he was as good a hitter as I’d ever seen or played against, and I played with Dick Allen on the White Sox the year after he won the MVP. Hector couldn’t do as many things as Dick Allen, but he was as good a hitter.”

Looking back on his pro career, Espino said to journalist Leo W. Banks, “Hitting a home run is a great satisfaction, but it is momentary … The satisfying thing, the thing I am most proud of, is that I’ve played 24 years.”

Posted in Games, Hitters, Prospects | 12 Comments »

John Sipin went from Cardinals prospect to Japanese star

August 3, 2026 by retrosimba

John Sipin was taken late in the earliest amateur baseball draft, a 55th-round pick of the Cardinals in 1965.

From that humble beginning, the slender, slugging infielder had some notable experiences during his baseball career, including:

_ Being groomed by Sparky Anderson. Sipin was on two Cardinals farm teams Anderson managed and reached the majors with a Padres club Anderson coached.

_ Sharing a National League record with Willie McCovey. Sipin and McCovey are the only National League players to hit two triples in their big-league debuts.

_ Forming a potent power duo with Sadaharu Oh. Sipin played nine seasons in Japan. In 1979, Oh (with 33) and Sipin (with 27) were the top two home run hitters for the Yomiuri Giants.

Down on the farm

John Sipin was from Watsonville, a California agricultural center in the Pajaro Valley near Monterey Bay. Watsonville, a sanctuary city, is the company headquarters of Monterey Mushrooms, Driscoll’s (a prominent producer of berries) and Martinelli’s (a leading maker of sparkling apple cider and apple juice).

A wave of Filipino migrant farmworkers came to the area in the 1920s and 1930s. Sipin’s father, Johnny Imperial Sipin, immigrated from the Philippines, married Ethel White (whose family moved to California from Arkansas) and got a job managing farmworker camps. Johnny stood 5-foot-4. His son grew to 6-foot-2 and became a standout in baseball, basketball and golf.

After graduating from Watsonville High School in 1964, John Sipin attended Cabrillo College. On the recommendation of scout Bill Sayles, the Cardinals chose the strong-armed shortstop in the first amateur baseball draft, in June 1965, and he reported to their minor-league spring training camp in 1966.

Assigned to St. Petersburg, managed by Sparky Anderson, Sipin became the shortstop and helped the club win 19 in a row. “A key hitter during the streak was John Sipin,” The Sporting News noted. Anderson told the Santa Cruz Sentinel, “I never saw an infielder with a better arm.”

After 31 games at St. Petersburg, Sipin was promoted to Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and continued to impress. Cardinals minor-league hitting instructor Joe Medwick told the Cedar Rapids Gazette that Sipin showed signs of being a power hitter and had one of the “quickest bats” he’d seen among prospects.

Though lanky, Sipin had strong wrists that enabled him to generate bat speed.

The Cardinals liked his bat (14 home runs, 63 RBI) and arm, and put him on their 40-man big-league winter roster after the 1966 season.

Position change

Sipin was the shortstop for Sparky Anderson again in 1967, with Modesto. Though he clouted 19 home runs, he made 51 errors in 123 games.

When Sipin reported to Arkansas in 1968, manager Vern Rapp shifted him to second base. “I feel more suited to second base,” Sipin said to The Sporting News.

Sipin led Texas League second basemen in putouts, assists and double plays, and was named an all-star.

With the National League adding franchises in Montreal and San Diego for 1969, Sipin hoped to be taken in the October 1968 expansion draft, preferably by the Padres, and given the chance to play in the majors for a team in his home state. “I thought they were going to take me,” he said to The Sporting News.

Instead, the Padres passed on Sipin and took another Cardinals infield prospect, Jerry DaVanon, who played high school and college baseball in San Diego.

Dazzling debut

While Sipin began the 1969 season as the second baseman for Warren Spahn’s Tulsa farm team, the Padres opened their inaugural season with Roberto Pena, a former Cubs and Phillies shortstop, as their second baseman.

Padres manager Preston Gomez and coach Sparky Anderson, a former Phillies second baseman, determined the expansion club needed an upgrade at second. Anderson advocated for Sipin.

On May 22, 1969, the Padres dealt Jerry DaVanon and Bill Davis to St. Louis for Sipin, 22, and Sonny Ruberto. “Sipin comes highly recommended,” Gomez told The Sporting News. “He can make the double play, and that’s what we need … The kid has a great arm. We’re working with him to improve his range.”

Two days later, in a game against the Cubs at San Diego, Sipin debuted as the Padres’ second baseman. Batting second, he faced Ken Holtzman in the first inning and tripled. His next time up, in the fourth, Sipin tripled again versus Holtzman. Boxscore

Sipin joined Willie McCovey as the only National League players to triple twice in their big-league debuts. McCovey did it for the Giants against Robin Roberts of the Phillies on July 30, 1959, at San Francisco. Boxscore

(Two American League players also tripled twice in their first games in the majors: Bill Irwin of the 1912 Tigers and Roy Weatherly of Cleveland in 1936. Boxscore and Boxscore)

Sipin was one of the first players of Filipino descent to reach the majors. The first was Bobby Balcena. Born in California to Filipino parents, he had two at-bats for the 1956 Reds. The only Philippines native to play in the majors was Bobby Chouinard. Born in Manila, he pitched for four big-league clubs from 1996-2001.

Sipin followed his two-triple game with a three-hit performance against the Cubs. Boxscore

On May 30, Sipin’s first home run, in the 10th inning against Dan McGinn, gave the Padres a 3-2 win at Montreal. He hit another homer versus the Dodgers’ Don Sutton. On July 30, Sipin had a double and a single against Bob Gibson at St. Louis. Boxscore, Boxscore, Boxscore

Sipin remained the Padres’ second baseman until August when a back ailment required hospital treatment and he was shut down for the season. Sipin made 54 starts for the 1969 Padres, committed just seven errors in 477 innings but batted .223 and had no triples after his first game.

Lion Maru

Sipin had stellar minor-league seasons in 1970 and 1971, but the Padres never brought him back to the majors.

Learning to handle breaking pitches and hit to the opposite field, Sipin batted .301 for Salt Lake City in 1970 and led manager Don Zimmer’s club in total bases (237), slugging (.510), runs (74), doubles (31), homers (20) and RBI (80).

After spring training in 1971, Sipin was with the Padres on Opening Day, but, when he got to the ballpark, management informed him he was being sent to Hawaii. Sipin batted .318 for Hawaii and was the team leader in total bases (262), hits (174) and doubles (26).

Sipin found his comfort zone at his next stop: Japan. He signed with the Taiyo Whales of the Japan Central League in 1972 and became one of the country’s most popular players. Like Ted Simmons, who was nicknamed “Simba” with the Cardinals, Sipin let his hair grow long and was called “Lion Maru,” because he resembled a Japanese TV action hero who was able to transform from a ninja swordsman into a lion-headed warrior.

His play on the field helped earn him fan support, too. As Taiyo’s second baseman in 1972, Sipin, 25, became the first foreign player to win a Japanese Gold Glove Award. He also slugged three grand slams.

Grateful to be playing where he was appreciated, Sipin learned to speak fluent Japanese. “I’m content to stay over there,” he told the Santa Cruz Sentinel.

After six successful seasons (1972-77) as Taiyo’s second baseman, Sipin was traded to the Yomiuri Giants, cut his hair and became Sadaharu Oh’s teammate. Oh and Sipin often batted back-to-back.

In 1979, the Associated Press called Sipin “the most consistent American to play in Japan.” He retired after the 1980 season. In 1,036 career games in Japan, Sipin produced 1,124 hits, including 218 home runs, and batted .297. He three times clouted 30 or more homers in a season.

Sipin went on to have a second career in real estate in Japan and California.

Posted in Games, Hitters, Prospects, Records, Trades | 14 Comments »

A first for St. Louis: Two teams together in top spots

July 27, 2026 by retrosimba

On a typical sweltering July afternoon in St. Louis, baseball fans soothed themselves with refreshing thoughts of a possible October World Series between the Browns and the Cardinals.

On July 22, 1922, St. Louis teams simultaneously were atop the standings of the American League and National League for the first time.

The Browns (53-37) had a .589 winning percentage in the American League and the Cardinals (57-35) had a .620 winning percentage in the National League. Their closest pursuers were New York clubs _ Yankees (.559) in the American; Giants (.612) in the National.

Though the title hopes evaporated and New York teams prevailed, St. Louis experienced a baseball euphoria in 1922. As the St. Louis Post-Dispatch noted, “With two teams in first place, we feel safe in saying there are more baseball followers in St. Louis than there are Democrats in Georgia.”

Tale of two teams

The 1922 Browns and Cardinals were dissimilar teams.

The Browns were managed by Lee Fohl, a former catcher with a fourth-grade education. The Cardinals’ manager was Branch Rickey, a former catcher with a law degree from the University of Michigan.

The Browns had good pitching (a league-leading 3.38 ERA) and the Cardinals didn’t (a 4.44 ERA that was the second-highest in the league).

Browns fielders ranked in the top half of their league in fewest errors committed (199); the Cardinals made the most errors in their league (240).

Their commonality was hitting. The Browns led their league in runs (868), hits (1,684), triples (94), RBI (785), batting average (.310) and slugging (.453). The Cardinals were league leaders in doubles (280), RBI (787) and slugging (.444).

Each had a .400 hitter _ Browns, George Sisler; Cardinals, Rogers Hornsby.

As Peter Golenbock noted in his book “The Spirit of St. Louis,” “Arguments arose in bars all over St. Louis as to who was the better hitter: Sisler or Hornsby.”

(Hornsby and Sisler respected one another. In his book “My War With Baseball,” Hornsby selected Sisler on his all-time team and said, “He is the greatest fielding first baseman I ever saw … He could hit hard to all fields and was an exceptionally good base runner.” In 1928, Sisler was the Boston Braves first baseman when Hornsby was their player-manager. According to the Post-Dispatch, Hornsby said he was one of Sisler’s “strongest admirers.”)

Sisler in 1922 led the American League in runs (134), hits (246), triples (18), stolen bases (51), batting average (.420) and produced a 41-game hitting streak.

Hornsby achieved the Triple Crown in 1922, leading the National League in batting (.401), home runs (42) and RBI (152). He also was the league leader in runs (141), hits (250), doubles (46), on-base percentage (.459), slugging (.722) and had a 33-game hitting streak. His dominance was reflected by his 450 total bases _ 136 more than the runner-up, Irish Meusel of the Giants at 314. Only Babe Ruth (457 with the 1921 Yankees) has had more total bases in a season than Hornsby.

Besides Sisler, the 1922 Browns featured Ken Williams, who swung a 48-ounce bat and led the league in total bases (367), home runs (39) and RBI (155). Williams had more homers than strikeouts (31) that season. He also swiped 37 bases. Two other 1922 Browns hitters of note: Marty McManus (.312, 34 doubles, 109 RBI) and Baby Doll Jacobson (.317, 16 triples, 102 RBI).

Joining Hornsby in the Cardinals’ attack were Milt Stock (.305, 33 doubles), Specs Toporcer (.324) and a couple of rookie .300 hitters called up in August, Jim Bottomley and Ray Blades.

Turning taunts to cheers

On June 26, 1922, the Browns (40-28) held first place in the American League, while the Cardinals (34-29) were in second behind the Giants (39-23) in the National. Then the Cardinals won 23 of their next 29, averaging six runs per game. The last win in that stretch was the one that moved them into first place in the National while the Browns remained atop the American.

The Cardinals did it with a stirring rally against the Braves.

In the third inning, the scoreboard at Sportsman’s Park showed the final from Cincinnati: Reds, 3, Giants 2. That meant the Cardinals could climb past the Giants and into first if they won.

The Braves, though, had other ideas. They scored three runs in the fourth, stretching their lead to 5-1. Many among the crowd of 15,000 reacted by “heaving taunts” at the Cardinals, the St. Louis Globe-Democrat reported.

The mood in the stands remained grim when the Cardinals batted in the eighth, trailing 8-3. Facing Frank Miller, a reliever working his sixth inning, Milt Stock led off with a single and Harry McCurdy walked, but Spec Toporcer’s deep liner to right-center was snared by Walton Cruise, a former Cardinal, for the first out.

Joe Schultz, batting for pitcher Jeff Pfeffer, was next. Schultz was a marvel for the 1922 Cardinals. He hit .384 at home and .363 overall with runners in scoring position. As he had all season, Schultz delivered, booming the ball over the head of left fielder Al Nixon for a two-run double, cutting the Boston lead to 8-5.

The next batter, Max Flack, popped up to second baseman Hod Ford for the second out. Then the Cardinals got a big break. Jack Smith bounced a grounder to Ford for what should have been the inning-ending out, but Ford made a wild throw and Smith was safe at first on the error, with Schultz scooting to third.

The mistake extended the inning and allowed Rogers Hornsby to bat. Hornsby lashed a double, driving in Schultz and making the score 8-6. Smith moved to third. Up next was Heinie Mueller, a St. Louisan who had driven in a mere five runs all season. After getting ahead in the count 2-and-0, Mueller looked for a cripple pitch and got it. He singled to center, sending Smith and Hornsby home and tying the score at 8-8. “Upon this, pandemonium broke loose” in the stands, the Globe-Democrat reported.

Braves manager Fred Mitchell lifted Frank Miller, who faced 26 batters in his relief stint, and brought in a rookie, Tim McNamara. Les Mann ran for Mueller. Del Gainer, the first batter to face McNamara, tapped a ball toward third for an infield hit. Then Milt Stock stroked his second single of the inning through the right side, scoring Mann and giving St. Louis a 9-8 lead.

“Bedlam and pandemonium and all its kindred companions broke out in earnest,” the Post-Dispatch reported.

According to the Globe-Democrat, “frenzied fans smashed straw hats, hurled scorecards onto the field and all but tore the stands into pieces.”

Bill Sherdel, who pitched 10 innings in a win two days earlier, was brought in to work the ninth for St. Louis. He held the Braves scoreless, saving the win that put the Cardinals into first place. Boxscore

That afternoon, in Philadelphia, the Browns stomped the Athletics, 10-1, and boosted their lead over the Yankees to 2.5 games. Boxscore

“For the first time in 21 years, since the American League was organized in 1901, the two St. Louis teams simultaneously occupy first place in the major leagues,” the Globe-Democrat noted.

New York, New York

Soon after, the Giants and Yankees were helped by trades made with the Boston clubs. On July 23, the Red Sox dealt third baseman Joe Dugan to the Yankees for four players and $50,000. Dugan hit .286 for the 1922 Yankees and .385 with runners in scoring position. On July 30, the Braves sent pitcher Hugh McQuillan to the Giants for three players and $100,000. McQuillan earned six wins, including one against the Cardinals, for the 1922 Giants.

Meanwhile, the Cardinals went into a tailspin, losing five in a row, including four to the Giants, after the comeback win against the Braves. The Cardinals were 8-14 in August, including 4-11 at home. Their record after July 22 was 28-34.

The Giants (93-61) were National League champions. The Reds (86-68) placed second and the Cardinals (85-69) and Pirates (85-69) shared third.

The Yankees (94-60) prevailed in the American League, one win better than St. Louis (93-61). The Browns lost 14 of 22 against the Yankees during the season.

The World Series was all Giants, who swept to the title.

Posted in Games, Hitters | 16 Comments »

Christy Mathewson nearly made St. Louis his baseball home

July 20, 2026 by retrosimba

Early in his big-league career, when he was well-regarded but not yet perhaps the top pitcher in the game, Christy Mathewson planned to leave the New York Giants and join the St. Louis Browns.

In 1902, his second full season in the majors, Mathewson was stuck on a bad Giants team. The 1902 Giants were last in the big leagues in hitting (.237) and runs scored (405) and made the most errors (338) in the National League. They finished 48-88 _ the worst record in the majors.

This was during a period when the American League and National League were raiding each other for players. After the 1901 season, for instance, multiple Cardinals _ second baseman Dick Padden, shortstop Bobby Wallace, left fielder Jesse Burkett, center fielder Emmet Heidrick, and pitchers Jack Powell, Jack Harper and Willie Sudhoff _ were enticed to defect to the Browns.

When the Browns made Mathewson an offer in July 1902 to switch leagues and join them after the season, he accepted. He took a $500 cash bonus and signed a contract for 1903. To sweeten the arrangement, the Browns also signed the Giants’ catcher, Frank Bowerman, for 1903.

If Mathewson had pitched for the Browns, maybe the franchise would have been a perennial contender instead of an also-ran, but he instead stayed with the Giants and tormented the rest of the National League, most especially the Cardinals.

Bucknell to big leagues

Christopher Mathewson was from Factoryville, Pa. His father, Gilbert Mathewson, served as a drummer boy for the Union Army during the Civil War under the command of his uncle, Col. D.N. Mathewson.

A big man on campus at Bucknell, Christy Mathewson was class president, majored in forestry, sang in the glee club, belonged to two literary societies, and played football, basketball and baseball.

A right-hander, Mathewson, 19, reached the majors with the Giants in 1900, but lacked command, walking more batters than he struck out. His ERA that season was 5.08. Mathewson’s first decision was a loss in a five-inning relief stint against the Cardinals at St. Louis in August 1900. He got his first big-league hit, a double, in that game but gave up five runs. The Cardinals’ leadoff batter, John McGraw, would soon become like a second father to Mathewson as manager of the Giants. Boxscore

The next season, 1901, Mathewson improved considerably, earning 20 of the Giants’ 52 wins. One of those was a no-hitter against the Cardinals at St. Louis. Boxscore

Meet me in St. Louis

Mathewson again was the Giants’ top winner in 1902 but the team was such a mess that he also was needed as an emergency fill-in at first base (three starts, four errors) and right field (three starts).

Meanwhile, the 1902 Browns, stocked with ex-Cardinals, were headed toward a second-place finish in the American League. The Browns fielded well (most putouts in the league) and had quality pitching (third-fewest runs allowed).

In July 1902, about the time the Giants hired John McGraw to take over as manager, Browns owner Robert Hedges convinced Mathewson to defect to St. Louis after the season. Mathewson signed “in the latter part of July and took our money,” Browns manager Jimmy McAleer told the St. Louis Republic.

Hedges acknowledged Mathewson and Bowerman would be Browns in 1903, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported. According to the St. Louis Republic, Hedges had the signed contracts of Mathewson and Bowerman in his office safe.

“We will certainly have Mathewson and Bowerman and probably one or two other National Leaguers,” Hedges told the Republic.

Then something unexpected happened.

Give peace a chance

The roster raids became too costly for some team owners. As St. Louis Star-Times columnist Sid Keener noted, “It was a free-for-all scrap, with the players reaping the profits.”

Club owners met in January 1903 and attempted to reach a peace treaty. “The factions were battling back and forth, trying to arrange a satisfactory agreement,” Keener reported.

Hedges was the key. For two days, he refused to return Mathewson and Bowerman to the Giants. When he changed his mind, the American League and National League signed a peace agreement on Jan. 10, 1903, ending the roster raids. According to the St. Louis Republic, Mathewson and Bowerman were required to return the bonuses Hedges paid them during the summer.

“I lost a pennant for St. Louis in that deal,” Hedges said to the Star-Times, “but I brought about peace in the baseball world.”

Ace of diamonds

With John McGraw in his first full season as their manager, the Giants made a stunning transformation, winning 84 times in 1903 (36 more wins than they had the year before) and placing second. Mathewson won 30, the first of his four seasons with 30 or more wins.

The Browns went backwards, posting a 65-74 mark in 1903. It would be 20 years before they would match the second-place finish of 1902.

McGraw led the Giants to nine National League pennants and three World Series titles. Mathewson pitched on four of those pennant winners. In the 1905 World Series, he shut out the Athletics three times. In 11 World Series starts for the Giants covering 101.2 innings, Mathewson had an 0.97 ERA.

In a stretch from 1904-08, Mathewson won 24 consecutive decisions against the Cardinals. In one of those wins, his 33rd of 1904, he struck out 16 Cardinals. Boxscore

(The only other pitcher to win 24 in a row against one club is Carl Mays, who did it against the Athletics from 1918-23.)

Mathewson had a 52-23 record (with nine shutouts) versus the Cardinals. He won 26 at New York and 26 at St. Louis.

Mathewson also was dominant against the Reds, winning 22 consecutive decisions versus Cincinnati from 1908-11.

He was a master at studying batters, finding their weaknesses, and delivering a wide variety of pitches with command of the strike zone.

Mathewson had a stretch of 68 consecutive innings without a walk in 1913. Johnny Evers of the Cubs told the Star-Times that year, “I don’t believe Mathewson pitched the same way to me twice all season. He might start out by dinking one a little on the inside, another on the outside, come across with a fadeaway and then shoot a fast one across the plate while I was waiting for something else. The next time I went up, Christy was liable to start out with a fadeaway, dink a slow one on the inside, follow with a fast one and then another fadeaway. Consequently, you never could be prepared for the next ball. Matty knows exactly what you can’t hit and takes advantage of said fact.”

As Mathewson told the Star-Times, “The pitcher is in a duel of wits with the man at the plate. There is as much mixture of brain as there is of delivery.”

Mathewson and Grover Cleveland Alexander share the National League record for most career wins (373). Only Cy Young (511) and Walter Johnson (417) have more. Mathewson also ranks third all-time in career shutouts (79). The top two are Walter Johnson (110) and Grover Cleveland Alexander (90).

Posted in Executives, Games, Opponents, Pitchers, Records | 15 Comments »

Why Mike Ramsey was next best thing to Ozzie Smith

July 13, 2026 by retrosimba

During a critical point in the 1982 division title chase, the Cardinals lost shortstop Ozzie Smith for two weeks because of an injury. To replace the Gold Glove Award winner, manager Whitey Herzog chose Mike Ramsey, a utility player with the physique of an exclamation point and a swing he described as “my dork stroke.”

Rising to the challenge, Ramsey fielded flawlessly and performed with steely sturdiness. As Rick Hummel of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch aptly noted, “The iron man was the thin man.”

When St. Louis played five games totaling 46 innings in three days (Sept. 17-19) against the Mets, Ramsey was the only Cardinal to play every inning of each game. St. Louis won all five.

In the 14 consecutive games Smith sat out from Sept. 11 through Sept. 23, Ramsey was the St. Louis shortstop in every inning of every game. He made no errors in that 129-inning stretch and the Cardinals won 10 of the 14 games. St. Louis, in second place when Ramsey replaced Smith, was in first, with a 4.5-game division lead, when Ramsey completed his stint as the starter.

In the book “Whitey’s Boys,” Whitey Herzog said, “Unbelievable … Everybody thought when Ozzie got hurt that we were done, but that wasn’t the case.”

Late bloomer

A college shortstop at Appalachian State, Ramsey was chosen by the Cardinals in the third round of the 1975 amateur draft, but Garry Templeton was the top shortstop in the St. Louis system then.

Ramsey had knee surgery in 1976, made 44 errors with Arkansas in 1977 and another 41 with Springfield (Ill.) in 1978. The Cardinals gave Ramsey a look near the end of the 1978 season, but he floundered at Springfield (hitting .221) in 1979 and was benched in favor of Ron Farkas. Ramsey had a “terrible year,” Cardinals general manager John Claiborne told the Post-Dispatch.

“My mental state wasn’t good then,” Ramsey recalled to Larry Harnly of the State Journal-Register of Springfield, Ill. “I couldn’t put it together. I was 24 and 25, but in my mind I was a young kid. I didn’t go about my job the right way … I got down mentally. Different people mature at different times, and I matured late.”

Left off the Cardinals’ 40-man roster after the 1979 season, Ramsey was available to be drafted, but no team took him. Back at Springfield in 1980, “I knew then I had to show them I could play,” he told the Journal-Register. “I knew I had to do it then, or I might have had to think about quitting after the 1980 season. I turned it around. I started to grasp what I had to do. I took things more seriously.”

In May 1980, second baseman Ken Oberkfell got injured and the Cardinals brought up Ramsey to replace him. He got a boost from coach Dave Ricketts, who helped him with his hitting. “He has put it into my head what I have to do,” Ramsey said to the Journal-Register. “I have to lay off high pitches and I have to hit the ball on the ground.”

From May 26 to June 11, Ramsey hit safely in 12 of the 13 games he started at second. He produced four hits in a game against the Mets at New York. Boxscore

Whitey Herzog, who replaced Ken Boyer as Cardinals manager in June 1980, liked Ramsey. In June 1981, when Garry Templeton told Herzog he was too tired to play the day after a night game, Herzog started Ramsey at shortstop. In August, after the Cardinals suspended and fined Templeton, then moved him to the disabled list, Ramsey took over. He made 27 starts at shortstop for the 1981 Cardinals.

During a Cardinals series at Montreal, Ramsey met a Canadian woman, Merle Yos. “I was playing second base and I flirted with her as I came into the dugout,” Ramsey recalled to the Journal-Register. “I’d look into the stands. I asked her out. We had a long distance relationship. Her dad is a big Expos fan.”

In February 1982, the couple married.

Doing the job

Ramsey, 28, had two extended stretches during the 1982 season when he filled in as a Cardinals starting infielder.

When an injured Tommy Herr was out for a period from May into June, Ramsey replaced him at second base. He hit .358 in May and .308 in June. For the season, Ramsey made 35 starts at second with the 1982 Cardinals.

After Herr returned, Ramsey went back to his utility role. He played second, third, shortstop and even some left field.

On July 25 at St. Louis, Herzog started Ramsey at shortstop against the Astros. Don Sutton was Houston’s starting pitcher that day and Ozzie Smith, who had a .136 career batting mark against him, got a day off.

With the Astros ahead, 1-0, in the second, the Cardinals had two on, one out, and Ramsey at the plate. A switch hitter batting left, he worked the count to 3-and-1. Sutton decided to make the next pitch a fat one. “My chances of getting him out were good enough that I could throw him a strike,” Sutton told the Post-Dispatch. “The worst I would get was a single or a double.”

Instead, Ramsey walloped it over the wall. “I just floated around the bases,” he told the Post-Dispatch. The three-run blast was his first big-league home run. Ramsey told reporter Rick Hummel, “I used to hit them out in wiffleball when I was 10 years old. It was a real small area.”

Referring to the home run as “a fluke,” Sutton said to the St. Louis newspaper, “Who’s the last guy on their ballclub you figured would hit a home run?”

Ramsey’s rocket lifted the Cardinals to a 4-3 victory. “I was happy it came off a guy that good and that it wasn’t a cheap home run at all,” Ramsey told Rick Hummel. Boxscore

(A month later, Sutton was traded to the Brewers and helped them win the American League pennant. He started Games 2 and 6 of the World Series, but the Cardinals won both.)

Ramsey’s only other big-league homer was a solo shot against the Cubs’ Chuck Rainey at Wrigley Field in 1983. Boxscore

Play to win

In a Sept. 10, 1982, game against the Mets, Ozzie Smith ranged far to his left, dived and gloved a hard-hit ball, preventing a run from scoring. The next day his injured right thigh kept him from playing. That’s when Ramsey became the St. Louis shortstop.

“I’ll just play hard and stay within my limitations and try not to be Ozzie,” Ramsey told the Post-Dispatch.

Smith was nicknamed The Wizard _ as in Wizard of Oz _ because of his brilliant fielding, but Ramsey provided magic, too. The unheralded utilityman was a marvel of consistent excellence while performing under the pressure of a title chase.

As Rick Hummel noted in the Post-Dispatch, “He did the nearly unthinkable. He almost made one forget that Ozzie Smith was not there.”

Though he initially struggled at the plate after replacing Smith, Ramsey recovered and hit .385 over a four-game stretch against the Mets and Phillies. “I’ve got my stroke, my dork stroke, back now,” he told Rick Hummel.

Smith returned to the lineup on Sept. 24 and the Cardinals went on to win a division title and then the National League pennant.

In the World Series versus Milwaukee, Ramsey mostly watched from the bench until the decisive Game 7. In the sixth inning, he ran for Gene Tenace and scored the go-ahead run on George Hendrick’s single. Whitey Herzog kept Ramsey in the game at third base, replacing Ken Oberkfell. Ramsey played the final three innings of the Cardinals’ championship clincher. Boxscore

At spring training in March 1983, Tommy Herr had arthroscopic left knee surgery. When the reigning World Series champions opened the 1983 season, Ramsey was their second baseman. Boxscore

“Mike Ramsey is the best utilityman in baseball,” Whitey Herzog declared to the Post-Dispatch.

Told of the manager’s comment, Ramsey replied, “He’s just being kind to me.”

Ramsey made 47 starts, including 36 at second, for the 1983 Cardinals.

In July 1984, Ramsey was traded to the Expos for Chris Speier. Ramsey played his final big-league games with the Dodgers in 1985.

Cardinals director of player development Ted Simmons hired Ramsey to be an instructional coach in 1989, then promoted him to minor-league manager.

Ramsey managed for 14 years in the farm systems of the Cardinals (1991-95), Padres (1996-99), Rays (2000-01) and Giants (2002-04). Among the players he managed were Joe McEwing, Dmitri Young, Carl Crawford and Matt Cain.

Posted in Games, Hitters | 11 Comments »

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