RetroSimba

Tom Underwood’s time with the Cardinals was brief (19 games pitched in 1977), but he was an integral part of two trades that significantly shaped the St. Louis team.

Underwood, 56, died Nov. 22, 2010, of pancreatic cancer in West Palm Beach, Fla.

A left-handed pitcher, Underwood was the centerpiece of a controversial trade by the Cardinals that sent outfielder Bake McBride and pitcher Steve Waterbury to the Phillies on June 15, 1977. In addition to Underwood, the Cardinals got outfielders Dane Iorg and Rick Bosetti.

McBride was popular with Cardinals fans and players, but he feuded with first-year St. Louis manager Vern Rapp. McBride was the first Cardinal to defy Rapp’s hair-length code and he bristled at Rapp’s demand that McBride trim his mutton chop sideburns.

Because McBride had undergone knee surgery in 1976, Rapp wanted to move him from center field to right field and place Tony Scott in center. When McBride balked at the move, it triggered the trade to Philadelphia.

The Cubs thought they had a deal to acquire Underwood from the Phillies for outfielders Jose Cardenal and Greg Gross. When the Cardinals made McBride available, the Phillies dealt with St. Louis instead.

McBride, who batted .307 in five years with St. Louis, helped the Phillies to three division titles and the 1980 World Series championship.

Underwood was 6-9 with a 4.95 ERA (17 starts, 2 relief appearances) with St. Louis. He walked (57) almost as many as he struck out (66).

The Cardinals wanted Underwood because their only left-handed starter, Pete Falcone, was struggling and two other rotation members (Larry Dierker and John Denny) were slowed by injuries. At the time of the trade, Underwood was 23 and coming off consecutive winning seasons for the Phillies. The Cardinals envisioned him as a pitcher who could pay dividends for years.

As a Cardinal, Underwood was effective against left-handed batters (he held them to a .186 batting average with no home runs). Right-handed batters pounded him for a .299 batting average and seven homers.

In his nine losses with St. Louis, Underwood had a 7.82 ERA and opponents batted .363 against him.

Underwood’s best-pitched game for the Cardinals came against the Cubs in Wrigley Field on Sept. 6, 1977. He pitched a complete game, yielding six hits and a run while striking out eight in a 3-1 Cardinals victory. Catcher Ted Simmons homered, singled, walked, scored a run and drove in two.  Boxscore

On Dec. 6, 1977, Underwood and picher Victor Cruz were traded by the Cardinals to the Blue Jays for pitcher Pete Vuckovich and outfielder John Scott.

Vuckovich, a tough right-hander, pitched well (39-31, 3.21 ERA) in three years with St. Louis. He, along with Simmons and reliever Rollie Fingers, were dealt by the Cardinals to the Brewers in December 1980 for pitchers Dave LaPoint and Lary Sorensen and outfielders David Green and Sixto Lezcano. That trade was critical to the construction of the Cardinals and Brewers into pennant winners in 1982.

Underwood went on to pitch for the Blue Jays, Yankees, Athletics and Orioles. In an 11-year big-league career, he was 86-87 with a 3.89 ERA.