RetroSimba

(Updated May 10, 2021)

On Oct. 5, 1970, the Cardinals, looking to steady their middle infield with a reliable sparkplug, made a trade with the Dodgers, swapping slugger Dick Allen for second baseman Ted Sizemore and catcher Bob Stinson.

Though Allen, in his lone St. Louis season, hit 34 home runs, the most by a Cardinal since Stan Musial’s 35 in 1954, the Cardinals had taken a step backward in 1970, in part, because of shoddy defense.

One area of need was second base. Longtime starter Julian Javier had back problems. Allen, a defensive liability at first base, third base or left field, was deemed expendable.

“I told him (Allen) he did everything we had expected of him,” Cardinals general manager Bing Devine told the Associated Press. “It was just that the club wasn’t balanced enough … The vital aspect was defense.”

Sizemore, who won the National League Rookie of the Year Award in 1969, had a reputation as an unselfish scrapper.

“The people here (in St. Louis) will like him because of his hustle and his ability to go all out,” Cardinals manager Red Schoendienst told reporters.

In five years (1971-75) with St. Louis, Sizemore batted .260, primarily from the No. 2 spot in the order. When Cardinals speedster Lou Brock broke the big-league single-season stolen base record in 1974, he cited the sacrifices made by Sizemore, who passed up many good pitches to hit in order to give Brock chances to steal.

Asked about Brock, Sizemore told Cardinals Gameday Magazine in 2014, “We would go over pitchers before games. He would tell me, ‘I’m going on this guy. If I get a decent jump, I will beat the throw to second base.’ He had it down.”

In the book “The Spirit of St. Louis,” Cardinals pitcher Rich Folkers told author Peter Golenbock, “Ted Sizemore … was probably the best No. 2 hitter I saw in my career. He hit 0-and-2 more than any hitter I ever saw, because with Lou Brock getting on base, he took and took and took, waiting for Lou to steal bases.

“I thought he was outstanding, though Ted never got the credit,” said Folkers. “These are the behind-the-scene things. You might say, “This guy only hit .260 in the big leagues.’ Yeah, but he got the ground ball to move him to third, or he took strikes so Brock could steal.”

Sizemore also was a steady fielder. He made four throwing errors in five years with the Cardinals.