RetroSimba

Before the 1979 season, Cardinals catcher Ted Simmons pledged to increase his power production, telling The Sporting News he would try to hit as many as 30 home runs.

Simmons backed those words with the most potent longball surge produced by a Cardinals catcher in the first half of a season.

Simmons, a switch-hitter, hit 18 home runs before July in 1979.

Simmons hit four home runs in 20 games in April and six in 24 games in May. He went on a tear in June, hitting eight home runs with 24 RBI in 18 games.

In a three-game stretch from June 9 through June 11, Simmons hit four home runs with 10 RBI.

The hot streak started when Simmons hit a two-run home run, his 13th, off Tom Tellmann, a reliever making his major-league debut, in the Cardinals’ 7-4 victory over the Padres on June 9 at St. Louis. Boxscore

The following day, Sunday, June 10, Simmons snapped a 2-2 tie in the fifth with a solo home run against Randy Jones, lifting the Cardinals to a 3-2 victory over the Padres at St. Louis. Boxscore

Simmons capped the stretch with a pair of home runs that produced six runs in the Cardinals’ 9-7 victory over the Dodgers on June 11 at Los Angeles. He hit a grand slam, the sixth of his career, against Jerry Reuss in the third inning, and a two-run home run off Lerrin LaGrow, breaking a 7-7 tie, in the ninth. Boxscore

That gave Simmons seven home runs in his last 13 games and nine in his last 17. Simmons had 29 RBI in that 17-game stretch.

“At 29, I have reached the point where I know what I am doing at the plate,” Simmons said to the Associated Press. “I’ve turned into the hitter I’ve always wanted to be.”

Simmons elaborated to United Press International: “I started trying to pull the ball about three years ago and that’s when the homers started coming. In our park, you don’t get a home run without pulling the ball.”

Simmons hit his 17th and 18th home runs, both solo shots, off Kevin Kobel in the Cardinals’ 4-2 victory over the Mets on June 22 at St. Louis. His second homer of the game, leading off the seventh, broke a 2-2 tie. Boxscore

He didn’t hit another until July 30.

On June 24, Simmons fractured his left wrist when struck by a foul ball. He was batting .321 with 18 home runs and 52 RBI when injured.

Simmons was sidelined for a month, returning on July 24. The injury cost him his shot at 30 home runs. He played in 123 games, his fewest since 1970, but still finished with 26 home runs, a career high.

Previously: Simmons rates with Cardinals Hall of Famers