RetroSimba

The National League Rookie of the Year Award didn’t exist in 1944. If it had, Cardinals pitcher Freddy Schmidt would have been a good candidate.

Schmidt contributed seven wins and five saves to the 1944 World Series championship club.

The 1944 Cardinals dominated the National League with a 105-49 record, finishing 14.5 games ahead of the runner-up Pirates.

Discovered by the Cardinals when he attended one of their tryout camps in his hometown of Hartford, Conn., Schmidt joined the organization with Class D Shelby of the North Carolina State League in 1937.

It was the first of seven consecutive seasons in the Cardinals’ minor-league system for Schmidt. He was a 19-game winner for Class B Allentown in 1942 and was 13-10 for Class AA Rochester in 1943.

At 28, Schmidt made the Cardinals’ Opening Day roster in 1944. Initially used in relief, Schmidt earned the confidence of manager Billy Southworth and was given occasional starts.

His first big-league start was an eye-opener to the degree of difficulty in the major leagues. Starting for the Cardinals in the second game of a doubleheader on June 4, 1944, at Philadelphia, Schmidt held the Phillies to an unearned run and four hits in seven innings, but was the losing pitcher. His counterpart, Bill Lee, shut out the Cardinals on two hits and the Phillies won, 1-0. Boxscore

Schmidt earned his first big-league win in his next appearance, a relief stint on June 14, 1944, against the Cubs at St. Louis, when the Cardinals scored three in the bottom of the eighth and won, 10-9. Boxscore

In August, Southworth used Schmidt as a starter more frequently _ and the rookie responded, pitching a pair of shutouts in an 11-day stretch.

On Aug. 16, 1944, at St. Louis, Schmidt pitched a five-hitter in the Cardinals’ 5-0 victory over the Giants. The win was the Cardinals’ fifth in a row and enabled them to achieve their 80th victory on the earliest date in National League history. Boxscore

Schmidt used his arm and his bat to lead the Cardinals to a 4-0 victory over the Pirates in a cold drizzle on Aug. 25, 1944, at St. Louis. Schmidt pitched a six-hitter and struck out nine. He also produced two singles and two RBI. Pirates manager Frankie Frisch twice ordered intentional walks to the Cardinals’ No. 8 batter, Marty Marion, and Schmidt foiled the strategy each time with a RBI-single, the Associated Press reported. Boxscore

Schmidt finished the regular season with a 7-3 record, five saves and a 3.15 ERA in 37 games, including nine starts.

In his lone appearance in the 1944 World Series, Schmidt pitched 3.1 innings of scoreless, one-hit relief in Game 3, a 6-2 victory for the Browns. Boxscore

Two months later, Dec. 8, 1944, Schmidt was drafted into the Army.

Schmidt rejoined the Cardinals in 1946 and was 1-0 with a 3.29 ERA in 16 relief appearances, helping St. Louis to its fourth pennant of the decade.

After appearing in two games for St. Louis in 1947, Schmidt and outfielder Harry Walker were traded to the Phillies for outfielder Ron Northey on May 3. In September, after he posted a 5-8 record for Philadelphia, the Phillies placed him on waivers and Schmidt was claimed by the Cubs. He pitched in one game for Chicago _ and never appeared in the big leagues again.

Schmidt had a career major-league record of 13-11, 8-3 as a Cardinal.

Previously: Danny Litwhiler: perfect fit for champion Cardinals