As a Cardinals rookie in 1962, first baseman Fred Whitfield was one of the best power-hitting prospects the franchise had produced in years.
“He has a quicker bat than anyone on the Cardinals and he can reach the roof at Busch Stadium,” coach Vern Benson told The Sporting News.
Said Phillies manager Gene Mauch after watching Whitfield pound Philadelphia pitching: “Fred Whitfield is the greatest hitter I’ve ever seen _ for the number of times I’ve seen him bat against us.”
The Sporting News hailed Whitfield as the Cardinals’ “biggest surprise of 1962” and Whitfield was selected by big-league managers, coaches and players as the first baseman on the 1962 Topps all-star rookie team.
Signed by Cardinals scout Mercer Harris, Whitfield was a standout in the minor leagues. He hit .309 with 23 home runs for Keokuk in 1958; .285 with 28 homers for Winston-Salem and Tulsa in 1959; .310 with 22 homers for Tulsa in 1960; and .301 with 18 homers for Charleston in 1961.
Whitfield, 24, went to the big-league spring training camp in 1962, but was sent to the Cardinals’ farm club in Atlanta before the season began. Atlanta manager Joe Schultz said Whitfield “could hit 30 home runs in our park.”
He was batting .323 and leading the International League in home runs (eight) and RBI (28) when he was promoted to the Cardinals on May 26, 1962.
The Cardinals were seeking a right-handed batter to replace injured outfielder Minnie Minoso. Because of a weak throwing arm after he hurt his shoulder as an American Legion pitcher, Whitfield only could play first base. Unlike Minoso, he batted left-handed.
According to The Sporting News, it was Cardinals business manager Art Routzong who convinced general manager Bing Devine and manager Johnny Keane to promote Whitfield.
Routzong asked, “Why not bring up the best hitter in our farm system, Fred Whitfield?”
Replied Keane: “Maybe you’ve got something there.”
In his first five pinch-hit appearances for the Cardinals, Whitfield produced three hits and a walk.
On June 10, 1962, in the second game of a doubleheader at St. Louis against the Giants, Cardinals first baseman Bill White pulled a thigh muscle and Whitfield replaced him. In the sixth inning, Billy Pierce twice brushed back Whitfield. On the next pitch, Whitfield hit a three-run home run. “The ball disappeared over the roof in right-center and sailed across Grand Boulevard,” The Sporting News reported. Boxscore
Whitfield went on a tear, with 10 RBI in four games. On June 12, 1962, his two-run homer in the eighth inning off Paul Brown erased a one-run deficit and lifted the Cardinals to a 3-2 victory over the Phillies. Boxscore
“In the five years I’ve been with the Cardinals,” said Routzong, “we have never brought up anyone who has come through with so many clutch hits in so few opportunities as Whitfield.”
Among Whitfield’s other big hits for St. Louis:
_ A three-run pinch-hit home run against the Braves’ Claude Raymond on July 3, 1962. Boxscore
_ A 10th-inning pinch-hit home run off Pirates closer Roy Face on July 15, 1962. Boxscore
_ A pinch-hit three-run home run against Jay Hook of the Mets on July 28, 1962. Boxscore
_ A grand slam off Phillies left-hander Bill Smith on Aug. 12, 1962. Boxscore
Whitfield finished the 1962 season with a .266 batting average, eight home runs and 34 RBI in 158 at-bats for the Cardinals. He hit .333 as a pinch-hitter and .412 with two outs and runners in scoring position.
“Fred did an exceptionally good job, especially as a pinch-hitter and part-time player, jobs usually handled by older, experienced men,” Devine said.
However, Whitfield became expendable because White, who batted left-handed, was entrenched at first base, and the Cardinals needed pitching.
On Dec. 15, 1962, the Cardinals dealt Whitfield to the Indians for pitcher Ron Taylor and infielder Jack Kubiszyn.
“If eyebrows were raised over the price Devine had to pay … it was understandable,” Th Sporting News reported. “The Cardinals had not come up with a genuine longball threat for years until Fred Whitfield exploded on the scene early last summer.”
Whitfield hit 20 or more home runs three times for the Indians (21 in 1963, 26 in 1965 and 27 in 1966). In a nine-year major-league career (1962-70), he played for the Cardinals, Indians, Reds and Expos, batting .253 with 108 home runs.
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