RetroSimba

In 1982, when the Cardinals first used a designated hitter in a World Series, Dane Iorg delivered.

A left-handed batter, Iorg, 32, was a reserve outfielder and first baseman for the 1982 Cardinals. He made 62 starts in the outfield and five at first base that season.

Iorg would have been a pinch-hitter in the 1982 World Series versus the Brewers if not for the designated hitter rule. In 1982, Major League Baseball allowed teams to use the DH in every World Series game.

Used as the designated hitter in five of the World Series games (manager Whitey Herzog went with Gene Tenace in Game 1 and Lonnie Smith in Game 5), Iorg batted .529 (9-for-17) with four runs scored. Five of his hits were for extra bases (four doubles and a triple).

In Game 6, Iorg had a double and triple versus Don Sutton and a double against Doc Medich.

Dave Nightingale, in his story in The Sporting News about that game, wrote, “Dane who? The same Dane Iorg who led all Series hitters in slugging percentage (.929) after six games? The same Dane Iorg who has spent more than a few sleepless nights wondering if he was good enough to play major league baseball; who thinks World Series pressure is a piece of cake compared to the strain of trying to make a ballclub in spring training? Yeah, that Dane Iorg.”

Described by columnist Bill Conlin as the “Cardinals’ sweet-swinging DH hero,” Iorg finished the Series with a slugging percentage of .882, the best of any hitter on either club.

In a 2007 interview with the Topeka Capital-Journal, Iorg said, “I always loved playing in the big game and I always wanted to be up there with the game on the line.”

Cardinals designated hitters batted .429 (12-for-28) in the 1982 World Series; their Brewers counterparts hit .125 (3-for-24).