RetroSimba

A minor move for a one-time heartbreaker paid off in a major way for the 2004 Cardinals.

Desperate for a second baseman late in spring training, the Cardinals acquired Tony Womack from the Red Sox for reliever Matt Duff on March 21, 2004.

The Cardinals weren’t sure Womack was even healthy enough to play.

He turned out to be the catalyst for a club that won the National League pennant.

Womack, 34, had undergone ligament replacement surgery on his right elbow in October 2003.

The Cardinals, unwilling to enter the 2004 season with either Marlon Anderson or Bo Hart as their everyday second baseman, took a chance on Womack, even though they were told he still was a month away from being able to field and throw.

After Womack reported to the Cardinals’ spring training camp in Jupiter, Fla., pulling into the players’ parking lot in a purple Lamborghini, he declared, “I’m ready to go now. I’ve been ready for a while,” the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported.

The Cardinals immediately put him into minor-league games on the back fields of the training complex and, sure enough, Womack proved fit. His elbow had healed far ahead of schedule.

An impressed and grateful Cardinals management team, seeking a replacement for departed free-agent second baseman Fernando Vina, quickly made plans to get him into the starting lineup and atop the batting order in big-league games.

Forgive us our trespasses

Three years earlier, Womack was a Cardinals nemesis. Playing shortstop for the Diamondbacks, Womack delivered the game-winning hit that eliminated the Cardinals in the fifth and deciding game of the National League Division Series.

On Oct. 14, 2001, at Phoenix, Womack came to bat in the bottom of the ninth inning of Game 5 against reliever Steve Kline with the score tied at 1-1, two outs and a runner at second. Womack’s single to left drove in pinch-runner Danny Bautista, giving the Diamondbacks a 2-1 victory and enabling them to advance on the path toward their first World Series championship. Boxscore

Reminded of that hit after he joined the Cardinals, Womack told Joe Strauss of the Post-Dispatch, “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to break their hearts, but better their heart than mine.”

In response, Cardinals manager Tony La Russa, chuckling, told Rick Hummel of the Post-Dispatch, “I’ve forgiven (Womack). I haven’t forgiven Kline. I’ve got to make sure Kline doesn’t throw batting practice to Womack.”

Said Kline of Womack: “I like the guy. Now he doesn’t have to get a hit off me.”

Spark plug

After Womack singled twice and stole two bases against Tigers catcher Ivan Rodriguez in his first Cardinals spring training game, La Russa gushed, “He looked like what I thought he’d be, a guy with a lot of energy who can be very disruptive. Impressive.”

Two weeks after he was acquired, Womack was the 2004 Cardinals’ Opening Day second baseman. Batting leadoff against the Brewers at St. Louis, Womack was 1-for-3 with two walks and a run scored. Boxscore

He had a strong April (.351 batting average with seven steals and a .415 on-base percentage) and, except for a slump in May, was consistently productive all season.

Womack hit especially well against some of St. Louis’ Central Division foes: . 382 (26-for-68) vs. the Reds; .373 (25-for-67) vs. the Cubs; .357 (25-for-70) vs. the Pirates; and .333 (15-for-45) vs. the Brewers.

In 145 regular-season games for the 2004 Cardinals, Womack had 170 hits, scored 91 runs and had 26 stolen bases. He batted .307 and had an on-base percentage of .349. Both figures were far better than his career marks in those categories. (In 13 major-league seasons, Womack had a .273 batting average and .317 on-base percentage.) He fielded adequately, with 15 errors in 1,113 innings at second base for St. Louis.

In the 2004 World Series, Womack batted .182, 2-for-11, in the four games against the Red Sox, but fielded flawlessly. He then became a free agent and signed with the Yankees. He eventually bounced to the Reds and the Cubs. Two years after leaving the Cardinals, his playing career was finished.

In 2005, the Cardinals replaced Womack with another free agent, Mark Grudzielanek.

Previously: Tino Martinez, Mike Matheny and the Cardinals’ Easter brawl