(Updated July 17, 2018)
Insisting the crime didn’t fit the punishment, Cardinals pitcher Joaquin Andujar threatened to return home to the Dominican Republic rather than pay a fine for an altercation with Giants counterpart Mike Krukow.
Andujar didn’t leave the Cardinals _ instead, he completed a season in which he led the National League in wins (20) and innings pitched (261.1) _ but the incident and his reaction to it contributed to the legend of the talented, emotional St. Louis starter.
On July 17, 1984, in a game between the Giants and Cardinals at St. Louis, Manny Trillo was hit by a pitch from Andujar in the first inning. Andujar led the National League in most batters hit by pitches in both 1984 and 1985.
Two innings later, when Andujar batted for the first time in the game, Krukow brushed him back with two pitches. On the second brushback pitch, Andujar “had to jump rope or the ball would have hit him” in the leg, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported.
Home plate umpire Billy Williams went to the mound to warn Krukow to stop throwing at Andujar. “I thought the first time the ball got away from him,” Williams said. “The second one didn’t.”
As Giants manager Frank Robinson joined the conversation on the mound, Krukow began yelling at Andujar, tossed down his glove and charged the Cardinals pitcher. Andujar tossed down his helmet and threw a punch at Krukow, the Post-Dispatch reported. Krukow and Andujar grappled on the ground for a while.
Both benches emptied but there was no serious fighting and neither pitcher was ejected because Williams said he didn’t see either throw a punch. When the at-bat continued, Krukow struck out Andujar.
Krukow said his teammates expected him to answer Andujar’s plunking of Trillo. “I have to dress next to these guys,” Krukow said. “I couldn’t look them in the eye if I didn’t protect them.”
When Andujar went back to the mound to pitch the fourth, he was a wreck. The Giants broke a scoreless tie, reaching Andujar for four runs on three singles, a double and a walk. They swiped two bases in the inning and Andujar uncorked a wild pitch. The Giants went on to a 7-2 victory. Boxscore
“He always comes unglued when that happens,” Cardinals manager Whitey Herzog said.
A week later, the National League fined Andujar $200 for his role in the incident.
Incredulous, Andujar said, “I’m not going to pay that. They’re going to suspend me if I don’t pay. I should go to the Dominican Republic right now. I have enough money. I could live on that. This is lousy.”
“I’m a black Dominican and that’s why they fine me,” Andujar told the Post-Dispatch. “What else am I supposed to think?”
In explaining his on-field actions to The Sporting News, Andujar said, “He charged me. What am I supposed to do, run?”
A month later, amid speculation he would ask to be traded when his contract expired after the 1984 season, Andujar attempted to squelch such talk. “I like Whitey Herzog,” Andujar said. “I want to be here. I don’t want to get traded. I want to die here. I want St. Louis fans to know that. Maybe they will feel better if they know you want to die here.”
Andujar accepted a three-year, $4.5 million deal from the Cardinals after the season. In his book “White Rat: A Life in Baseball,” Herzog said, “If it hadn’t been for Andujar and (Bruce) Sutter, we might have finished in last place (in 1984).”
The next year, Andujar posted 21 wins for the 1985 Cardinals and helped them win the pennant, but he imploded during Game 7 of the World Series, confronting umpire Don Denkinger, and was traded to the Athletics two months later.
Previously: How Joaquin Andujar made like Babe Ruth for Cardinals
Previously: Joaquin Andujar skipped All-Star Game to barbecue quail
Previously: Given 3 runs, Joaquin Andujar was money in the bank
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