RetroSimba

Bing Devine thought he added the final piece to a championship contender when he acquired Gold Glove shortstop Ed Brinkman for the Cardinals. What the general manager didn’t know was he had dealt for a shortstop who did better playing on grass and dirt than on artificial turf.

For the Cardinals, who played their home games on artificial turf at Busch Stadium, the deal was a dud.

On Nov. 18, 1974, the Cardinals, Tigers and Padres made a blockbuster trade. The Tigers sent Brinkman, outfielder Dick Sharon and pitcher Bob Strampe to the Padres for first baseman Nate Colbert. The Padres then swapped Brinkman and catcher Danny Breeden to the Cardinals for pitchers Sonny Siebert, Alan Foster and Rich Folkers.

Brinkman, who turned 33 three weeks after the deal, won a Gold Glove Award in 1972 with the Tigers when he led American League shortstops in fielding percentage (.990). Brinkman played 72 consecutive games without an error that season. He was named an American League all-star in 1973.

The Cardinals finished 1.5 games behind the first-place Pirates in the National League East in 1974 with a starting shortstop, Mike Tyson, who made 30 errors in 143 games. Tyson also struggled to stay trim. The Sporting News described him as being “built more like a catcher than a shortstop. Barrel-chested and with a belly to match.”

Moving Tyson to a utility role and adding Brinkman to a starting infield of Keith Hernandez at first, Ted Sizemore at second and Ken Reitz at third appeared to strengthen the Cardinals’ defense and give them the piece they needed to catch the Pirates in 1975.

Positive vibes

In a story headlined “Bing Beams Over Brinkman,” Devine told The Sporting News, “We now have eight solid men in our starting lineup.”

The Sporting News agreed, calling Brinkman “the experienced shortstop the Cardinals long had been seeking.”

Said Cardinals pitcher Bob Gibson: “We’re stronger at shortstop with Eddie Brinkman.”

Steady Eddie

Brinkman was a Cincinnati Western Hills High School teammate of Pete Rose. At 19, Brinkman debuted in the major leagues with the 1961 Senators. He joined the Tigers in October 1970 in the trade that sent pitcher Denny McLain to the Senators. With his steady defense, Brinkman helped Detroit win a division title in 1972.

Tigers general manager Jim Campbell called Brinkman “one of the finest professional players I’ve ever been around in my life.”

Detroit correspondent Jim Hawkins described Brinkman as “one of the best shortstops ever to wear a Detroit uniform.”

Good start

The early reviews about Brinkman with the Cardinals were encouraging. He asked for and was issued uniform No. 5 because he said it was the number closest to the No. 6 worn by two of his favorites, Stan Musial of the Cardinals and Al Kaline of the Tigers.

Brinkman hit .355 in spring training exhibition games for St. Louis. He produced RBI in five of six regular-season games from April 11 through April 18.

After 17 April games for the Cardinals, Brinkman was batting .283.

Plastic grass

Rather than solidify the shortstop position, though, Brinkman weakened it. Getting to balls on the lightning-quick artificial turf was far different than fielding on grass and dirt.

“The Cardinals quickly became disenchanted with Brinkman, who was accustomed to the real grass in the American League,” The Sporting News reported.

Brinkman started 24 games at shortstop for the 1975 Cardinals and committed six errors, five on artificial turf.

Cardinals manager Red Schoendienst reinstated Tyson as the starting shortstop on May 5. Later that month, Mario Guerrero, acquired in April from the Red Sox, became the starter. Brinkman, who made three errors in seven May games, was relegated to the bench.

Devine, admitting he had erred but noting there had been a robust market for the shortstop, said, “A lot of other people were fooled about Brinkman.”

Sent packing

On June 4, 1975, the Cardinals traded Brinkman and pitcher Tommy Moore to the Rangers for outfielder Willie Davis. Brinkman played one game for the Rangers and was dealt to the Yankees for cash. The Rangers needed the money to swing a deal with the Indians for pitcher Gaylord Perry.

The 1975 Cardinals tied for third in the National League East, 10.5 games behind the champion Pirates.

During spring training in 1976, the Yankees released Brinkman, ending his playing career.

Seven years later, in 1983, Brinkman became a coach under White Sox manager Tony La Russa, joining a staff that included Dave Duncan and Jim Leyland. Brinkman remained with the White Sox after Jim Fregosi replaced La Russa in June 1986. He coached until 1988, became a scout and worked for the White Sox until he retired in 2000.