RetroSimba

(Updated May 24, 2022)

Having already worked one grand slam miracle as an Angel, David Eckstein performed another for the Cardinals.

On Aug. 7, 2005, Eckstein hit a walkoff grand slam in the bottom of the ninth inning against Chris Reitsma, lifting the Cardinals to a 5-3 victory over the Braves.

“Every once in a while, you get a miracle like this,” Cardinals manager Tony La Russa told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

The feat seemed miraculous because Eckstein, 5-foot-6 and slightly built, appeared better suited for singles than slugging and because walkoff grand slams rarely occurred for the Cardinals.

Eckstein’s was the eighth walkoff grand slam in Cardinals history and their first in 18 years.

However, the feat wasn’t a first for Eckstein. Three years earlier, on April 28, 2002, Eckstein hit a walkoff grand slam for the Angels against Pedro Borbon of the Blue Jays. It was one of three grand slams Eckstein hit for the Angels that season.

Eckstein’s grand slam for the Cardinals against the Braves was the fourth and last of his big-league career.

Subs deliver

The Braves scored a run in the top of the ninth against Jason Isringhausen, extending their lead from 2-1 to 3-1.

Reitsma, a right-hander who had yielded one run over his last 11 appearances and had converted nine consecutive save opportunities, was the choice of Braves manager Bobby Cox to pitch the bottom of the ninth.

Each of the first three Cardinals batters _ Abraham Nunez, So Taguchi and Hector Luna _ singled with two strikes, loading the bases with none out.

Nunez, subbing for injured Scott Rolen, hit a groundball single to center and Taguchi, subbing for injured Larry Walker, followed with a low liner up the middle.

Luna, pinch-hitting for catcher Mike Mahoney, who was subbing for injured Yadier Molina, slapped a grounder that deflected off Reitsma’s glove toward second baseman Marcus Giles. As Taguchi dashed in front of him, Giles tried to scoop the ball and swipe Taguchi with a tag, but he couldn’t get a handle on the ball and all the runners were safe on what was ruled an infield hit.

“If I let that go, maybe we turn two,” Reitsma said to the Associated Press. “You just react in that situation and it hit the top of my glove.”

Said Cox: “We butchered a double-play ball. You tell your pitchers not to touch a ball like that because it’s a routine double play.”

With the bases loaded and none out, La Russa called for Scott Seabol to bat for pitcher Ray King. Seabol, who hadn’t produced a hit for the Cardinals since June 21, popped out to third baseman Wilson Betemit.

Mighty mite

Next up was Eckstein, who had hit four home runs on the season and 21 since entering the major leagues in 2001.

After taking the first pitch from Reitsma for a ball, Eckstein swung at the next and drove the ball over the left-field fence and into the seats. Video

“I was trying to go down and away with a sinker for a double play,” Reitsma said to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “I just left it down the middle. It was a bad pitch.”

Said Eckstein of his home run swing: “That’s probably all I’ve got right there.” Boxscore

After being mobbed by his teammates at the plate, Eckstein doffed his helmet to the crowd of 47,714 who had turned out on what the Cardinals promoted as Transplant Awareness Day. Eckstein’s father was scheduled to become the fourth family member to receive a kidney transplant.

Walkoff winners

The seven previous walkoff grand slams hit by Cardinals:

_ Pepper Martin hit a grand slam off George Jeffcoat of the Dodgers, breaking a 7-7 tie in the ninth inning and giving the Cardinals an 11-7 victory on July 14, 1936, at St. Louis. Boxscore

_ Joe Cunningham hit a grand slam off Ruben Gomez of the Giants, breaking a 3-3 tie in the ninth and giving the Cardinals a 7-3 victory on July 30, 1957, at St. Louis. Boxscore

_ Carl Taylor hit a grand slam off Ron Herbel of the Padres, erasing a 10-7 San Diego lead in the ninth and giving the Cardinals an 11-10 victory on Aug. 11, 1970, at St. Louis. Boxscore

_ Joe Hague hit a grand slam off Mike Marshall of the Expos, breaking a 6-6 tie in the 10th and giving the Cardinals a 10-6 victory on Sept. 24, 1971, at St. Louis. Boxscore

_ Roger Freed hit a grand slam off Joe Sambito of the Astros, erasing a 6-3 Houston lead in the 11th and giving the Cardinals a 7-6 victory on May 1, 1979, at St. Louis. Boxscore

_ Darrell Porter hit a grand slam off Bob Lacey of the Giants, breaking a 4-4 tie in the 11th and giving the Cardinals an 8-4 victory on July 18, 1984, at St. Louis. Boxscore

_ Tommy Herr hit a grand slam off Jesse Orosco of the Mets, breaking an 8-8 tie in the 10th and giving the Cardinals a 12-8 victory on April 18, 1987, at St. Louis. Boxscore

Since Eckstein’s walkoff grand slam, four other Cardinals achieved the feat:

_ Gary Bennett hit a grand slam off Bob Howry of the Cubs, breaking a 6-6 tie in the ninth and giving the Cardinals a 10-6 victory on Aug. 27, 2006, at St. Louis. Boxscore

_ Aaron Miles hit a grand slam off Bryan Corey of the Padres, breaking a 5-5 tie in the ninth and giving the Cardinals a 9-5 victory on July 20, 2008, at St. Louis. Boxscore

_ Matt Carpenter hit a grand slam against J.P. Howell of the Blue Jays, breaking a 4-4 tie in the 11th and giving the Cardinals an 8-4 victory in the first game of a doubleheader on April 27, 2017, at St. Louis. Boxscore

_ Paul Goldschmidt hit a grand slam against Ryan Borucki with two outs in the 10th for a 7-3 Cardinals victory over the Blue Jays on May 23, 2022, at St. Louis. Boxscore