RetroSimba

Hub Kittle provided the Cardinals with the insight to see the potential in Joaquin Andujar and transform him into a consistent winner.

Kittle was the pitching coach for the 1981 Cardinals when he recommended Andujar to Whitey Herzog.

“Crazy as a loon, but he could throw,” Kittle said to the New York Times. “Make you want to weep, he had so much talent.”

Dominican connection

Kittle, a longtime pitching coach and instructor, managed clubs in the Dominican Republic during the winters from 1967-76 and got to know Andujar, who was a prospect in the Reds organization.

An Astros coach from 1971-75, Kittle recommended Andujar and in October 1975 the Astros acquired him from the Reds.

Kittle joined the Cardinals in 1976 as a roving pitching instructor and remained in the Cardinals minor-league system until Herzog, performing the dual role of manager and general manager, named him pitching coach of the big-league club in 1981.

Let’s make a deal

In June 1981, the Cardinals were looking to deal center fielder Tony Scott, who was eligible to become a free agent after the season. Kittle suggested a swap of Scott for Andujar and told Herzog, “I know how to handle him.”

”I knew this kid could help us,” Kittle said. “His mechanics were all fouled up, but we knew he could pitch.”

Andujar earned 11 wins for the Astros in 1977 and 12 in 1978, but his behavior sometimes was bizarre. According to the New York Times, Andujar’s Astros antics included “taking a shower with his uniform on, pouring a carton of cold milk over his head to cool off in the clubhouse, blowing smoke off his imaginary six-shooter, running the bases with a one-armed jacket, coming up with injuries that could not always be diagnosed.”

On June 6, 1981, in the seventh inning of an Astros game versus the Mets, manager Bill Virdon approached Andujar in the dugout and informed him he’d been traded to the Cardinals for Scott.

“He (Virdon) told me he hoped I would do well,” Andujar told the Associated Press. “He told me I could go take a shower right then if I wanted. I said, ‘No, I want to stay here and be an Astro as long as I can.’ This is like leaving your family.”

Reclamation project

Andujar was 2-3 with a 4.94 ERA for the 1981 Astros.

When Andujar got to the Cardinals, Kittle went to work on restoring Andujar’s slider.

“He’s a guy that needs three pitches _ fastball, change and slider,” Kittle said. “After that, we’ll have to get him sound physically. He’s a big, strong guy and has to work hard.”

Andujar responded to Kittle’s mentoring. He was 6-1 with a 3.74 ERA for the Cardinals in 11 appearances in strike-shortened 1981.

“I used to kick my leg high and look up,” Andujar said to the Society for American Baseball Research. “I wasn’t looking at home plate.”

Kittle got him to stop that.

Andujar also would lift an iron ball between innings when he pitched.

Kittle got him to stop that, too.

“He’s strong, but not that strong,” Kittle said.

Championship caliber

Andujar became a free agent after the 1981 season and signed a $1.2 million, three-year contract to stay with the Cardinals.

“I decided to sign with the Cardinals because I like Whitey Herzog and the way he manages,” said Andujar. “All I want to do is pitch and help the Cardinals win the pennant.”

In 1982, Andujar earned 15 wins in the regular season, got the win in the decisive Game 3 of the National League Championship Series against the Braves and was the winning pitcher in Games 3 and 7 of the World Series versus the Brewers.

In 1984-85, Andujar became the first Cardinals pitcher with consecutive 20-win seasons since Bob Gibson in 1969-70.

Andujar was 68-53 with a 3.33 ERA in five years with the Cardinals.

Previously: How Joaquin Andujar made like Babe Ruth for Cards