RetroSimba

Needing a proven right-handed hitter to balance and bolster their lineup, the Cardinals appeared to make the right move when they acquired the player who had been the Cubs’ most consistent run producer of the mid-1970s.

The timing, however, turned out to be terrible.

Jerry Morales, an all-star outfielder with the 1977 Cubs, was a bust with the 1978 Cardinals.

On Dec. 8, 1977, the Cardinals got Morales and catcher Steve Swisher from the Cubs in a trade for outfielder Hector Cruz and catcher Dave Rader.

At the time, the Cardinals’ best batters either were switch-hitters (Ted Simmons and Garry Templeton) or left-handed (Lou Brock and Keith Hernandez).

Cardinals right-handed batters collectively hit .217 versus right-handed pitching in 1977.

At the baseball winter meetings in December 1977, Cardinals general manager Bing Devine went shopping for a productive right-handed bat.

Chicago hit man

Morales debuted in the major leagues at age 20 with the 1969 Padres. After five seasons with San Diego, he was traded to the Cubs in November 1973.

Morales became one of the Cubs’ premier players. He led them in RBI in 1974 (82) and 1975 (91) and hit a career-high 16 home runs in 1976.

“He has that knack of driving in the tough runs,” Cubs pitcher Rick Reuschel said.

Morales hit .331 in the first half of 1977 and was selected to the all-star team. “Morales has an unmistakable batting stance,” The Sporting News observed. “He keeps his feet wide apart and holds the bat over his head … This unusual stance, he insists, enables him to wait longer on the pitch.”

Batting in the All-Star Game against Sparky Lyle, Morales was hit on the knee by a pitch.

The knee became sore and bothered Morales the remainder of the season. He also wrenched his back and broke a finger. The injuries took a toll. Morales hit .218 in the second half of the season.

Though his overall batting average that year was a career-best .290, Morales called 1977 “the most disappointing season of my career” because he tailed off so badly after a stellar start.

Mix and match

After the 1977 season, the Cubs signed free-agent slugger Dave Kingman, making Morales expendable.

The Cubs needed a starting catcher. Their general manager, Bob Kennedy, began a “relentless search” for one, according to the Chicago Tribune.

Kennedy, who had been the Cardinals’ director of player development before becoming general manager of the Cubs in November 1976, made Rader his “main target,” the Tribune reported.

With workhorse Ted Simmons at catcher for St. Louis, Rader seldom played and he had asked the Cardinals to trade him.

Cruz also appealed to the Cubs. Though Cruz had flopped as the Cardinals’ right fielder in 1977 (.236 batting average, six home runs, 42 RBI), Kennedy liked him. In 1975, when Kennedy ran the Cardinals’ farm system, Cruz was named Minor League Player of the Year by The Sporting News.

When Kennedy asked the Cardinals for Rader and Cruz, Devine demanded Morales. “We had been trying to get Morales for two or three years,” Devine said.

Said Kennedy: “We didn’t want to give up Morales, but he’s the only guy who had enough value for us to get the catcher we wanted.”

Cardinals nemesis

In its report on the trade, The Sporting News called Morales the Cubs’ “most consistent hitter the last four seasons” and “a good all-round player.”

With the Cubs, Morales had batting averages against the Cardinals of .352 in 1975, .300 in 1976 and .313 in 1977.

“He’s an altogether different kind of hitter in a tight game with a runner on second or third base,” Simmons said. “He’s been one of the five or 10 hitters I’ve least wanted to see up there at bat (against the Cardinals) when it counts.”

Cardinals manager Vern Rapp envisioned an outfield of Morales in right, Brock in left and Tony Scott in center.

When the Cardinals began the 1978 season, the top five in their batting order were Brock, Templeton, Morales, Simmons and Hernandez. In the April 7 season opener against the Phillies, Morales had three singles against Steve Carlton and scored a run in a 5-1 Cardinals victory.

That turned out to be one of his few Cardinals highlights.

Morales had a miserable May, batting .194, and struggled to recover.

In July, The Sporting News reported, “Morales, who was counted on as a big RBI man, had been trying extra hard, as witness a 30-minute extra batting practice session one day and 10 minutes extra before the next game, but continued to be disappointing.”

Morales finished the season with a .239 batting average, four home runs and 46 RBI. He hit .205 against right-handers.

Traveling man

The Cardinals finished 69-93 in 1978. Devine was fired and replaced by former Red Sox assistant general manager John Claiborne. Morales asked to be traded, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Claiborne was happy to oblige.

“He hit a lot of 385-foot outs at Busch Stadium, but they were still outs,” Claiborne said.

The Cardinals talked with the Red Sox about a trade of Morales for pitcher Bill Lee, who was feuding with manager Don Zimmer, The Sporting News reported.

However, the Tigers, who had been trying to acquire Morales for more than a year, were the most aggressive pursuers.

In Claiborne’s first trade as general manager, the Cardinals sent Morales and pitcher Aurelio Lopez to the Tigers for pitchers Bob Sykes and Jack Murphy.

Morales hit .211 for the 1979 Tigers and was dealt to the Mets. He spent his last three seasons (1981-1983) with the Cubs.

Morales played a lot better against the Cardinals than he did for them. In 115 career games versus St. Louis, Morales hit .327.

From 2002-2004, Morales was a coach on the staff of Expos manager Frank Robinson. He coached again in 2007 and 2008 on the staff of Nationals manager Manny Acta.

Previously: Cardinals made mistake giving up on Jose Cruz