RetroSimba

(Updated Nov. 26, 2021)

Ed Charles hit the most important home run of his major-league career against the Cardinals.

Charles, nicknamed “The Glider,” was a third baseman who played eight seasons in the big leagues with the Athletics (1962-67) and Mets (1967-69).

In 1969, Charles hit a home run against the Cardinals’ Steve Carlton that helped the Mets clinch their first postseason berth.

Carlton cursed

The 1969 season was the first for divisional play in the majors. The Cardinals were two-time defending National League champions. The Mets, who joined the league in 1962 as an expansion team, never had experienced a winning season.

Few predicted the Mets would be the league’s best team in 1969. Yet, entering their game against the Cardinals on Sept. 24 at New York, the Mets were in first place in the NL East and needed one win to clinch the division title.

The game matched Carlton, the future Hall of Fame left-hander, against Gary Gentry. A week earlier, on Sept. 15 at St. Louis, Carlton struck out 19 Mets, including Charles twice, but the Cardinals were beaten, 4-3, on a pair of two-run home runs by Ron Swoboda. Boxscore

Career climax

Determined to clinch the playoff berth before a sellout crowd at Shea Stadium, the Mets looked motivated from the start of their Sept. 24 match with the Cardinals. With one out in the first inning, Donn Clendenon hit a three-run home run and, after Swoboda walked, Charles came to the plate.

In the book “After the Miracle,” Mets outfielder Art Shamsky said, “Carlton would deliver his signature slider to Eddie. Willie Stargell once compared trying to hit it to drinking coffee with a fork, but the phrase, ‘Never throw a slider to The Glider,’ had become part of Mets folklore by that time.”

Charles hit a two-run home run, giving the Mets a 5-0 lead and prompting manager Red Schoendienst to remove Carlton from the game. The Mets cruised to a 6-0 victory.

“Boom. Boom. We’re dethroned,” Schoendienst said to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch in describing the first inning salvos by the Mets.

Said Carlton: “Tonight was the worst experience of my life.”

The home run by Charles was a drive to right-center. Curt Flood, the Cardinals’ center fielder, banged against the wall in pursuit of the ball and was taken out of the game after two innings because of a bruised knee.

Charles clapped his hands as he rounded the bases because, as he informed United Press International, “I wanted to tell the fans, and tell the world, this home run meant more to me than any other in my life.” Boxscore

At 36, Charles was a platoon player on a roster filled with teammates entering their primes. “I am in the twilight zone,” Charles said. “I’m not like these younger guys. There is going to be a next year for them. There may not be another next year for me.”

Pinch-hit power

Indeed, after the Mets went on to win the NL Championship Series against the Braves and the World Series versus the Orioles, Charles was released and didn’t play again.

A right-handed batter, Charles posted a .263 career batting average. He made his major-league debut two weeks before turning 29 and hit .288 with 17 home runs as a rookie with the 1962 Athletics.

In 37 career games against the Cardinals, Charles batted .228.

Before his home run against Carlton, Charles’ best performance versus the Cardinals occurred in 1968 when he delivered pinch-hit home runs in consecutive games. On June 1, Charles, batting for Kevin Collins, hit an eighth-inning home run against Joe Hoerner, Boxscore and on June 2, in the opener of a doubleheader, Charles batted for Al Jackson and hit a seventh-inning home run against Bob Gibson. Boxscore

In the book “Stranger to the Game,” Charles said, “Gibson was the single most intimidating pitcher I ever faced.” Recalling the home run he hit against him, Charles said, “I just sort of watched it for a moment in disbelief. When I got back to the bench, guys came over and sort of looked at me. They couldn’t believe it either.”

According to The Sporting News, Charles became the sixth National League batter to hit pinch-hit home runs in consecutive times at-bat and just the second to do it on consecutive days. Dale Long of the Cubs hit pinch-hit home runs on consecutive days vs. the Giants on Aug. 13-14, 1959.