RetroSimba

With their third baseman, Gary Gaetti, about to turn 40, the Cardinals went looking for a successor and came up with Fernando Tatis.

On July 31, 1998, the Cardinals traded pitcher Todd Stottlemyre and shortstop Royce Clayton to the Rangers for Tatis, pitcher Darren Oliver and a player to be named, outfielder Mark Little.

The move upset Gaetti, who wasn’t ready to give up his starting role, and surprised Tatis, who was happy being with the Rangers.

Though his stay in St. Louis turned out to be short, Tatis made it memorable, accomplishing an unusual feat within the most productive season of his career.

Vying for value

The 1998 Cardinals were 50-57 and out of playoff contention entering the last day of the interleague trade deadline on July 31. With Stottlemyre and Clayton eligible to become free agents after the season, the Cardinals looked to trade them rather than have them depart without getting any players in return.

The Cardinals tried to sign Stottlemyre to a long-term contract that summer, proposing three years for $21 million, but he wanted a four-year contract, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. “The Cardinals don’t have to apologize for offering $7 million a season,” Post-Dispatch columnist Bernie Miklasz wrote.

Stottlemyre was sought by several contenders, including the Rangers, who were neck-and-neck with the Angels in the American League West Division. Stottlemyre had extensive postseason experience, pitching in the 1992 and 1993 World Series for the Blue Jays and the 1996 National League Championship Series for the Cardinals.

The Rangers offered Oliver, a left-hander, for Stottlemyre. Oliver, 27, was younger than Stottlemyre, 33, and wouldn’t be eligible for free agency until after the 1999 season. The Cardinals liked Oliver, but also wanted Tatis. Cardinals general manager Walt Jocketty told his counterpart, Doug Melvin, the Rangers would have to take Clayton, 28, in exchange for Tatis, 23, if they wanted Stottlemyre. Melvin agreed, projecting Clayton as an upgrade over Kevin Elster at shortstop.

After replacing Ozzie Smith as Cardinals starting shortstop in 1996, Clayton was a National League all-star in 1997, but he slumped in 1998 (.234 batting average) and the Cardinals weren’t interested in offering him a contract before he entered free agency.

“Clayton represented everything wrong with this disappointing team: moodiness and stubbornness,” wrote Miklasz. “He pouted when he didn’t bat leadoff. He never embraced the suggestions to hit smarter with two strikes. Clayton never tried to hit the ball the opposite way.”

All-star potential

While rating Oliver as “a solid third or fourth starter and probably better than that,” Jocketty acknowledged, “The guy we liked is Tatis. We needed to find a third baseman and he was the best guy available.”

Cardinals manager Tony La Russa said Tatis had “an above-average arm. He’s got the talent to become an impact-type third baseman.”

Said Melvin: “We don’t like giving him up because we really think he’ll be an all-star third baseman.”

Tatis made his major-league debut with the Rangers in 1997 and he was batting .270 in 95 games for them in 1998 when he was traded.

After joining the Cardinals, Tatis said of the trade, “When I knew about it, I felt really bad. I was just in shock … I loved it over there.”

Gaetti was unhappy about being benched for Tatis. Gaetti, 39, was batting .263 with 23 doubles and 10 home runs when Tatis was acquired. “The third baseman was not the weakest link on this team,” Gaetti said. “It’s just frustrating.”

On Aug. 14, the Cardinals released Gaetti and he signed with the Cubs five days later, on Aug. 19, his 40th birthday.

Ups and downs

Tatis got off to a terrible start with the Cardinals, committing three errors in his first three games and going hitless in his first 11 at-bats.

“It’s asking a lot for him to make plays like Brooks Robinson and hit like Mike Schmidt, but when he settles in he’ll be fine,” La Russa said.

Tatis got on track and batted .287 for the 1998 Cardinals. Oliver made 10 Cardinals starts that season and was 4-4 with a 4.26 ERA.

After dealing Tatis, the Rangers acquired Todd Zeile, the former Cardinal, from the Marlins to play third base. Stottlemyre (5-4), Clayton (.285) and Zeile helped the 1998 Rangers finish in first place in the AL West and reach the postseason.

In 1999, Tatis had the best season of his 11-year career in the big leagues. Tatis had single-season career highs in runs (104), hits (160), home runs (34), RBI (107), walks (82), stolen bases (21), batting average (.298) and on-base percentage (.404) for the 1999 Cardinals.

On April 23, 1999, he became the only major-league player to hit two grand slams in an inning, achieving the feat in the third against Chan Ho Park of the Dodgers. Boxscore

In 2000, Tatis was limited to 96 games, none from April 30 to June 29 because of a groin injury. With Placido Polanco available to play third base, the Cardinals traded Tatis and pitcher Britt Reames to the Expos in December 2000 for pitchers Dustin Hermanson and Steve Kline.

Oliver led the 1999 Cardinals in innings pitched (196.1) and was 9-9. He became a free agent after that season and returned to the Rangers.

Free agents Stottlemyre and Clayton took different paths after the Yankees eliminated the Rangers in the 1998 AL Division Series. Stottlemyre signed with the Diamondbacks and Clayton stayed with the Rangers.

Little, 26, the player to be named in the Rangers-Cardinals deal, made his major-league debut with St. Louis in September 1998 and had one hit in 12 at-bats. After spending 1999 and 2000 with minor-league Memphis, Little was granted free agency and signed with the Rockies.