Wally Moon shined for the Cardinals for four years, but wore out his welcome in a single season when he slumped at the plate and displayed what some perceived as an indifferent attitude toward his outfield play.
On Dec. 4, 1958, the Cardinals traded Moon and reliever Phil Paine to the Dodgers for outfielder Gino Cimoli.
Four years earlier, Moon won the 1954 National League Rookie of the Year Award when he batted .304 and scored 106 runs for the Cardinals. He followed that by batting .295 with 19 home runs in 1955, .298 with a league-leading 11 triples in 1956 and .295 with 24 home runs in 1957.
Moon, a left-handed batter, posted consistently high on-base percentages, including a .390 mark in 1956. He combined with Stan Musial and Ken Boyer to give the Cardinals a formidable attack.
Though he went into a tailspin in 1958 and hit .238 with seven home runs, he didn’t start a game for a month after injuring his left elbow.
After the 1958 season, Moon joined the Cardinals on their goodwill tour of Japan, impressed new manager Solly Hemus and appeared to be back in the club’s plans, but the Dodgers, who’d shown interest in Moon all year, convinced general manager Bing Devine to trade him.
The deal revived Moon’s career and sparked the Dodgers to a World Series championship.
Season of struggles
During spring training in 1958, the Cardinals got trade offers for Moon from the Phillies and Reds, but Devine was reluctant to give up a power hitter, according to The Sporting News.
Moon never got untracked at training camp and Cardinals manager Fred Hutchinson was disappointed in his “light hitting and uninspiring defensive play,” The Sporting News reported.
In April, the Dodgers offered to deal outfielder Duke Snider to the Cardinals for Moon and Boyer, the Post-Dispatch reported, but Devine didn’t want to give up both players.
Moon’s funk carried through the first two months of the regular season. He was batting .246 with no home runs entering a May 31 game against the Giants at St. Louis. In the fifth inning, Moon, playing center field, and left fielder Joe Cunningham collided at the outfield wall while chasing a line drive by Orlando Cepeda. Moon suffered severe bruises to his left elbow and didn’t start another game until June 29. Boxscore
Moon hit .211 in July, rebounded in August with five home runs and 20 RBI and slumped again in September, batting .204.
Full Moon rising
The Cardinals finished 72-82 in 1958 and Hemus replaced Hutchinson after the season.
On Oct. 3, 1958, the Los Angeles Times reported Devine met with Dodgers general manager Buzzie Bavasi and discussed a deal of Moon for Cimoli. The Times described Cimoli as “a gifted athlete but something less than a favorite” of manager Walter Alston. Cimoli was in and out of the Dodgers lineup in 1958 “and made no attempt to veil his dissatisfaction with the situation,” the Times reported.
The Cubs wanted Cimoli, too, and Bavasi was in no rush to deal. “We’re being offered players for Cimoli that would help our farm clubs, but they wouldn’t strengthen the Dodgers,” Bavasi said.
As the Cardinals prepared to embark on their trip to Japan, trade talks with the Dodgers cooled, the Times reported, because “there are other St. Louis players Bavasi would prefer to Moon.”
Also, Hemus wanted to keep Moon and told The Sporting News, “You just can’t give up on a guy like that.”
Devine became less receptive to offers for Moon and noted, “A poor year sometimes is a challenge to a player and he comes back with a great season. We feel Moon can do it.”
After the goodwill tour, Hemus said Moon “looked good, improved … He looked like the Moon of old at times.”
Determined to deal
At the 1958 baseball winter meetings, the Braves made a bid to acquire Moon and the Cardinals were talking to the Cubs about left-handed power hitter Walt Moryn. The Cardinals also resumed negotiations with the Dodgers, and when Devine offered to include Paine, the Moon-for-Cimoli deal was made.
“The Cardinals made a mistake in letting me go because Cimoli isn’t the longball hitter they need,” Moon said.
Devine admitted the Cardinals sought a power threat in return for Moon, but opted for Cimoli because he “not only is better defensively, but also his ability to hit to right-center will be useful at Busch Stadium.”
According to Post-Dispatch sports editor Bob Broeg, Moon “disappointed consistently afield, both fly chasing and throwing. He seemed so satisfied with his inadequacies that his lean and hungry look appeared merely an unfortunate illusion.”
Alston acknowledged Moon “isn’t a great defensive outfielder,” but said he enhanced the Dodgers’ lineup because “he’s aggressive, he can run and what I like best about him is his power.”
The Dodgers projected Moon to be their left fielder and the Cardinals planned for Cimoli to start in center.
Cimoli said he looked forward to joining the Cardinals because “I can sit next to Stan Musial and pick up some hitting pointers.”
That’s a winner
Actually, Musial advised Moon, suggesting he develop an inside-out swing to take advantage of the short distance from home plate to the left-field screen at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.
Moon got off to hot start for the 1959 Dodgers, batting .352 in April. He also finished strong, hitting 11 home runs in the last two months of the season, including six in a six-game September stretch.
Moon concluded the season with a .302 batting mark, 19 home runs, 93 runs scored and an on-base percentage of .394. The Sporting News described him as “a dedicated hustler whose inspiration lifted the entire team.”
The Dodgers clinched the National League pennant and beat the White Sox in the World Series. Moon hit a two-run home run in the decisive Game 6. Boxscore
Cimoli batted .279 with 40 doubles for the 1959 Cardinals, who finished next-to-last at 71-83. After a torrid start, when he hit 30 doubles in three months, Cimoli tailed off in the second half and was traded to the Pirates in December.
Moon produced two more big seasons for the Dodgers, batting .299 with a .383 on-base percentage in 1960 and .328 with a .434 on-base percentage in 1961.
He was a role player from 1962-65 and concluded his playing career with another World Series championship with the 1965 Dodgers.
RetroSimba 
Moon won a Gold Glove with the Dodgers. Make of that what you will.
Wally Moon of the Dodgers was the Gold Glove-winning left fielder in the National League in 1960 when the players voted for those honors. Moon was named the left fielder on 37 ballots. Bob Skinner of the Pirates was second with 27 and Felipe Alou of the Giants was third with 21. Cardinals left fielder Stan Musial told The Sporting News, “Wally plays that Coliseum screen to perfection. This wasn’t a year for defensive left fielders in our league. They mostly were woodmen, but Moon threw up a better defense in the Coliseum than any left fielder in any other park in the league.”
Joining Moon among NL Gold Glove winners in 1960 were first baseman Bill White of the Cardinals, second baseman Bill Mazeroski of the Pirates, shortstop Ernie Banks of the Cubs, third baseman Ken Boyer of the Cardinals, center fielder Willie Mays of the Giants, right fielder Hank Aaron of the Braves, catcher Del Crandall of the Braves and pitcher Harvey Haddix of the Pirates.
I was ten years old and I hated this trade when it was made. This was one of the only bad deals that Bing Devine made in his first go around with the team. Moon was an all star. Cimoli…not so much.
Yes, agree. The trade rarely gets mentioned anymore, but it was one of the Cardinals’ worst deals and it’s surprising they didn’t get more value for Wally Moon.