RetroSimba

After a rough beginning to his season with the Cardinals, Ted Power recovered and developed into a reliable starting pitcher for them.

On March 28, 1989, the Cardinals signed Power, 34, to a minor-league contract following his release by the Tigers.

Five months later, Cardinals manager Whitey Herzog was referring to Power as the “savior” of the pitching staff.

Versatile pitcher

In 1981, Power debuted in the major leagues with the Dodgers, spent parts of two seasons with them and was traded to the Reds. A right-handed reliever, his breakout season came in 1985 when he produced eight wins, 27 saves and a 2.70 ERA for Cincinnati.

Reds manager Pete Rose put Power into the rotation in August 1986 and he was 6-1 with a 2.59 ERA in 10 starts. The next year, Power led the 1987 Reds in starts (34), innings pitched (204) and strikeouts (133).

The Reds traded Power to the Royals for pitcher Danny Jackson after the 1987 season. According to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Royals reliever Steve Farr displayed two baseball cards _ one of Dan Quisenberry and the other of Power _ atop his locker. “One of them is my idol on the field (Quisenberry) and the other my idol off the field,” Farr said.

The Royals sent Power to the Tigers in August 1988 and after the season he had surgery to remove calcium deposits near his right elbow. When spring training began in 1989, Power was ready to pitch for the Tigers.

Comeback bid

In March 1989, the Cardinals were in the market for pitching depth after starters Danny Cox and Greg Mathews went on the disabled list because of elbow ailments. General manager Dal Maxvill sent scout Rube Walker to Tigers camp to assess Power, and Herzog spoke with Detroit manager Sparky Anderson about the pitcher.

On March 25, 1989, the Tigers released Power and three days later he signed with the Cardinals, who assigned him to their Louisville farm club. Under terms of the contract, if Power received an offer from another big-league team while with Louisville, the Cardinals would have 48 hours to decide whether to promote him to St. Louis or let him depart.

“I look at those major-league box scores every day and see middle relievers and starters who aren’t doing the job,” Power said to the Louisville Courier-Journal. “I have all the confidence in the world that I’m going to get back. When I do, I won’t take anything for granted. You can get too comfortable up there. I won’t ever do that again.”

Louisville manager Mike Jorgensen placed Power in the rotation and he produced a 3-1 record and 2.73 ERA in five starts, prompting the Phillies to make him an offer. Unwilling to let Power go, the Cardinals promoted him to St. Louis on May 4, 1989.

“We were kind of forced to bring him up,” Herzog said to The Sporting News. “We didn’t want to bring him up that early.”

On the brink

After appearing in two games for the Cardinals, Power pulled a ribcage muscle while taking batting practice on May 17 and didn’t pitch again for them until June 20.

Herzog put Power in a rotation with Jose DeLeon, Joe Magrane, Ken Hill and Scott Terry, but he wasn’t effective. He reached a nadir on July 17, 1989, when he gave up seven runs to the Giants before being lifted with one out in the second inning. Boxscore

Power said he was overthrowing, causing his breaking pitches to “flatten out.” Said Herzog: “A lot of high sliders.”

Though he was 1-4 with a 7.43 ERA, Power made his next scheduled start against the Padres on July 22, 1989, held them to a run in 6.2 innings and got the win. Boxscore

“I feel like I belong in the big leagues, but this makes me feel like I belong on this team,” Power said.

Over his next three starts, Power shut out the Expos for seven innings, limited the Mets to a run in 6.2 innings and held the Pirates scoreless for eight innings.

“He’s kind of been a savior to us,” Herzog said.

Said Cardinals shortstop Ozzie Smith: “He’s throwing the ball as well as I’ve ever seen him throw it. It’s nice to see a guy like that come back. He was really on his way out.”

Getting it done

On Aug. 22, 1989, Power, matched against Derek Lilliquist, took a no-hitter and a 10-0 lead into the eighth against the Braves before he tired and gave up home runs to Tommy Gregg and Dale Murphy. Boxscore

In six August starts, Power produced a 2.61 ERA.

“He has more idea of what he wants to do,” said Cardinals catcher Tony Pena. “Before, he had no idea where he was throwing the fastball.”

Said Maxvill: “I look at 25 other clubs and how many have better fifth starters than Ted Power?”

On Sept, 2, 1989, Power beat the Astros in Bob Forsch’s last big-league start and last appearance against his former Cardinals teammates. Boxscore

Five days later, in a start against the Mets, Power suffered a hamstring injury. He was sidelined for two weeks and when he returned he made six appearances in relief.

Power finished with a 7-7 record and 3.71 ERA for the Cardinals in 1989. He became a free agent after the season and got a one-year offer from the Cardinals, but signed with the Pirates, who gave him a contract for 1990 with an option for 1991.

“I would really love to go back to St. Louis … but I’ve got to think of myself and my family,” Power said to the Post-Dispatch. “It looks like a deal that could be solid for a couple of years.”

Power went on to pitch the next four seasons for the Pirates (1990), Reds (1991), Indians (1992-93) and Mariners (1993). He completed 13 seasons in the big leagues with a 68-69 record, 70 saves and a 4.00 ERA.