For the second time in five years, the Cardinals in June got a future Hall of Fame pitcher who helped them become champions.
Ninety years ago, on June 16, 1930, the Cardinals acquired Burleigh Grimes from the Braves for pitchers Bill Sherdel and Fred Frankhouse.
A spitball specialist whose dark stubble gave him a menacing look on the mound, Grimes, 36, had a reputation as an intimidating competitor and consistent winner.
With the Cardinals, he was 13-6 in 1930 and 17-9 in 1931, and they won National League pennants both years. In the 1931 World Series, Grimes, pitching in pain caused by an inflamed appendix, started and won the deciding Game 7.
Like Grimes, Grover Cleveland Alexander, a right-hander destined for election to the National Baseball Hall of Fame, was acquired by the Cardinals in a June transaction. The Cardinals claimed Alexander, 39, on waivers from the Cubs in 1926 and he helped them win pennants in 1926 and 1928. His strikeout of the Yankees’ Tony Lazzeri with the bases loaded in Game 7 was the iconic moment in the Cardinals’ first World Series championship.
Winning formula
Grimes, 23, made his debut in the majors with the Pirates in 1916. After posting a 3-16 record in 1917, Grimes was sent to the Dodgers in a trade involving outfielder Casey Stengel and it revived his career. Grimes was 19-9 in 1918, the first of 14 consecutive seasons of double-digit wins.
In February 1920, baseball outlawed the spitball, but exempted pitchers who threw the pitch in the majors before then. Grimes was one of those exempted and was permitted to throw the spitball the remainder of his career. He chewed slippery elm bark for the substance used for the pitch.
Grimes four times had 21 or more wins in a season for the Dodgers, including 1920 when he was 23-11 for the National League champions.
“No pitcher in baseball history was a more determined fighter,” The Sporting News reported.
Off the field, Grimes was talkative and thoughtful. He studied and analyzed pitching techniques and willingly shared his views. On the field, he was intense.
“There was only one man standing between me and more money, and that was the guy with the bat,” Grimes said.
The St. Louis Post-Dispatch noted, “When pitching, he is a snarling hard-to-get-along-with personality. He glares at an infielder who makes an error behind him and sneers at umpires who fail to meet his approval in their decisions.”
Bust with Braves
In 1928, Grimes was with the Pirates and was 25-14. The next year, he was 16-2 and on pace for 30 wins when he was struck on the right thumb by a ball off the bat of the Giants’ Bill Terry in July. Boxscore
Sidelined a month, Grimes won once the rest of the 1929 season and finished at 17-7.
A holdout in spring training in 1930, Grimes was traded to the Braves in April when the Pirates rejected his demand for a two-year contract. Rushed into the season without any spring training, Grimes struggled to a 3-5 record and 7.35 ERA for the 1930 Braves, who sought to unload his contract.
When the Cardinals offered Sherdel (3-2, 4.64 ERA) and Frankhouse (2-3, 7.32) for Grimes, the Braves agreed. The year before, Frankhouse was 7-2 for the Cardinals. Sherdel had been with them since 1918 and eight times had seasons of double-digit wins. His best year was 1928 when he was 21-10 for the National League champions.
Sherdel told the Post-Dispatch, “I’ll be pulling for the Cardinals except when I pitch against them.”
Said Frankhouse, “I was hoping we’d land Grimes, but I didn’t even think I might be sent away.”
The Boston Globe concluded, “The Braves cannot be any worse off with Sherdel and Frankhouse. In fact, they should benefit for all the good the high-priced Burleigh Grimes was to them.”
Braves manager Bill McKechnie, who managed the Cardinals to the 1928 pennant, had a different viewpoint, telling the Globe there was no doubt Grimes would win a lot of games for St. Louis.
Making a difference
Grimes joined a Cardinals rotation of Bill Hallahan, Syl Johnson, Jesse Haines and Flint Rhem.
“We have made a deal that will make us a more dangerous pennant contender,” said Cardinals manager Gabby Street. “Grimes is a great pitcher.”
According to the Post-Dispatch, Grimes told club owner Sam Breadon, “You didn’t make any mistake when you got me. There’s nothing the matter with my arm.”
On the day the Cardinals got Grimes, they lost to the Dodgers and their record dropped to 26-28.
The addition of Grimes, along with the return to the lineup of two ailing future Hall of Famers, second baseman Frankie Frisch (spike wound) and left fielder Chick Hafey (sinuses), eventually helped propel the Cardinals higher in the standings.
After posting losing records in June and July, the 1930 Cardinals surged to 23-9 in August and 21-4 in September. Grimes had a significant role. He was 5-2 in August and 4-1 in September.
When Grimes shut out the Pirates on Sept. 25, 1930, it enabled the Cardinals to keep a three-game lead over the Cubs with three to play, assuring at least a share of the pennant. Boxscore
The Cardinals clinched the next day and faced the Athletics in the World Series.
Grimes was 12-4 with a 3.13 ERA as a starter for the 1930 Cardinals and 1-2 with a 6.35 ERA as a reliever. He pitched a pair of five-hitters in the 1930 World Series, but was the loser in both. The Athletics won four of six versus the Cardinals.
In the 1931 World Series rematch, Grimes was 2-0 with a 2.04 ERA. He beat Lefty Grove in Game 3 and George Earnshaw in Game 7.
Field manager
Two months after his World Series success, Grimes, 38, was traded by the Cardinals to the Cubs for outfielder Hack Wilson and pitcher Bud Teachout.
The Cardinals reacquired Grimes in July 1933 after he was released by the Cubs. He pitched in four games for the Cardinals in 1933 and four more in 1934. Grimes also pitched for the Yankees and Pirates in 1934, his last season as a big-league pitcher, and finished with a career record of 270-212.
In 1935, he became manager of a Cardinals farm club in Bloomington, Ill.
In 1937, 20 years after he was traded for Casey Stengel, Grimes replaced Stengel as Dodgers manager. Grimes managed the Dodgers for two seasons before Leo Durocher took over the role.
Grimes managed for several more seasons in the minors, including 1945 and part of 1946 with the Cardinals’ Rochester farm team.
Not a bad hitter, either. 168 RBI, .248 batting average.
Indeed. The guy could play! In Game 3 of the 1931 World Series, he had 2 hits and 2 RBI vs. Lefty Grove.
Very interesting story how MLB gradually phased out the spitball. For the 1920 season they allowed each team to designate two pitchers who would still be allowed to throw the spitter. For the Cardinals their two pitchers were Bill Doak and Marv Goodwin. For the Browns, their two pitchers were Allan Sothoron and Urban Shocker.
Bill Doak sure was a good pitcher for the Cardinals. He ranks 6th in wins among Cardinals pitchers, with 144, just ahead of Dizzy Dean and Harry Brecheen.