RetroSimba

In the year he won the National League Cy Young Award, Mike McCormick did his part to try to enable the Giants to keep pace with the Cardinals in the pennant race, but he didn’t get enough help from a pair of future Hall of Famers on the pitching staff.

McCormick, a left-hander, pitched 16 years in the major leagues. He had his best season in 1967 when he was 22-10 with a 2.85 ERA for the Giants.

Relying on a screwball to keep batters off stride, McCormick was 3-0 in three starts against the 1967 Cardinals.

The Cardinals finished with a 101-60 record, 10.5 games ahead of the second-place Giants (91-71). One reason the Giants couldn’t catch the Cardinals was the performances of two starters destined for Cooperstown, Juan Marichal and Gaylord Perry. Marichal was 0-2 versus the Cardinals in 1967 and Perry was 0-5.

ERA leader

A baseball standout from Alhambra, Calif., McCormick was 17 when he signed with the Giants for $50,000 in August 1956. He went directly to the majors and made his debut with a scoreless inning of relief versus the Phillies on Sept. 3, 1956. “He could really throw when I first saw him,” Giants second baseman Red Schoendienst told The Sporting News.

McCormick’s first decision in the big leagues was a loss to the Cardinals in a start on Sept. 15, 1956, at the Polo Grounds in New York. Al Dark, who became McCormick’s manager with the 1961-62 Giants, hit a home run against him. Boxscore

The Giants moved from New York to San Francisco after the 1957 season. At their Bay Area home, McCormick and his wife became collectors of antique clocks. “I specialize in school and railroad clocks from the period between 1860 and 1880,” McCormick told The Sporting News.

In 1960, McCormick led the National League in ERA at 2.70. The runner-up was the Cardinals’ Ernie Broglio (2.74). Hall of Fame left-hander Carl Hubbell, the Giants’ farm director, told the Sporting News, “McCormick has a lot of what I call pitching instinct. He doesn’t have a set pattern for pitching to any particular hitter, but he senses what to throw next. Mike amazes me with his poise and control.”

Two years later, the Giants won the National League pennant, but McCormick, who developed a left shoulder injury, was limited to 98.2 innings and had a 5-5 record. He didn’t pitch in the World Series against the Yankees.

After the season, the Giants traded him to the Orioles. “He had a sore arm, a hot temper and a fastball he thought he could throw past any batter,” The Sporting News noted.

Continuing to experience shoulder pain, McCormick was 6-8 for the Orioles in 1963 and 0-2 in 1964 before he was demoted to the minors. In April 1965, the Orioles dealt McCormick to the Senators and he was 19-22 for them over two seasons before being traded back to the Giants in December 1966.

“We think he can help us in relief and as a spot starter,” said Giants general manager Chub Feeney.

Pitching lessons

No longer a power pitcher, McCormick, 29, relied on control and changing speeds in his second stint with the Giants.

It wasn’t an easy transition. Because of rainouts and days off, he made a mere two starts in April 1967. At the end of May, his record was 3-2 with a 4.64 ERA and manager Herman Franks sent him to the bullpen. One of McCormick’s relief appearances came June 16, 1967, against the Cardinals. He pitched 4.1 innings and allowed one run. Boxscore

Returned to the starting rotation, McCormick won seven consecutive decisions from June 19 to July 15. One of those wins was June 27, 1967, a shutout versus the Cardinals at St. Louis. McCormick scattered seven hits and walked none. In contrast, Cardinals starter Steve Carlton walked six in 4.2 innings and gave up four runs. Boxscore

Cardinals hitting coach Dick Sisler said batters made the mistake of trying to pull McCormick’s screwball.

“You can’t play long ball against a screwball,” Sisler told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. “You’ve got to hit to the opposite field.”

Doing his part

On Aug. 10, 1967, the Giants opened a four-game series against the Cardinals at St. Louis. The Giants were nine games behind the first-place Cardinals and needed to win the series if they were going to challenge for the pennant. “If anybody can catch them, it’s us,” McCormick said.

Hoping to set the tone, McCormick prevailed in the opener, limiting the Cardinals to six hits in a 5-2 victory.

“When he makes you hit his pitch, he’s got you,” Sisler said. “When he wins, I’d say that nine out of 10 batters swing at bad pitches.” Boxscore

Unfazed, the Cardinals won the final three games of the series, beating Gaylord Perry and two former Cardinals, Lindy McDaniel and McCormick’s road roommate, Ray Sadecki. The Giants left St. Louis 11 games behind with 47 left to play.

Top of his game

McCormick faced the Cardinals for the final time in 1967 on Aug. 23 at San Francisco and beat them again, pitching another shutout. His ERA versus the Cardinals for the season was 0.86. Boxscore

“McCormick has done about all he can to stall the Cardinals’ pennant express,” declared the Post-Dispatch.

Said Cardinals outfielder Roger Maris: “He’s always on the borderline with his pitches. He’s on the inside corner or the outside corner, or right on the borderline high or low, but he never has thrown me a pitch down the middle of the plate.”

In games not started by McCormick, the Giants were 4-11 versus the Cardinals in 1967.

McCormick led the league in wins (22) and became the first Giants left-hander with 20 in a season since Johnny Antonelli in 1956. In winning the Cy Young Award, McCormick got 18 of 20 votes from the baseball writers.

McCormick followed the 1967 season with 12 wins for the Giants in 1968 and 11 in 1969 before he was traded to the Yankees in 1970. His last season in the majors was 1971 with the Royals. He finished with a career record of 134-128.