A disciple of a master instructor, Steve Braun used plate discipline and situational hitting skill to become a valuable role player for the Cardinals.
On March 3, 1981, the Cardinals signed Braun, a free agent, to a minor-league pact. A left-handed batter, Braun, 32, hoped to earn a spot with the Cardinals as a backup outfielder and pinch-hitter.
Whitey Herzog, who had the dual role of Cardinals manager and general manager, was an important ally. Herzog managed Braun with the Royals in 1978 and 1979.
It was with the 1978 Royals that Braun became influenced by hitting coach Charlie Lau. Applying Lau’s theories, Braun developed into a pinch-hitter who got on base at an impressively high rate.
Frame of mind
Braun got to the big leagues with the Twins in 1971. A left fielder and third baseman, he hit .280 or better in five of his six seasons (1971-76) with the Twins.
In 1975, teammate Rod Carew introduced Braun to Harvey Maisel, a hypnotist, or, as Braun preferred to call him, a mind trainer. Braun credited Maisel with helping him in his approach to hitting.
“The idea is to get yourself relaxed, to think relaxing thoughts so that you give yourself positive suggestions,” Braun told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
Braun hit .302 that year, the only time he reached the .300 mark in the majors.
Disenchanted with Twins management, Braun asked to be made available in the November 1976 American League expansion draft. He was selected by the Mariners and batted third in the order as their Opening Day left fielder when they debuted in 1977. Boxscore
Braun said he was surprised when the Mariners traded him to the Royals on June 1, 1978.
In the zone
Charlie Lau, who drew praise from the likes of George Brett and Lou Piniella for his hitting instruction, went to work on Braun, who was batting .230 when the Royals acquired him. With Lau’s help, Braun learned strike zone discipline and how to adapt his approach to what was needed in each at-bat.
“I learned more about hitting in that one season with Lau than I had in all my years of baseball before that,” Braun told the Post-Dispatch.
“He’s the one who really got me thinking about what I should be doing as a hitter.”
Braun became a premier pinch-hitter. He had an on-base percentage of .429 as a pinch-hitter for the 1978 Royals, who were division champions under Herzog.
“I came to the ballpark every night expecting and knowing I’ll get the hit when we need it,” Braun told The Sporting News. “I’ve never had confidence like that. I just know I can get on base and do something to help this club. I’ve changed my hitting style. I’m going with the pitch instead of pulling everything.”
Lau departed the Royals for the Yankees in 1979, but Braun’s success continued under Herzog. Braun had an on-base percentage of .394 as a pinch-hitter for the 1979 Royals.
After the season, Herzog was fired and replaced by Jim Frey. Braun was released in June 1980 and signed with the Blue Jays. As a pinch-hitter for the Blue Jays, he had an on-base percentage of .429 and delivered three game-winning hits.
Right attitude
Granted free agency, Braun contacted Herzog. The Cardinals had no room on their 40-man winter roster, but Herzog offered Braun a chance to compete for a job at spring training. Herzog told the Post-Dispatch he viewed Braun as “a little insurance” in case a roster player got injured or slumped.
Herzog, in his first spring training with the Cardinals, was looking for players who knew how to reach base and advance runners. Braun, who did that better than most, earned a spot on the Opening Day roster as a pinch-hitter.
He made his Cardinals debut in the season opener and delivered a pinch-hit double against the Phillies’ Dick Ruthven. Boxscore
“My goal is to help in at least 10 victories by getting on base leading off an inning, or by moving a runner along, or by driving in a run or more,” Braun said. “Herzog likes to have me lead off an inning because I also get a lot of walks.”
Getting it done
In his five seasons with St. Louis, Braun had 60 pinch-hits, according to the Cardinals’ media guide. The only player with more career pinch-hits as a Cardinal is Gerald Perry (70).
Braun produced these on-base percentages as a Cardinals pinch-hitter: .412 in 1981, .383 in 1982, .433 in 1983, .389 in 1984 and .382 in 1985.
In the 1982 World Series, Braun had two important plate appearances.
In Game 2, with the score tied at 4-4, Braun batted as a pinch-hitter with the bases loaded in the eighth inning and drew a four-pitch walk, driving in the winning run. Boxscore and video at 2:52 mark.
In Game 7, Braun’s RBI-single in the eighth inning extended the Cardinals’ lead over the Brewers to 6-3 and gave Bruce Sutter a comfortable cushion to close out the decisive ninth. Boxscore and video at 2;20 mark.
“He’s got a good knowledge of the strike zone,” Herzog told The Sporting News. “I know he’s going to put the ball in play or go to a 3-and-2 count when he’s leading off an inning.”
Regarding his approach to situational hitting, Braun told the Post-Dispatch, “You have to recognize the situation you’re in. What can I do? What do I have to do? Sometimes you need a baserunner. Sometimes you need a pulled ball. Sometimes you need an extra-base hit and sometimes you need a home run.”
One noteworthy home run Braun hit for the Cardinals came in a game on July 21, 1985. His two-run homer in the 10th inning against Dodgers reliever Tom Niedenfuer gave the Cardinals a 4-2 victory and foreshadowed more heartache for the pitcher. Boxscore
Three months later, in the National League Championship Series, Ozzie Smith hit a game-winning home run for the Cardinals against Niedenfuer in Game 5 and Jack Clark followed with a pennant-clinching home run against him in Game 6.
Pupil turned teacher
Despite his success, Braun was a non-roster player at three consecutive Cardinals spring trainings (1981-83) and made the team each time. He finally was rewarded with roster spots at spring trainings in 1984 and 1985.
Braun finished his playing career with 115 pinch-hits in the majors, according to retrosheet.org.
He was a Cardinals minor-league hitting instructor from 1986-89 and the hitting coach for the big-league club in 1990. After Herzog quit as manager in 1990, Braun became a minor-league hitting instructor with the Red Sox and Yankees.
Steve Braun on situational hitting: amen.
Wade Boggs (an outstanding hitter) used to drive me wild because he’d take a walk on some close pitches when the situation demanded the ball be put in play. C’mon man, you’d pass up an RBI flyout for a friggin’ walk? And then the next batter GIDP’s, because of course he does.
Thanks for the good insights. Steve Braun had a part in helping the Red Sox become World Series champions in 2004. As their minor-league hitting instructor, he helped develop players such as Jason Varitek and Trot Nixon.
It’s always a treat to look at World Series highlights from 1982. This is just my opinion. I find it ironic that even though today’s game is up to its ears in Analitics, Sabermetrics and advanced stats. Even though the people who who are a part of the MLB hierarchy have PhD’s in just about everything. Today’s game is a lot less cerebral than when players like Steve Braun were around. Back then, you didn’t just have players, you had students of the game. I don’t see that so much today.
Thanks, Phillip. I agree. Many players today show no interest in adjusting their hitting approaches in order to advance a runner. Many will hit directly into a shift rather than hit away from a shift. I see too many swinging like wild men and concentrating on launch angle instead of making contact.
The most interesting thing about Braun might be that he became a major league starter, or close to it, in 1971 after only one full season of ‘A’ ball. In that year he hit only .273 but he had 73 walks as against only 47 K’s. The Twins obviously had some “Billy Bean” type in the organization back then.
Good points, Marty. That was quite a leap that Steve Braun made to the majors.
Man, with an OBP like that this guy would be STARTING for the 2021 Oakland A’s. Was he defensive deficient?
Thanks, Gary. Steve Braun in his prime indeed would be a great fit for the 2021 A’s: smart, undervalued, knows how to play. Regarding his defense, he said in newspaper interviews that left field was his best position. The Twins said they preferred him in the outfield rather than the infield so that he could concentrate on his hitting.
If I remember correctly, Steve Braun was victim of the new 24-man roster in ‘86. Whitey Herzog indicated that he would have kept Braun if he had been allowed a 25th man.
You are correct, Tom. Good memory. Here is the lead paragraph to Rick Hummel’s story in the Dec. 31, 1985, Post-Dispatch: “The Cardinals have decided to go with 24 players next season, one under the limit, and the first victim of the new policy is pinch-hitter Steve Braun.”
Asked why the Cardinals opted to go with 24 rather than 25 players for 1986, general manager Dal Maxvill told the newspaper: “Most of the clubs want to improve the bottom line, and this is one way to do it.”
According to the Post-Dispatch, one reason Braun was the player removed from the roster is that the Cardinals a few weeks earlier had selected Clint Hurdle in the Rule 5 draft from the Mets. Like Braun, Hurdle batted left-handed. Ironically, Braun and Hurdle had been Royals teammates.