Adam Wainwright may be the last pitcher to produce a pinch-hit for the Cardinals.
With the designated hitter being used in the National League for the first time in 2022, it may be a while before the Cardinals pick a pitcher to be a pinch-hitter. Even if a pitcher was needed to bat, the odds would be against him getting a hit after a long layoff as a batter.
According to researcher Tom Orf, the last time a Cardinals pitcher got a hit as a pinch-hitter was April 8, 2017, when Wainwright did it in a game against the Reds at St. Louis.
Late in the game, Wainwright did “significant lobbying” for a chance to pinch-hit, Cardinals manager Mike Matheny said to Rick Hummel of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
In the eighth inning, with one out, none on, and the Cardinals ahead, 9-3, Matheny sent Wainwright to bat for pitcher Jonathan Broxton. Wainwright singled to left against Drew Storen. Boxscore
Explaining why hitting was “something serious” to him, Wainwright told Derrick Goold of the Post-Dispatch, “You can win one or two games a year if you get a key hit, a key bunt.”
Big thrill
Wainwright, who hit a home run in his first plate appearance in the majors, is the last Cardinals pitcher to produce a RBI as a pinch-hitter, according to Orf.
It happened on June 10, 2016, at Pittsburgh. With the score tied at 3-3 in the 12th inning, the Cardinals had Matt Carpenter on first, two outs, Aledmys Diaz at the plate and Jonathan Broxton on deck.
Because the Cardinals had no more position players on the bench, Pirates manager Clint Hurdle ordered pitcher Juan Nicasio to give an intentional pass to Diaz, moving Carpenter into scoring position. Hurdle decided he’d rather have a pitcher at the plate than Diaz, the Cardinals’ rookie shortstop.
“I really struggle with having Diaz given an opportunity to beat us there when we figured Wainwright would be hitting next,” Hurdle told the Post-Dispatch.
Sent by Matheny to bat for Broxton, Wainwright hit a double to left-center, scoring Carpenter and Diaz and giving the Cardinals a 5-3 lead. The Cardinals scored six runs in the inning and won, 9-3. Boxscore and Video
Asked about Hurdle’s strategy, Wainwright told Rick Hummel, “I get it. I’m a pitcher and the odds are probably a lot less that I’m going to get a hit than Aledmys.”
Wainwright, who had 75 career RBI, called the two-run double as a pinch-hitter “one of the highlights of my career.”
“I’m like a kid in a candy store,” Wainwright said. “Winning the World Series is about the only time I could be happier than I am now.”
For his career with the Cardinals, Wainwright had five hits in 21 at-bats as a pinch-hitter, with three RBI.
His teammate, pitcher Jason Marquis, had six hits as a Cardinals pinch-hitter. Playing for manager Tony La Russa, Marquis was 3-for-9 as a pinch-hitter in 2005 and 3-for-10 in 2006, but he had no RBI.
The last Cardinals pitcher to hit a home run as a pinch-hitter was Gene Stechschulte in 2001. It came against Armando Reynoso of the Diamondbacks in Stechschulte’s first plate appearance in the big leagues.
Take that
Pitcher Bob Gibson had three hits in 11 career at-bats as a Cardinals pinch-hitter. He totaled 144 RBI, three as a pinch-hitter.
Gibson’s first RBI as a pinch-hitter came on Aug. 8, 1965, at St. Louis. Batting for pitcher Barney Schultz, Gibson, 29, doubled to left against Warren Spahn, 44, scoring Mike Shannon from second. Boxscore
Gibson hit .269 (7-for-26) versus Spahn in his career.
Nine months later, on April 17, 1966, the Cardinals played the Pirates at Pittsburgh. In the fifth inning, with Roberto Clemente at bat, Cardinals starter Nelson Briles “hummed a high fastball past Roberto’s left ear” and Clemente “hit the dirt to escape being clipped,” the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported.
When Clemente got up, he glared at Briles and then at the Cardinals’ dugout. Gibson yelled at him, “I’d do the same thing to you.”
According to the Post-Gaztette, after the inning ended, Gibson shouted in the direction of Clemente and the Pirates’ dugout, “If you want a piece of me, you know where to come.”
Two innings later, manager Red Schoendienst sent Gibson to bat for reliever Ray Sadecki with the bases loaded. Facing Bob Veale, Gibson singled to right, where Clemente was stationed, and drove in two runs. Boxscore
As the Pirates took the field in the eighth, Gibson went to the clubhouse via the Pirates’ dugout. “No one said a word to him,” the Post-Gazette reported.
(A year later, Clemente hit a ball that struck Gibson, fracturing his leg.)
Gibson hit .538 (7-for-1) versus Veale in his career.
Both Spahn and Veale threw left-handed. A right-handed batter, Gibson hit .222 against left-handers and .199 versus right-handers.
Postscript
One of the most remarkable seasons by a Cardinals pitcher was achieved by Curt Davis in 1939. He had a 22-16 record and hit .381 (40-for-105) that year. As a pinch-hitter in 1939, Davis batted .357 (5-for-14) with no RBI.
Two of the Cardinals’ best-hitting pitchers, Dizzy Dean and Bob Forsch, were hitless as pinch-hitters.
RetroSimba 
Some of the most exciting moments in baseball involved pitchers hitting. A couple years ago I was at a Mets game during which Noah Syndergaard pitched a complete game shutout and hit a home run for a 1-0 win. Who could forget Bartolo Colon, likely closing in on his 50th birthday, parking one. Jacob DeGrom hit .364 last year. And, probably like Wainwright, if you need a sacrifice bunt, he’s 100%. Now, instead we’ll see a DH who can’t field his position and swings for the fences on every pitch.
Thanks, Ken. Well-said. Another Mets pitcher I enjoyed watching take his rips at the ball was Sid Fernandez. An imposing plate presence, like Bartolo Colon, only a better hitter.
In 1966, Ray Sadecki was hitting .429 for the Cardinals (finished the season at .341). The Giants, looking for lefthanded hitting, traded Orlando Cepeda for Sadecki on May 8. That was also the year of Braves’ pitcher Tony Cloninger slugging two grand slams in one game.
Thanks for mentioning Ray Sadecki. He was a good hitter but he was 1-for-8 as a pinch-hitter for his career.
In 1961, when he was 20 years old, Sadecki had 22 hits and 12 RBI, along with 14 wins, for the Cardinals. On Aug. 6, 1961, against the Phillies, Sadecki pitched a 4-hitter and drove in all 3 runs with a bases-loaded double.
Here is a link to the story of the Sadecki-for-Cepeda deal: https://retrosimba.com/2016/05/11/cardinals-rolled-out-welcome-mat-for-orlando-cepeda/
I know the article is about Cardinals pitchers pinch-hitting, but I have to be honest, I’m an old school NL fan and I’m going to miss the pitcher batting.
Always felt good rooting for the underdog to come through. There were some very good surprises watching pitchers hit. The strategy, the basics of moving runners over, the surprise pull-the-bunt-back and smack it through the bunt defense…
Didn’t Forsch get a Silver Slugger award for his hitting? I remember when Andujar went yard and the hype he brought with it (if I remember correct, you did a write up about it).
Always a great read. Thank You!
Thanks, Tim. I agree with you.
Yes, Bob Forsch won National League Silver Slugger awards in 1980, when he hit .295 with 10 RBI for the Cardinals, and in 1987, when he hit .298 with 8 RBI.
In assessing the 1985 Cardinals, Joaquin Andujar told The Sporting News, “We’ve got good contact hitters. The only power hitters we have are me and Jack Clark.”
Andujar hit 5 home runs in his big-league career but never got a chance to be a pinch-hitter. Too bad. That would have been a sight.
Here is the link to Joaquin Andujar calling the home run shot he hit against the Braves: https://retrosimba.com/2014/05/16/how-joaquin-andujar-made-like-babe-ruth-for-cardinals/
With the “Shohei Ohtani” rule that the MLB has approved Adam Wainwright could still get an opportunity to swing the bat. Either way though, with things like the Universal DH and the Ghost Runner, baseball becomes more and more a game void of strategy and counter moves. In a few years I could see them implementing a sudden death homerun derby to decide a tie game.
Thanks, Phillip. I agree that baseball unfortunately seems determined to emphasize gimmickry. Oh, it would love the concept of a sudden death home run contest to decide an outcome. It would fit perfectly with its desire to please their financial partners, the sports books.
For those who may not be familiar with the proposed “Ohtani rule” referenced by Phillip, here is what mlb.com reported on March 22, 2022:
“The proposed new rule says that if the starting pitcher is also in the lineup as the DH, then that player can remain as the DH even if he is removed as a pitcher. In the past, if the starting pitcher in the American League was also in the lineup, the DH was forfeited, and his spot in the order was occupied by the relief pitcher when he left the game.
“Under the proposed rule, Ohtani — or any other pitcher — can serve as both the starting pitcher and DH in a given game, and if he is removed as a pitcher after a few innings he gets to stay in the lineup as the DH.”
Hey Mark….i would think that teams, some teams anyway, would still go ahead and draft and develop pitchers that could also hit, pinch hit, to make a more dynamic roster especially if they toss the ghost runner extra inning rule. I think it’s still under discussion?
Thanks, Steve. According to mlb.com, the idiotic ghost runner rule would be tossed in 2023, but, then again, it was supposed to be tossed this year.
we’ll always have 1984 and that two night, 25 inning marathon between the white sox and brewers. i wonder how many pitchers batted in that game?
What a classic. I think two pitchers batted in that game _ Ron Reed and Floyd Bannister, both of the White Sox, and neither got a hit. Reed had 98 hits in his big-league career and Bannister had 14. Seven future Hall of Famers played in the game: Robin Yount, Ted Simmons, Don Sutton and Rollie Fingers for the Brewers, and Carlton Fisk, Tom Seaver and Harold Baines for the White Sox. Here is that boxscore: https://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1984/B05080CHA1984.htm
thanks for the retro sheet Mark. i wish it would have ended on a suicide squeeze, the bunt by a recent minor league call up, but a Baines homer works too.
Wow, those Sadecki stats are awesome. And I thought Allen Watson was the best-hitting Cards pitcher.
Thanks for the Allen Watson mention, Marty. He hit .417 in 36 at-bats for the 1995 Cardinals but he didn’t have a plate appearance as a pinch-hitter that year. For his big-league career, Watson was 1-for-3 as a pinch-hitter with no RBI. Here is the story on Watson’s 1995 achievement: https://retrosimba.com/2011/08/29/allen-watson-last-of-the-400-hitters/