In a year of turmoil in his personal life, pitcher Chuck Finley experienced satisfying success in his professional life when he joined the Cardinals.
On July 19, 2002, the Cardinals acquired Finley from the Cleveland Indians for minor-league first baseman Luis Garcia and a player to be named. Three weeks later, the Cardinals sent another prospect, outfielder Coco Crisp, to the Indians, completing the deal.
Though Crisp went on to produce 1,572 hits and 309 stolen bases in 15 seasons in the American League, the Cardinals got a double benefit from obtaining Finley. He was the starting pitcher they needed to replace Daryl Kile, who died a month earlier. The trade also kept the Cardinals’ closest competitor, the Reds, from getting Finley.
Bright lights
Born and raised in Monroe, La., Finley attended Louisiana Tech for a year, dropped out and went to work for his family’s nursery and landscaping businesses, planting trees and tilling soil, according to Sports Illustrated.
A year later, he enrolled at Northeast Louisiana University (now named University of Louisiana Monroe). A left-handed pitcher, he lacked command but had an exceptional fastball. The Angels drafted him in January 1985 and sent him to their farm system to be a reliever.
Finley developed a curve to go with his fastball, and in May 1986 he made the jump from Class A Quad Cities in Davenport, Iowa, to the majors.
The Angels were home at Anaheim Stadium when Finley made his big-league debut in relief of future Hall of Famer Don Sutton. “I got to the mound and I couldn’t believe how bright it was,” Finley recalled to Sports Illustrated. “A night game in A ball, you turn on the porch lights.” Boxscore
In 1988, Finley joined the Angels’ starting rotation. Adding a split-fingered pitch, or forkball, to his arsenal, he posted double-figure win totals in 10 of his 12 seasons as an Angels starter.
After Finley had back-to-back 18-win seasons in 1990 and 1991, Angels executive Whitey Herzog rewarded him with a four-year $18.5 million contract, largest in franchise history. Sports Illustrated declared Finley “the best left-handed pitcher in baseball.”
Match game
In November 1997, Finley married actress Tawny Kitaen. She appeared with Tom Hanks in the 1984 movie “Bachelor Party.” Cast as the fiancee of Hanks’ character, Kitaen played the part “fetchingly,” according to the New York Times review.
She also performed in music videos for the British hard-rock band Whitesnake. Kitaen married band member David Coverdale in 1989 and they divorced in 1991.
After Finley married Kitaen, he told Paul Gutierrez of Sports Illustrated in 1998, “I found a great girl that put up with me. I couldn’t be with anybody better. We’re so much alike it’s incredible.”
Finley earned 14 consecutive wins for the Angels from July 1, 1997, to April 27, 1998. Granted free agency after the 1999 season, he signed a three-year $27 million contract with the Indians. Finley remains the Angels’ franchise leader in career wins (165), innings pitched (2,675) and starts (379).
Domestic violence
In 2002, the Indians opened the season at Anaheim, giving Finley a chance to be at home in Newport Beach with Kitaen and their two children.
On April 1, Finley and Kitaen argued while having dinner at Ruth’s Chris Steak House in Irvine, according to the Los Angeles Times. When they got home, Finley said, “his wife hit, kicked and scratched him and then called 911 before hurling a telephone through the window of their car,” the Los Angeles Times reported.
Police said, when they arrived, they saw cuts and bruises on Finley, the Associated Press reported. Kitaen was arrested and charged with two misdemeanors _ corporal injury on a spouse, and battery.
In exchange for her pleading guilty and after completing a counseling program, the case was dismissed, according to the Los Angeles Times.
Finley and Kitaen soon divorced. She died in May 2021 at age 59.
Cost factors
On the morning of July 19, 2002, the Cardinals were atop their division, 3.5 games ahead of the second-place Reds. Though Finley, 39, was 4-11 with a 4.44 ERA for the 2002 Indians, both the Cardinals and Reds envisioned him as a starter who could tip the balance of the title chase.
According to The Cincinnati Post, the Indians agreed in principle to trade Finley to the Reds for minor-league pitcher Josh Hall.
Reds outfielder Ken Griffey Jr. volunteered to defer $1 million of his 2002 salary to clear payroll room for the $2 million still to be paid Finley for the season, The Cincinnati Post reported. Reds general manager Jim Bowden thought he had a done deal, but the club’s chief operating officer, John Allen, vetoed the trade. “We can’t add payroll,” Allen told the Cincinnati Enquirer.
According to ESPN.com, the Reds were close to sending outfielder Brady Clark and three prospects to the Red Sox for the cash to pay Finley, but that also fell through.
The Indians then turned to the Cardinals.
“We went back and forth,” Cardinals general manager Walt Jocketty said to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. “This morning, I didn’t think it was going to happen. This afternoon, it fell back into our laps.”
With Woody Williams sidelined by injury, Finley joined a rotation of Matt Morris, Andy Benes and Jason Simontacchi.
“The Cardinals addressed their most pressing problem” and got a starter “who may alter the balance of power within a depleted division,” Joe Strauss wrote in the Post-Dispatch.
Said Cardinals center fielder Jim Edmonds, who had been Finley’s teammate with the Angels: “He’s the ultimate workhorse. He’s one of the best professionals I’ve ever seen. When you play a big game, you want him to have the ball.”
Getting it done
Finley made his first Cardinals start on July 21, 2002, at Pittsburgh. With Mike Matheny as his catcher, Finley got the win, striking out eight in six innings.
His pitching was only part of the story. Finley doubled to left off Josh Fogg in the fourth and scored the go-ahead run on Fernando Vina’s single. The double was Finley’s first hit in 27 big-league at-bats. Boxscore
“I like what I’ve seen of this team in the two days I’ve been here,” Finley said. “When you look around and see very good players all around you, it really picks you up.”
Finley also won his second Cardinals start, beating the Cubs at St. Louis. Boxscore and Video
Three days later, Jocketty swung a deal for Scott Rolen, acquiring the third baseman, along with pitcher Doug Nickle and cash, from the Phillies for infielder Placido Polanco and pitchers Mike Timlin and Bud Smith.
The Cardinals, who entered July 2002 tied with the Reds for first place in the Central Division, closed July with a five-game lead over second-place Cincinnati.
On Aug. 27, Finley shut out the Reds on a two-hitter and Rolen hit a three-run home run in the game. Boxscore
With Finley and Rolen, the Cardinals were 17-14 in August and 21-6 in September, finishing 13 games ahead of the runner-up Astros. The Reds limped in at 78-84.
Finley finished 7-4 in 14 regular-season starts for the 2002 Cardinals, giving him a career record of 200-173.
In his last game of a 17-year big-league career, Finley started and won Game 3 of the 2002 National League Championship Series at San Francisco. Boxscore
RetroSimba 
For the decade of the 90’s he was one of only 5 pitchers to log at least 160 innings every year. The trade worked out well for us and he probably deserved a better won lost record of 7-4. In two of his losses the Cardinals were shutout. The way the Angels are going right now the team records that he holds are safe in the bank.
Thanks for the insights, Phillip. One more note: The Cardinals came close to being the team that faced the Angels in the 2002 World Series. What a fascinating cap to an eventful year that would have been for Chuck Finley. In doing the research for this piece, I noticed that the Angels invited him to join team owner Gene Autry in the ceremonial first pitch ceremony before Game 1 of the 2002 World Series between the Giants and Angels.
So much to cover here. First of all, as always, great write up Mark. What better quote than… “A night game in A ball, you turn on the porch lights.”
What Ken Griffey Jr. offered, that pay cut, to get Finley, speaks volumes about hall of famer Ken Griffey Jr.
I figure Finley’s career 200 wins is a long ways behind Spahn as the all-time leader for left-handers in wins, but maybe Finley cracks the top 20? I know wins are being shrugged aside these days because of advanced metrics, but it still says a lot about a guy’s ability to go deep into games or at least five innings. Unfortunately, that’s not the case anymore. Pitchers don’t go deep into games though there have been a few complete games this year. I just looked it up. That guy from the Marlins – Alcantara has thrown two. What a year he’s having. I haven’t seen him pitch yet, but I’m a subscriber to mlb.tv so i think I’ll check out his next start and when I do, I’ll remember that reading this post inspired me to do so. Thanks Mark.
Thanks, Steve. You are close enough on Chuck Finley’s career ranking in wins among left-handers. According to baseball-reference, his 200 regular-season wins rank him 28th all-time among left-handers. Career win totals for other top left-handers of his era include Jon Lester (200), Mark Buehrle (214), Kenny Rogers (219), David Wells (239), CC Sabathia (251) and Andy Pettitte (256). The one that often surprises people is Jamie Moyer. He ranks 9th in career wins for a left-hander, with 269.
Every time I went to Anaheim Stadium as a kid it seemed like Finley was pitching that day. He was one of the few bright spots on those horrible Angels teams. I never knew he was married to the Jaguar dry-humper extraordinaire. She was an attractive woman in her prime.
Great stuff as always Mark. The Finley thing reminded me of my grandfather and I hadn’t thought of him for a while. Much appreciated.
Thanks, Gary. Your comment helps remind me that the only real value about sports is the connections it helps us make. I am glad baseball helped do that for you and your grandfather, and may that connection always remain strong and vivid.