RetroSimba

(Updated March 27, 2023)

In his first game as a starting catcher for the 1962 Mets, Choo Choo Coleman dared to lead off an inning with a bunt against Bob Gibson.

By challenging the Cardinals’ ace, Coleman played a key role in ending Gibson’s four-game winning streak and snapping the Mets’ 11-game skid.

On July 27, 1962, in the first game of a doubleheader against the Cardinals, Coleman opened the third inning with a bunt single and scored the lone run in the Mets’ 1-0 victory at St. Louis. Coleman’s batterymate, Al Jackson, who hadn’t earned a win in more than a month, pitched the shutout.

It was the only 1-0 win for the 1962 Mets and one of four shutout victories for them. Jackson pitched all four.

Runaway train

Clarence Coleman told an interviewer he got the nickname “Choo Choo” as a boy in his hometown of Orlando because he ran fast like a train.

Small for a catcher at 5 feet 9 and 165 pounds, Coleman entered the big leagues with the 1961 Phillies and batted .128 for them in 34 games.

The Mets selected Coleman in the National League expansion draft, but assigned him to Class AAA Syracuse before the start of the 1962 season. According to The Sporting News, “He didn’t take well to the demotion.”

Coleman batted .195 for Syracuse, but when Mets catcher Sammy Taylor fractured the ring finger on his right hand in July 1962, Coleman was promoted to the big club.

Getting a boost

The Mets had lost 16 of their previous 17 games entering the July 27 doubleheader versus the Cardinals.

Mets manager Casey Stengel, looking to show confidence in Coleman, put him in the starting lineup for the first time. He couldn’t have picked a much tougher opponent than Gibson.

Stengel “is currently embarked upon a psychological campaign designed to instill the big-league attitude into the shy and uncommunicative Choo Choo Coleman,” The Sporting News reported.

In the book “We Played the Game,” Mets outfielder Gene Woodling said Coleman “had the misfortune of coming out of a poor area of Florida and not getting much education … The sorriest thing I ever saw was Casey trying to teach Choo Choo how to count on his fingers. He had to paint them.”

Gibson had limited the Mets to a two-out Felix Mantilla single through the first two innings before Coleman led off the third.

Batting left-handed, Coleman bunted toward third baseman Ken Boyer and raced down the line for a single. Jackson followed with a sacrifice bunt, moving Coleman to second.

Gibson struck out Richie Ashburn for the second out.

The next batter, Rod Kanehl, hit a routine grounder. Shortstop Julio Gotay reached for the ball, but couldn’t come up with it.

Coleman, living up to his nickname, steamed around third base and dashed for home. While Gotay still struggled to field the ball, Coleman streaked across the plate with the unearned run. Boxscore

Off track

Stengel also started Coleman in the second game of the doubleheader. Facing Larry Jackson, Coleman produced the first of his two career triples, but the Cardinals won, 6-5.

Coleman played in 55 games for the 1962 Mets and batted .250. Grasping for a positive, The Sporting News said of the diminutive catcher, “Pitchers say he is one of the most adroit receivers of the low delivery.”

In his final two seasons with the Mets, Coleman hit .178 in 1963 and, after two years of exile in the minors, .188 in 1966. His career batting mark in four seasons in the majors: .197.

After his playing career, Coleman worked as a cook in a Chinese restaurant in Virginia, according to his obituary in the New York Times.

Previously: Cardinals have strong link to original Mets

Previously: Interview with former Cardinals pitcher Al Jackson

Read Full Post »

With the first grand slam of his major-league career, Mike Shannon slowed the Cubs’ momentum and helped the Cardinals split a four-game series at Wrigley Field.

On Aug. 15, 1968, Shannon hit a grand slam against reliever Bill Stoneman in the second inning, carrying the Cardinals to an 8-0 victory in the finale of the series and putting a dent in the Cubs’ pennant hopes. Boxscore

Second City showdown

The Cardinals, defending World Series champions, entered the series in first place, 14 games ahead of the second-place Cubs in the National League. After the Cubs won the first two, cutting the Cardinals’ lead to 12, fans in Chicago were fired up, sensing their club was poised to get back into the pennant race.

Cardinals ace Bob Gibson dampened those hopes in Game 3, pitching a complete game in a 3-1 victory.

That set up a scenario in which the Cubs needed to win Game 4 in order to gain any ground on the Cardinals.

Get up, baby

A crowd of 23,116 turned out for the Thursday afternoon series finale and the bleachers were packed with rowdies.

Gibson, in a playful mood, pinned a button with the words “We’re No. 1” to the bill of his cap and bantered with fans in the right-field bleachers before the game. “I led the boos for Roger Maris,” Gibson said to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, referring to his outfield teammate.

In the first inning, the Cardinals scored four runs against starter Ken Holtzman and knocked him out of the game. Shannon contributed a RBI-single.

In the second, the Cardinals loaded the bases with two outs against former teammate Jack Lamabe. With Shannon up, Lamabe was replaced by Stoneman.

Shannon hit Stoneman’s second pitch into the left-field seats. The grand slam _ the only one of his Cardinals career _ was his 500th hit in the big leagues.

“In Wrigley Field, if you get the ball in the air, you have a heck of a chance,” Shannon said.

Last laugh

The Bleacher Bums took out their frustrations on Cardinals outfielders Lou Brock, Curt Flood and Ron Davis.

“They were hitting us with everything,” said Flood. “Ice cubes, burned-out flashbulbs, fruit, tennis balls, paper cups and old sandwiches.”

Said Davis: “If you turned around, then you’d really get it. That’s when they’d start throwing things at you.”

Plotting his revenge, Flood printed a banner that stated, “We’re still No. 1.”

In the bottom of the ninth, with the Cardinals ahead 8-0, Flood took the banner with him to his position in center and spread it on the outfield grass, with the words facing the bleachers.

Knowing what was to come, Brock stuffed his ears with cotton to block out the taunts.

Day shift

Shannon finished the game 3-for-5 with five RBI and two runs scored. The performance gave him a .415 batting average (27-for-45) in day games that season.

“I just can see that ball better in the daytime,” Shannon told the Associated Press.

Nelson Briles pitched the shutout for the Cardinals. It was his fifth consecutive win and boosted his season record to 16-7.

The Cardinals went on to win the 1968 pennant, finishing nine games ahead of the Giants and 13 in front of the third-place Cubs.

Shannon finished his Cardinals career with 68 home runs. He had 16 against the Cubs, including 12 at Wrigley Field.

Previously: Mike Shannon ignited Cards with World Series blast

Read Full Post »

(Updated May 5, 2018)

Two of the best hitters of their era, Ichiro Suzuki and Albert Pujols, were in their sophomore years in the big leagues when they played against one another for the first time in the regular season. Suzuki had the better overall series; Pujols produced the biggest hit.

In June 2002, Suzuki went 6-for-12 in helping the Mariners win two of three games versus the Cardinals at Safeco Field in Seattle. Pujols was 2-for-11, but one of those hits was a grand slam that carried the Cardinals to their lone win in the interleague set.

Fourteen years later, in August 2016, Suzuki, playing for the Marlins, capped his U.S. big-league career by getting his 3,000th hit. On May 4, 2018, Pujols, playing for the Angels, got his 3,000th career hit.

Suzuki has a career .333 batting average (27-for-81) against the Cardinals.

Bat man

In 2001, Suzuki won the American League Rookie of the Year Award and Pujols won the National League Rookie of the Year Award.

They brought star power to the Cardinals-Mariners series the following season.

On June 10, 2002, Suzuki was 3-for-5 with three runs scored and two RBI in the Mariners’ 10-0 victory over the Cardinals. Suzuki singled off starter Bud Smith and had a double and triple against Luther Hackman. Boxscore

Before the game, reporter Larry LaRue of the Tacoma News Tribune visited Suzuki in the clubhouse while Suzuki examined new bats. “Each bat shipped to him from Japan comes shrink-wrapped (in cellophane) and once he unwraps a bat it’s kept in a specially-made case beside his locker,” wrote LaRue.

Mariners infielder Bret Boone called the case Suzuki’s humidifier.

Suzuki said, “No matter how well you take care of your bat, eventually moisture gets into the wood. Even clubhouse air-conditioning can effect the wood.”

Before placing a bat in the case, Suzuki tapped the barrel with his palm, then held it to his ear, listening for a tone, LaRue reported. Suzuki said, “High pitch, better wood. Low pitch, it probably gets used for batting practice.”

Pujols pop

In Game 2 of the series, on June 11, 2002, Suzuki had another strong game. He was 2-for-3 _ a double off starter Woody Williams and a single against Steve Kline _ with two walks and a stolen base, but it was Pujols who created the sweetest sound with his swing.

In the sixth inning, with the Mariners ahead 1-0, the Cardinals had runners on second and third with one out. Mariners manager Lou Piniella instructed starter James Baldwin to issue an intentional walk to J.D. Drew and face Pujols with the bases loaded.

“I’m trying to get out of the inning with a double play ball,” Piniella said to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

Said Pujols: “I was surprised.”

Pujols watched two curves sail out of the strike zone. Behind in the count 2-and-0, Baldwin threw a fastball. Pujols pounded it over the center-field fence for the second grand slam of his Cardinals career.

“That young guy has some real pop,” Piniella said to the Seattle Post-Intelligencer.

Pujols added a single and finished 2-for-4 with four RBI and two runs scored in a 7-4 Cardinals triumph. Boxscore

Part of 3,000

In the series finale, June 13, 2002, Suzuki doubled off starter Darryl Kile and finished 1-for-4 in a 5-0 Mariners victory. Pujols was 0-for-3. Boxscore

For the series:

Suzuki’s totals: 6-for-12, three doubles, two singles, one triple, two walks, three runs and two RBI.

Pujols’ totals: 2-for-11, one home run, one single, four RBI, two runs.

Here is how Suzuki fared in his subsequent season series versus the Cardinals:

_ 2004: 3-for-11.

_ 2010: 5-for-13.

_ 2014: 0-for-7.

_ 2015: 3-for-15.

_ 2016: 5-for-14.

_ 2017: 5-for-9.

Read Full Post »