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How Paul Dean became rookie sensation for Cardinals

Posted in Games, Pitchers on July 16, 2015| Leave a Comment »

When Cardinals rookie Paul Dean learned to mix his pitches, hit the corners of the strike zone and quit trying to emulate his larger-than-life older brother, he became an effective starter for St. Louis.

In 1934, Paul Dean, 21, debuted with the Cardinals, won his first eight decisions and went into the All-Star Game break with a 10-4 record.

Paul Dean’s brother, Dizzy Dean, 24, was the ace of the 1934 Cardinals staff. Paul entered the Cardinals’ 1934 spring training camp as a candidate to join his brother in the starting rotation after posting a 22-7 record in 1933 for minor-league Columbus.

During that 1934 spring training, Dizzy brashly predicted he and Paul would combine for 45 wins for the Cardinals that season. Though well-intentioned, the remark put added pressure on Paul.

Some Cardinals veterans already thought Paul wasn’t ready for the big leagues and was being given preferable treatment in spring training because he was Dizzy’s brother.

Paul didn’t help matters with his combative nature. He feuded with first baseman Rip Collins and coach Mike Gonzalez and later got into a fight with outfielder Joe Medwick.

Needing a makeover

Paul made the Opening Day roster for the 1934 Cardinals. He yielded eight earned runs in six innings over his first three appearances and had an ERA of 12.00.

According to the book “Diz” by Robert Gregory, Cardinals manager Frankie Frisch told Paul, “You’ve got the speed, but it won’t matter how hard you throw. If it’s down the middle, these fellows are going to hit it.”

Said Cardinals pitcher Tex Carleton of Paul: “He doesn’t have a curve. No pitching finesse.”

Frisch and his coaches, Gonzalez and Buzzy Wares, worked with Paul to develop an off-speed pitch. Dizzy thought the instruction was a hindrance rather than a help. “There ain’t nothing wrong with Paul,” Dizzy said. “… He’ll be all right if them coaches don’t ruin him by trying to make him over. I want them to lay off that kid.”

In his next start, May 3 against the Phillies, Paul got his first big-league win, but he wasn’t sharp, yielding five runs in five innings in an 8-7 Cardinals victory.

“I was worried because he was obviously overawed by his big brother,” Frisch recalled years later. “Paul was imitating Dizzy’s style on the mound, but lacked his colossal self-confidence.”

Turning point

Paul’s next start was scheduled for May 11 against the defending World Series champion Giants and their ace, Carl Hubbell. Speculation was Paul would be sent to the minor leagues if he didn’t pitch well in that game.

“In many respects, Paul was pitching for his job,” The Sporting News reported. “He had done nothing prior to this outing and there were grave doubts about his ability to put a curve in there with his fast one that would keep the wolves away from the plate.”

A few days before the showdown, Frisch invited Paul to join him for dinner. Over porterhouse steaks, Frisch, who began his career with the Giants, explained to Paul how to pitch to each Giants batter. Frisch also told Paul to be himself, trust his talent and use the off-speed pitch he’d been learning.

Before a Ladies Day crowd at Sportsman’s Park in St. Louis, Paul mixed a changeup with his fastball and delivered some pitches from a sidearm delivery that helped hide the ball from batters. He held the Giants to two runs and got the complete-game win when the Cardinals snapped a 2-2 tie with a run off Hubbell in the 10th. Boxscore

“I think Paul Dean is in a fair position to become a great pitcher,” said Frisch. “His only trouble has been control and as long as he can pitch to spots he will be OK. We have worked hard on him and he has shown us that he knows how to pitch and can grab information and make the best of it. I like him.”

Dean demands

Paul became a consistent winner. Through May 31, Paul was 5-0, Dizzy was 6-2 and the Cardinals were in first place.

On June 1, Dizzy was scheduled to start against the Pirates. Instead, he staged a strike, refusing to pitch until the Cardinals gave his brother a $2,000 pay raise. Paul’s salary was $3,000. Dizzy’s salary was $7,500.

Dizzy ended his walkout the next day.

Paul won his next three decisions, boosting his record to 8-0 with a shutout against the Phillies on June 17.

Wrote The Sporting News: “He has passed the experimental stage and today unquestionably rates as the greatest young right-hander to come into the majors since Wes Ferrell and Lon Warneke.”

Deans deliver

After beating the Giants on June 26, Paul was 10-1 with a 3.92 ERA. He lost his next three decisions before the July 10 All-Star Game.

The Dean brothers continued to win in the second half of the season, especially in the September pennant stretch. Paul was 5-3 with a 1.93 ERA in September; Dizzy was 7-1 with a 1.54 ERA that month.

The Cardinals won the pennant with a 95-58 record, finishing two games ahead of the Giants.

Dizzy was 30-7 and led the NL in strikeouts for the third consecutive season. Paul was 19-11 with 16 complete games and five shutouts. With a combined 49 wins, the brothers had exceeded Dizzy’s prediction.

In the World Series, Dizzy and Paul each won twice, leading the Cardinals to the championship over the Tigers. In Paul’s two starts, he pitched complete games, yielding two earned runs in 18 innings.

Previously: How Dizzy Dean got the best of his matchup with Babe Ruth

Previously: Pennant clincher: How Dizzy Dean got 2 shutouts in 3 days

Previously: Cardinal cool: How Dizzy Dean survived armed robbery

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Bob Gibson and his amazing All-Star Game save

Posted in Games, Opponents, Pitchers on July 13, 2015| Leave a Comment »

(Updated July 13, 2020)

In a display of strength and versatility, Bob Gibson in 1965 pitched 13 innings in a start vs. the Giants on July 7, pitched four innings of relief against the Cubs on July 11 and earned a save with two innings of relief in the July 13 All-Star Game.

Well aware of Gibson’s workload, the Phillies’ Gene Mauch, National League manager, left it up to the Cardinals’ ace to choose whether to pitch in the All-Star Game at Minnesota.

“He told me before the game that his arm didn’t feel good,” Mauch told the Minneapolis Star-Tribune. “I made it clear that it was his decision whether to pitch or not. During the game, Gibson sent word that he was OK.”

Mauch called on Gibson to protect a 6-5 lead over the final two innings.

“Gibson thinks he can get anybody in the world _ and I do, too,” Mauch told the Associated Press.

Grateful for Gibson’s save, the Dodgers’ Sandy Koufax, who got the All-Star Game win, good-naturedly said to Gibson, “Why don’t you quit starting? There’s a heck of a future in relieving for you.”

NL fireballers

The National League unleashed an array of hard throwers on the American League. Juan Marichal of the Giants started and was followed by the Reds’ Jim Maloney, Dodgers teammates Don Drysdale and Koufax and the Astros’ Turk Farrell before Gibson entered in the eighth. The American League scored all of its runs off Maloney.

Gibson, the Cardinals’ lone all-star representative, retired the first two batters he faced, striking out the Tigers’ Willie Horton and getting the Yankees’ Bobby Richardson on a groundout. After he walked the Twins’ Zoilo Versalles, Bill Freehan of the Tigers followed with a single to center. When the throw from Willie Mays went to third, Freehan took second, putting two runners in scoring position for the next batter, the Twins’ Jimmie Hall.

A left-handed batter, Hall hit a shot to center. Mays started for the ball, slipped and barely recovered in time to make a leaping, backhanded catch, ending the inning.

In the bottom of the ninth, the Twins’ Tony Oliva led off with a double. Attempting a bunt, the Indians’ Max Alvis offered at Gibson’s first pitch and popped out for the first out.

Gibby vs. Killer

Twins slugger Harmon Killebrew was up next. The crowd at Metropolitan Stadium was abuzz at the prospect of their prodigious home run hitter driving in his Twins teammate Oliva from second with the tying run.

Instead, Killebrew struck out.

“He threw me sliders until the last pitch,” Killebrew told the Star-Tribune. “That was a good, hard fastball.”

To the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Killebrew said, “For a guy who was supposed to be tired, Gibson threw pretty darn good. The ball just seemed to drop under my bat.”

American League manager Al Lopez sent a left-handed pinch-hitter, the Yankees’ Joe Pepitone, to bat next.

Gibson struck him out, sealing the win. Boxscore and video of Gibson at 13:40 mark

Throwing heat

In describing how he pitched Pepitone, Gibson said, “The first two sliders were up and in. They aren’t going to do a darn thing with it if it goes in there. If it doesn’t get in there, that’s a different story. The last pitch was a fastball. That was in there.”

Asked to describe the strikeout pitch, Pepitone said, “Whoosh. I saw it good, too. He was just a little too quick.”

Nine months earlier, Pepitone went 0-for-4 versus Gibson in Game 7 of the 1964 World Series. After fanning Pepitone in the All-Star Game, Gibson said to the Star-Tribune, “The World Series is a lot more thrilling to pitch in than the All-Star Game because there’s money involved.”

In the clubhouse, National League catcher Joe Torre of the Braves soaked his left hand in warm water to ease the soreness from having so many fastballs slam into his mitt.

“I had some real hummers coming out of the bullpen,” Torre told The Sporting News. “The hand really hurts.”

Said Gibson: “I got to admit he was catching some sizzlers.”

Previously: As all-stars, only two hit Bob Gibson more than once

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How Browns used Cardinals as foil in pitching novelty

Posted in Games, Managers, Opponents on July 10, 2015| Leave a Comment »

In an exhibition established to assist the United States’ war effort and help compensate for the cancelation of the All-Star Game, the Cardinals were part of a baseball experiment.

On July 10, 1945, Browns manager Luke Sewell used nine pitchers in an exhibition against the Cardinals at Sportsman’s Park. Sewell wanted to see what would happen if he utilized a different pitcher in each of nine innings.

He increased the intrigue factor by alternating a right-hander and a left-hander each inning.

The result: The Browns shut out the Cardinals on two hits and won, 3-0.

Asked whether he’d consider using a different pitcher an inning in a regular-season game, Sewell told the Associated Press, “I wouldn’t think of it … I don’t think this will ever be more than just a novelty.”

Non-essential game

The All-Star Game was canceled in 1945 under orders from Col. J. Monroe Johnson, chief of the Office of Defense Transportation. With the nation needing resources in World War II, the Office of Defense Transportation had the authority to enforce travel restrictions. It viewed the All-Star Game scheduled for July 10, 1945, at Boston’s Fenway Park to be an unnecessary luxury that would sap travel resources needed for the war effort.

To replace the All-Star Game, Major League Baseball proposed eight interleague exhibition games _ four on July 9 and four on July 10. Proceeds from the exhibitions would be donated to the War Service Relief Fund.

The Office of Defense Transportation approved seven of the exhibitions and rejected a proposed game between the Tigers and Pirates at Pittsburgh because of the distance the Tigers would need to travel from Detroit.

The approved games:

_ New York Yankees vs. New York Giants at the Polo Grounds in New York.

_ Chicago Cubs vs. Chicago White Sox at Comiskey Park in Chicago.

_ Cincinnati Reds vs. Cleveland Indians at Municipal Stadium in Cleveland.

_ Brooklyn Dodgers vs. Washington Senators at Griffith Stadium in Washington.

_ Philadelphia Phillies vs. Philadelphia Athletics at Shibe Park in Philadelphia.

_ Boston Braves vs. Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park in Boston.

_ St. Louis Cardinals vs. St. Louis Browns at Sportsman’s Park in St. Louis.

World Series rematch

The Cardinals-Browns game matched the defending league champions. The Cardinals had defeated the Browns in six games in the 1944 World Series.

A crowd of 24,113 turned out at Sportsman’s Park for the exhibition, producing $36,000 for the War Service Relief Fund.

In order, the nine pitchers who appeared for the Browns:

_ First inning, right-hander Tex Shirley.

_ Second inning, left-hander Sam Zoldak.

_ Third inning, right-hander Pete Appleton.

_ Fourth inning, left-hander Earl Jones.

_ Fifth inning, right-hander George Caster.

_ Sixth inning, left-hander Lefty West.

_ Seventh inning, right-hander Sig Jakucki.

_ Eighth inning, left-hander Al Hollingsworth.

_ Ninth inning, right-hander Bob Muncrief.

The Cardinals’ hits were a double Red Schoendienst against Shirley in the first inning and a single by Ray Sanders versus Zoldak in the second.

Browns outfielder Milt Byrnes hit a solo home run against Cardinals starter Red Barrett in the first.

In the fourth, a triple by Pete Gray, a one-armed outfielder, sparked a two-run inning for the Browns against Al Jurisich.

The seven interleague exhibitions attracted a total attendance of 169,880 and raised $244,778 for the War Service Relief Fund.

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Why 1st All-Star Game in St. Louis was drab event

Posted in Games on July 7, 2015| Leave a Comment »

Except for the high number of outstanding players on the field, the first All-Star Game at St. Louis was a lot like any other Tuesday afternoon game at Sportsman’s Park in 1940.

More an exhibition game than a spectacle celebrating baseball’s best, the drab event played on July 9, 1940, lacked the feel of being a special occasion.

Dan Daniel, columnist for The Sporting News, called the Sportsman’s Park setting “a cold stage” and “depressing,” noting that bunting wasn’t even draped around the ballpark.

“Advance publicity was almost nil,” Daniel wrote. “Hoopla by both leagues was missing woefully before and on the day of battle.”

A band hired to entertain showed up only an hour before game time.

Unmoved, baseball commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis said, “These people came out to see a ball game, not a parade.”

Cardinals are hosts

The 1940 All-Star Game was the eighth overall since the concept of a summer classic began in 1933. Because it was the National League’s turn to be the 1940 home team, the Cardinals, not the American League Browns, were the host at Sportsman’s Park.

A crowd of 32,373 attended. Cardinals owner Sam Breadon estimated 60 percent of the spectators came from outside St. Louis. They included celebrities such as Hollywood entertainers Bob Hope and Joe E. Brown and actor George Raft.

Among the American League starters were left fielder Ted Williams, center fielder Joe DiMaggio, first baseman Jimmie Foxx and catcher Bill Dickey.

The NL starters included a pair of Cardinals, first baseman Johnny Mize and center fielder Terry Moore, and a longtime former Cardinal, left fielder Joe Medwick. Traded by the Cardinals to the Dodgers a month earlier, Medwick was booed when he was announced as the left fielder.

Playing a hunch

National League manager Bill McKechnie of the Reds initially had Mel Ott of the Giants starting in right field. An hour before game time, he changed his mind and started Max West of the Braves instead.

McKechnie told the Associated Press he made the change because he wanted Ott available to play the later innings when the sun presented a challenge to fielders in right. McKechnie said Ott had more experience than West in handling a St. Louis sun field.

“It was my hunch that Ott … would be a bit steadier in the sun and that is the only reason for the change,” McKechnie said.

The Sporting News reported a different reason for the switch. Braves manager Casey Stengel, first-base coach for the NL, suggested to McKechnie that West “has a home run in him,” columnist Dick Farrington reported.

McKechnie inserted West into the No. 3 spot in the batting order.

After Paul Derringer of the Reds held the AL scoreless in the first (Williams walked and DiMaggio grounded out), Arky Vaughan and Billy Herman opened the NL half of the inning with back-to-back singles off Red Ruffing of the Yankees.

West, 23, a Dexter, Mo., native, stepped to the plate for his first (and only) at-bat as an all-star. He swung and missed at the first pitch from Ruffing, then launched the second into the seats in right-center for a three-run home run.

Hard fall

A half-inning later, Luke Appling of the White Sox tried to ignite an AL rally with a drive to right. West attempted a leaping catch, fell hard against the wall and crumpled to the ground as Appling reached second with a double.

Stengel was among the first to rush to West’s aid. The right fielder was able to get to his feet and limp back to the dugout with what was reported to be a bruised hip. Bill Nicholson of the Cubs replaced West in right field. (Ott subbed for Nicholson in the sixth.)

NL pitching dominated the remainder of the game. Derringer, Bucky Walters, Whit Wyatt, Larry French and Carl Hubbell held the AL scoreless and the NL won, 4-0, in the first All-Star Game shutout.

Moore was the only NL player to play the entire game. He was 0-for-3 with a walk. Mize and Medwick each was 0-for-2.

The AL managed only three hits _ two by Appling and one by pitcher Bobo Newsom of the Tigers. Boxscore

West never again appeared in an All-Star Game. In a seven-year career with the Braves, Reds and Pirates, West hit .254 with 77 home runs.

St. Louis has been the All-Star Game site five times: 1940, 1948, 1957, 1966 and 2009. Only New York (nine) and Chicago (seven) have hosted the All-Star Game more often.

Previously: Joaquin Andujar skipped All-Star Game to barbecue quail

Previously: How Joe Medwick got traded by Cardinals to Dodgers

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Why Cardinals, Reds managers got into a fistfight

Posted in Games, Managers, Opponents on July 1, 2015| Leave a Comment »

(Updated July 5, 2019)

During a game at Cincinnati, the managers of the Cardinals and Reds threw punches at one another and wrestled on the ground near home plate. One of them may have taken a bite out of the other.

On July 5, 1955, a fight between managers Harry Walker of the Cardinals and Birdie Tebbetts of the Reds prompted players to rush onto the field and join in the fisticuffs.

Watching from his seat in the Crosley Field stands was National League president Warren Giles. “I never before heard of two major-league managers starting a fight between their teams by being the first to exchange blows,” Giles said to The Sporting News. “To the best of my knowledge, their fight was unprecedented.”

Action inning

The drama began in the ninth.

With the Reds ahead 3-2, Bill Virdon led off the ninth for the Cardinals and hit a home run against former St. Louis pitcher Gerry Staley, tying the score. After a single and a walk, Bob Stephenson gave the Cardinals a 4-3 lead with a one-out RBI-single off Joe Black.

In the Reds’ half of the inning, another former Cardinals player, Ray Jablonski, delivered a RBI-single against reliever Paul La Palme, tying the score at 4-4.

After Walker made a pair of defensive changes, sending Ken Boyer to replace Solly Hemus at third base and Pete Whisenant to replace Joe Frazier in right field, Cardinals catcher Bill Sarni went to the mound to visit with La Palme. Tebbetts suspected Sarni was trying to buy time for Boyer and Whisenant to loosen their arms.

Tebbetts protested to plate umpire Jocko Conlan, claiming the rules called for the game to resume as soon as the new fielders took their positions.

The argument ended without a resolution.

Sam Mele, batting with one out and runners on first and second, flied out to Whisenant.

Johnny Temple was the next batter, but before he could take a stance, Sarni again visited the mound. As he did, Whisenant threw more practice tosses.

Temper tantrums

Tebbetts came out to the plate to complain to Conlan. Walker rushed over to defend his team. The managers began yelling at one another, with Conlan between them.

“We called each other names,” Tebbetts said. “We both seemed to get the idea at once that the only way to settle our argument was with our fists. So we started swinging.”

In The Sporting News, Bob Broeg wrote, “Tebbetts suddenly swung _ and missed _ prompting a return blow that landed.”

Tebbetts, 42, and Walker, 38, grabbed one another, wrestled to the ground and rolled around in the dirt.

Players from both benches emptied onto the field, with several piling onto Walker and Tebbetts. Some squared off in individual battles. Pitchers Art Fowler of the Reds and Larry Jackson of the Cardinals tangled. So did Frazier and Reds outfielder Wally Post.

“Fights were going on all over an area of 50 feet to the right of the plate,” according to the Cincinnati Enquirer, which called it “one of the wildest rhubarbs witnessed at Crosley Field in years.”

Others, such as Stan Musial and Red Schoendienst of the Cardinals and Ted Kluszewski of the Reds, played peacemakers.

Bruised and battered

Walker suffered a bruised forehead and said Tebbetts bit him on the left ear.

“A lot of players must have hit me or kicked me,” said Walker. “At one time, while we were down, I yelled at Birdie, ‘You’re trying to bite me.’ ”

Said Tebbetts: “Someone stomped on my back and someone else kicked me in an ear. I saw another foot coming at me and ducked my head against Harry’s face so close he thought I was trying to bite him. I was just trying to protect my own head.”

Tebbetts suffered a nosebleed and cuts on his lip and neck. “I feel like I have been run over by a steam roller,” Tebbetts said.

Reds rally

Conlan ejected Tebbetts, Walker and Sarni.

As the managers left the field, Walker picked up Tebbetts’ cap from the ground and wore it into the Cardinals’ clubhouse, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported.

When played resumed, Temple singled, scoring Chuck Harmon with the run that gave the Reds a 5-4 victory. Boxscore

Giles fined Tebbetts and Walker $100 each.

“Managers have an obligation to preserve or restore order and not, by their actions, to incite disorder,” Giles said.

Said Tebbetts: “I’ve got nothing against Walker. He was just doing his job even if I didn’t agree as to the manner in which he was trying to do it.”

Previously: The story of why Cardinals fired manager Eddie Stanky

Previously: No backing down: Tony La Russa vs. Lloyd McClendon

Previously: Wrangle at Wrigley: Tony La Russa vs. Dusty Baker

Previously: 1980s macho match: Whitey Herzog vs. Roger Craig

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Losing became a habit for Danny Jackson with Cardinals

Posted in Games, Pitchers, Records on June 28, 2015| Leave a Comment »

In a season fraught with futility, the pitcher who epitomized the plight of the 1995 Cardinals was Danny Jackson. Expected to provide wins and hope, Jackson instead represented losses and despair.

On July 2, 1995, Jackson was the losing pitcher for St. Louis against the Cubs at Chicago, dropping his season record to 0-9.

Jackson became the first Cardinals pitcher to start a season 0-9 since Art Fromme in 1907 and the first Cardinals pitcher to lose nine in a row since Bob Forsch did so from July 5 through Aug. 19 in 1978.

Tough guy

A left-hander, Jackson was signed by the Cardinals as a free agent in December 1994 after posting a 14-6 record and 3.26 ERA for the 1994 Phillies.

Jackson had pitched in three World Series for three different franchises (1985 Royals, 1990 Reds and 1993 Phillies) and had been a 23-game winner with the 1988 Reds.

Cardinals general manager Walt Jocketty gave Jackson a three-year contract for a guaranteed $10.8 million.

“Danny Jackson gives us the toughness we’ve lacked in our pitching staff,” Cardinals manager Joe Torre told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

Troubled pitcher

Jackson, 33, who underwent thyroid surgery during the off-season, started poorly with the 1995 Cardinals, yielding four runs or more in each of his first four appearances. Jackson had complications with his medications. He also was hampered by an unsteady defense and erratic offense.

Still, Jackson’s ineffectiveness was his own doing. His pitching mechanics were out of synch.

His ERA after his ninth loss was 7.83. Jackson gave up three or more runs in an inning 11 times in his first 11 starts for the Cardinals. He was unable to last longer than five innings in eight of those starts.

“I don’t know what the hell is going on, but I know one thing: I’m sick and tired of losing,” Jackson said after his record fell to 0-9. “It doesn’t seem to make any difference what I do. It’s always the same.”

Said Mike Jorgensen, who had replaced Torre as manager: “We’re going to keep sending him out there until we get him smoothed out.” Boxscore

Goodbye gorilla

Five days after his loss to the Cubs, Jackson ended the streak in spectacular fashion, shutting out the Marlins on a four-hitter on July 7, 1995, at St. Louis.

“I feel like I got King Kong off my back,” Jackson said.

Said catcher Tom Pagnozzi: “That was the best he had looked as far as not muscling the ball and throwing fluidly.” Boxscore

Jackson won his next start, beating the Phillies, and then lost three decisions in a row.

Bad numbers

In his last start of the season, Aug. 11 against the Padres, Jackson injured an ankle, was lifted in the second inning and didn’t pitch again in 1995.

His season record: 2-12 with a 5.90 ERA.

In 19 starts, Jackson yielded 120 hits in 100.2 innings and had almost as many walks (48) as strikeouts (52). Batters hit .303 against him.

His failures were a key factor in the Cardinals having a 62-81 record.

Jackson never recovered. In three seasons with the Cardinals, he was 4-15 with a 5.78 ERA.

On June 13, 1997, the Cardinals dealt Jackson, pitcher Rich Batchelor and outfielder Mark Sweeney to the Padres for pitcher Fernando Valenzuela, outfielder Phil Plantier and third baseman Scott Livingstone.

Previously: The day Cardinals fired Joe Torre, traded Todd Zeile

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