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Tough task: How Charlie James tried succeeding Stan Musial

Posted in Games, Hitters on January 13, 2014| Leave a Comment »

(Updated April 19, 2025)

After Stan Musial retired, Charlie James was chosen to replace him as the Cardinals’ left fielder in 1964.

Three months into the season, James was replaced by Lou Brock.

charlie_james2 A St. Louis native, James was a standout athlete at Webster Groves High School and went on to play halfback for the University of Missouri football team and outfield for the baseball team. After his junior season in football, James chose to pursue a career in baseball. The Cardinals signed him in January 1958 and, after a stint in the minors, he was promoted to the big leagues in August 1960.

While playing professional baseball, James earned a bachelor of science degree and a master’s degree in electrical engineering from Washington University in St. Louis.

During the winter, before reporting to spring training with the 1964 Cardinals, James taught electrical engineering courses as an instructor at Washington University. Cardinals infielder Dal Maxvill, also a Washington University graduate in electrical engineering, was moonlighting as a recruiter for the school’s engineering department and Charley Johnson, starting quarterback for the NFL St. Louis Cardinals, was working on his doctorate in chemical engineering there, The Sporting News noted.

Endorsed by Stan

James hit .268 with 10 home runs and 45 RBI in 116 games for the 1963 Cardinals. With Musial retiring and right fielder George Altman traded to the Mets, the Cardinals talked with the Giants about a trade of James and pitcher Ray Sadecki for outfielder Felipe Alou, The Sporting News reported.

Instead, the Cardinals went into 1964 spring training with James as the popular choice to replace Musial in left.

“Altman and I drove in 105 runs last year,” Musial said, “but I’m sure that James and (right fielder Carl) Warwick can do better than that playing all the time. I’m sure they’ll do much better.”

The Sporting News observed, “James, in particular, has been groomed to take Stan the Man’s place ever since he joined the varsity in 1960. Musial, in fact, back in 1959 pin-pointed the former Missouri gridder as the next major outfield star for the Cardinals.”

(According to the Houston Post, when reporters asked how he got along with Musial, James would grin and say, “Just fine. Stan goes his way and I go mine. He goes to the deposit window and I go to the withdrawal window.”)

James hit .320 in 20 spring training games in 1964 and appeared to validate the Cardinals’ confidence in him.

“Charlie is responding well to the challenge,” said manager Johnny Keane. “He knows it is his job and he’s going to keep it.”

Said Musial: “Charlie will get 15 to 20 homers for us.”

Goodbye, Charlie

The Cardinals opened the 1964 season with James in left, Curt Flood in center and Carl Warwick in right.

James, 26, had some big games early in the 1964 season:

_ April 22: He hit a three-run home run off Sandy Koufax in the Cardinals’ 7-6 victory over the Dodgers. Boxscore

_ May 8: He had three hits off Jack Fisher and scored twice in the Cardinals’ 5-4 loss to the Mets. Boxscore

_ May 15: He hit two home runs, one off starter Denny Lemaster and the other against Bobby Tiefenauer, in the Cardinals’ 10-6 victory over the Braves. Boxscore

A right-handed batter, James was hitting .281 on May 19 before he slumped, producing two hits in his next 22 at-bats and dropping his batting mark to .246. By June 15, the day the Cardinals acquired Brock from the Cubs, James was hitting .238.

James was limited to six starts after July 4. He ended the season with a .223 batting average, five home runs and 17 RBI in 88 games. He struggled to hit right-handed pitching, producing a .196 batting average, and was unproductive with runners in scoring position (.183).

With his hitting (.348) and speed (33 steals), Brock was the catalyst in propelling the Cardinals to the National League pennant.

James went hitless in three pinch-hit appearances against the Yankees in the 1964 World Series. After the season, he was traded to the Reds, played one season with them and launched a successful business career, eventually becoming president of Central Electric Co. in Fulton, Mo.

Previously: Gibson vs. Koufax: A grand game for Charlie James

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How the Cardinals coped with Candlestick Park debut

Posted in Games, Opponents on December 28, 2013| Leave a Comment »

(Updated April 5, 2018)

The lineup of luminaries who participated in the first event held at San Francisco’s Candlestick Park included Stan Musial, Willie Mays and Richard Nixon. The story of the day, though, wasn’t created by ballplayers or politicians. Instead, the wind, sweeping across San Francisco Bay and swirling throughout the $15 million stadium, produced the most attention.

Candlestick Park was dedicated on April 12, 1960, when the Cardinals played the Giants in the National League season opener for both clubs. Video

After two years at Seals Stadium in San Francisco’s Mission District, the Giants played at Candlestick Park from 1960 through 1999 before moving into a ballpark in the China Basin section of San Francisco in 2000.

Tricky winds and Tricky Dick

Vice President Nixon took part in the Candlestick Park dedication ceremonies before the start of the Cardinals-Giants game and called the facility “the finest baseball park in America,” the Associated Press reported. “It is truly a magnificent stadium,” Nixon said.

The sun shined brightly that Tuesday afternoon, but those among the 42,269 seated in the shade, especially in the lower level underneath the overhang of the upper deck, were chilled blue by the wind which relentlessly rolled in from left field.

Ray Haywood of the Oakland Tribune wrote, “Although Candlestick Park undoubtedly is the Taj Mahal of baseball _ a beautiful, commodious creation in steel and concrete _ it might not be a fit place either for shirtsleeves or right-handed hitters aiming for the left field fence. A spring wind, eager and brisk from the north, put the air brakes on everything hit toward left and boosted balls hit to right.”

Wrote Art Rosenbaum in The Sporting News: “It was like a Sierra winter day, warm in the sunshine but freezing under the trees. The coffee sales at Candlestick more than doubled the pre-game estimate of concessions experts.”

Musial, playing first base for the Cardinals, told the Oakland Tribune, “This wind will force teams to change their style of play. Right-handed power will be neutralized and clubs will have to go more for running and stealing bases.”

Future and former Cardinals

Bill White, the Cardinals’ center fielder, got the first hit in Candlestick Park, a two-out single in the first inning off Sam Jones. A year earlier, White and Jones were traded for one another.

Orlando Cepeda of the Giants hit a two-run triple in the bottom of the first off Larry Jackson, giving San Francisco a 2-0 lead. Cepeda’s sinking line drive darted wickedly in the wind and eluded White about 15 feet from the center field fence. “I should have had it, wind or not,” White said.

In the third, Cepeda increased the San Francisco lead to 3-0 with a single, scoring Mays from third.

Leon Wagner, traded by the Giants to the Cardinals four months earlier, hit the first Candlestick Park home run on a curve from Jones in the fifth. In the book “The Original San Francisco Giants,” Wagner recalled, “He threw me one of his long, hooking curveballs, the ones that broke about eight feet, and I just waited on it and hit it into the bay … I had the breeze blowing with me at Candlestick. I just had to get it up in the wind.”

Jones threw 121 pitches and finished with a three-hitter (the Wagner homer and two singles by White) in the Giants’ 3-1 victory. Boxscore

It was Jones’ fifth consecutive win against St. Louis since his trade to the Giants.

“I was more impressed with Jones than the wind,” Cardinals manager Solly Hemus said. “Sam was as good out there today as I’ve ever seen him.”

Musial went hitless in three at-bats. Mays and Willie McCovey each was 1-for-3 (each hit a double) with a walk apiece.

White works wonders in wind

One more wind story from that game:

In the eighth, with McCovey on first and no outs, Cepeda crushed a pitch into center field. White, still burning from failing to catch the Cepeda rocket in the first, raced after the ball as the wind pushed it away from him. White tracked it, grabbed it, crashed into the fence, 420 feet from home plate, and rolled on the ground without dropping the ball.

“That ball was my best shot,” Cepeda said. “I just can’t hit it any better.”

Said Wagner, who watched from left field: “If it hadn’t been for the wind, it would have gone 700 feet.”

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Cards turned from skeptics to supporters of Bob Tewksbury

Posted in Games, Pitchers on December 23, 2013| 2 Comments »

In 1988, Bob Tewksbury was a soft-tossing pitcher with a history of elbow and shoulder ailments. When the Cardinals signed him to a minor-league contract as a free agent in December that year, they had no idea they were acquiring an ace.

After stints with the Yankees and Cubs, Tewksbury had arthroscopic surgery in July 1988 to repair damaged cartilage in his right shoulder. Still aching, Tewksbury, 28, said he had considered retiring from baseball that winter. His wife convinced him to continue playing.

His signing by the Cardinals received little mention outside of a line of agate type in the transactions listings. He was assigned to Class AAA Louisville and placed in the starting rotation.

Displaying sharp control and an array of breaking pitches, Tewksbury was 5-1 in his first 10 starts for Louisville. In May 1989, Ted Simmons, the Cardinals’ director of player development, told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that Tewksbury was the minor-league pitcher most ready to join the Cardinals.

Others in the Cardinals organization didn’t agree. Tewksbury remained at Louisville. By mid-August, he was 11-4 with a 2.47 ERA in 24 starts.

Low velocity

Surprised by the Cardinals’ lack of interest, Vahe Gregorian of the Post-Dispatch wrote, “Maybe it’s because his fastball would bounce off a thin plane of glass. Maybe it’s because no one is certain he’s recovered from having the goop scooped out of his right shoulder last year.”

Tewksbury’s fastball usually was recorded at no better than 85 mph.

“I don’t know if he can make some kind of difference here (in St. Louis),” Cardinals general manager Dal Maxvill said. “He’s performed decently down there, but I don’t know that he could come here and replace somebody in our rotation. He’s not a velocity guy, so it’s difficult to project what he’d do here.”

Said Tewksbury: “I’m the type of pitcher you have to see more than once to appreciate. I’m not going to impress you the first time you see me because I don’t throw hard. But I know how to pitch and now I just need to get over that hump.”

Cardinals manager Whitey Herzog never had seen Tewksbury pitch, but seemed unenthused when asked about Tewksbury in mid-August. “My people tell me he would have to be perfect to come up here,” Herzog said. “I don’t want to sound like I’m down on the guy, but no other teams have expressed an interest in him either. There’s just such a big difference between Triple A and the big leagues.”

Tewksbury finished the minor-league season at Louisville with a 13-5 record and 2.43 ERA in 28 starts. He was promoted to the Cardinals in September. Said Herzog: “I don’t know if Tewksbury can pitch up here … but we ought to take a look.”

Take that, Whitey

On Sept. 5, 1989, Tewksbury made his Cardinals debut, pitching an inning of scoreless relief against the Expos at St. Louis. “He was exactly what we’d heard about him,” Herzog said. “He throws a lot of breaking balls.” Boxscore

After two more relief appearances, Tewksbury was given a start against the Pirates in a game that had been rescheduled because of a rainout. “I don’t really expect too much out of him,” Herzog said.

Undeterred, Tewksbury limited the Pirates to a run in 4.2 innings before he was lifted with the score tied at 1-1. The Pirates won, 4-3, but Tewksbury impressed.

“Tewksbury did his job,” Herzog said.

Said Tewksbury: ” I was satisfied. I wanted to keep us in the game and I did that.” Boxscore

Five days later, Tewksbury pitched a four-hit shutout, earning his first Cardinals win, in a 5-0 St. Louis victory over the Expos at Montreal. Tewksbury also produced his first big-league hit and RBI with a sixth-inning single off Andy McGaffigan that scored Todd Zeile from third.

“Tewksbury befuddled the Expos with a variety of off-speed pitches,” reported the Post-Dispatch.

Said Herzog: “He did a hell of a job tonight. He got his breaking ball over all the time. He throws a curve and a slider and not too many guys do that.” Boxscore

In seven games for the 1989 Cardinals, Tewksbury was 1-0 with a 3.30 ERA.

Less than a year after contemplating retirement, Tewksbury had established he was a big-league talent. “The one thing that’s gotten me this far is perseverance,” he said.

Tewksbury posted double-digit wins in each of the next five seasons for St. Louis. He was named an all-star in 1992 and led the National League in winning percentage that season at .762 with a 16-5 record.

In the six seasons he pitched for the Cardinals (1989-94), Tewksbury was 67-46 with a 3.48 ERA in 154 games.

“Tewksbury doesn’t have the greatest fastball in the world, but he knows how to use it,” catcher Tom Pagnozzi told Cardinals Yearbook in 1993. “He just jams a lot of guys when he’s throwing 83 mph to 86 mph. It looks faster because nobody gets a good swing at it.”

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Collision with Cardinal almost cost Mark Ellis a leg

Posted in Games, Hitters, Opponents on December 20, 2013| Leave a Comment »

Mark Ellis nearly lost a leg when injured playing against the Cardinals.

Less than two years later, a healthy Ellis has joined the Cardinals as a reserve infielder and mentor to second baseman Kolten Wong.

Ellis, 36, a free-agent second baseman, signed a one-year contract with the Cardinals on Dec. 16, 2013. In 11 big-league seasons with the Athletics, Rockies and Dodgers, Ellis has a .265 batting average and 1,311 hits. He ranks third in fielding percentage among active major-league second basemen at .9907, behind Placido Polanco (.9927) and Dustin Pedroia (.9909).

On May 18, 2012, Ellis was playing second base for the Dodgers against the Cardinals at Los Angeles. In the seventh inning, with the score tied at 4-4, Tyler Greene was the baserunner at first for the Cardinals when Shane Robinson grounded to shortstop.

Dee Gordon fielded the ball and tossed it to Ellis, covering second. Greene slid into Ellis, who landed hard on his lower left leg.

Ellis remained in the game and lined out leading off the bottom of the seventh. When the pain and swelling in his leg increased, Ellis was replaced before the start of the eighth. The Dodgers won, 6-5. Boxscore

Dodgers manager Don Mattingly called the play “clean” and “a good, hard slide,” reported Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

Greene said he wasn’t trying to hurt Ellis. “There’s nothing going on there,” Greene said. “You’re trying to break up the double play. I don’t think he anticipated me being there as soon as I was. The way he came off the bag into the baseline he almost went right in front of it. I think he mistimed it.”

The next day, before the Cardinals played the Dodgers, Ellis told trainer Sue Falsone the leg still was causing pain. After an examination, Falsone and the Dodgers medical staff got Ellis to a hospital.

Doctors determined Ellis needed an emergency fasciotomy. Surgeons cut a six-inch incision into Ellis’ left calf to drain blood and fluid, the Los Angeles Times reported.

Mattingly said he was told by the team’s physician, Dr. Neal ElAttrache, that Ellis might have required amputation of the leg had he not undergone the urgent fasciotomy, MLB.com reported.

“Doc said that if that thing goes another six or seven hours (Ellis) has a chance to lose a leg,” Mattingly said.

Ellis spent five days in the hospital. When the swelling went down, Ellis was diagnosed with a sprained medial collateral ligament, according to the Orange County Register.

On July 4, 2012, Ellis returned to the Dodgers’ lineup and resumed being the everyday second baseman. He played 110 games in 2012 and produced 107 hits. In 910.1 innings at second base that season, Ellis committed only three errors.

Previously: How Cardinals pursued trade for Don Mattingly

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Frank Thomas let his bat do talking vs. Cardinals

Posted in Games, Hitters, Opponents on December 18, 2013| Leave a Comment »

(Updated Jan. 8, 2014)

Frank Thomas spent his 19-year big-league career in the American League, which is fortunate for the Cardinals, because they were limited to facing him in interleague competition.

In 12 games against the Cardinals from 1997-2000, the White Sox slugger punished St. Louis pitching. His .372 career batting mark versus the Cardinals (16-for-43) is his highest against any opponent whom he has 50 at-bats against.

Thomas, a first baseman and designated hitter for the White Sox, Athletics and Blue Jays from 1990-2008, was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame by the Baseball Writers Association of America on Jan. 8, 2014.

A two-time winner of the American League Most Valuable Player Award, Thomas hit .301 with 521 home runs and 1,704 RBI in his big-league career. He won an American League batting title (with .347 in 1997) and four times topped the league in on-base percentage.

Thomas’ last game against the Cardinals was one of the best of his career. He tied a career-high with six RBI in a 15-7 White Sox victory on July 15, 2000. Boxscore

It was one of only two times Thomas achieved six RBI in a game. He first did it on May 15, 1996, against the Brewers. Boxscore

Thomas got his six RBI against the Cardinals on two swings: a three-run home run in the first inning off Darryl Kile and a three-run double in the seventh off Mike Matthews.

The performance showed how Thomas had emerged as a White Sox leader.

In 1999, Thomas had feuded with White Sox manager Jerry Manuel. The two also got into a shouting match during spring training in 2000, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

“Manuel essentially challenged Thomas to take an active role in the club, to be a teammate to the young players,” the Post-Dispatch reported.

Thomas rose to that challenge in what was a contentious Cardinals-White Sox series in July 2000. Three Cardinals batters (Fernando Tatis twice and Fernando Vina once) were hit by pitches in the July 14 game against the White Sox. Boxscore

The next day, Tatis and teammate Eduardo Perez were hit by pitches and so, too, were Magglio Ordonez and Jose Valentin of the White Sox. It was after Valentin was plunked that Thomas hit his bases-clearing double, capping his six-RBI performance, and sending a message to his teammates.

“Being the leader has definitely been my role,” Thomas said. “I had to embrace that. It’s been a challenging year for me … Maybe I was down for a while and wasn’t motivated. I said to myself I was going to give my best, day in and day out, and be the best possible teammate I can be.”

Previously: As player, Robin Ventura was tough on Cardinals

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Tom Glavine, Cardinals composed postseason classics

Posted in Games, Opponents, Pitchers on December 16, 2013| Leave a Comment »

(Updated June 16, 2023)

Tom Glavine was at the center of some of the biggest postseason highs and lows for the Cardinals during Tony La Russa’s era as manager.

Glavine was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame by the Baseball Writers Association of America on Jan. 8, 2014.

In a big-league career for the Braves and Mets from 1987-2008, the left-handed pitcher had a 305-203 record, won two Cy Young awards, led the National League in wins five times and posted double-digit wins 14 years in a row (1989-2002).

Glavine dominated the Cardinals. His 20-6 career record against St. Louis in the regular season represented a .769 winning percentage, Glavine’s highest versus any National League foe.

From September 2000 to September 2008, Glavine allowed one regular-season home run to a Cardinal. It was hit on May 18, 2004, by Mike Matheny. Boxscore

In the postseason, Glavine was 2-3 against the Cardinals. His most memorable playoff performances versus St. Louis occurred in the National League Championship Series of 1996 and 2006.

Big hit in big game

Glavine was the starting and losing pitcher for the Braves in Game 3 of the 1996 NL Championship Series. Donovan Osborne started for St. Louis and was the winner in a 3-2 Cardinals victory. Boxscore

Game 7 was a rematch of Osborne vs. Glavine _ and Glavine delivered with his arm and his bat.

In the first inning, the Braves were ahead, 3-0, and had the bases loaded with two outs and Glavine at bat. Andy Benes was warming up in the bullpen and ready to relieve, but La Russa stuck with Osborne.

Said La Russa to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch: “I second-guess myself as much as anybody, but there’s no way I’d get Osborne out with the bottom of the lineup up.”

Glavine lined an Osborne pitch to left field. Ron Gant attempted a diving catch but missed. The ball got past Gant and into the corner. Glavine raced to third with a three-run triple, giving the Braves a 6-0 lead and deflating the Cardinals.

“That base hit was a big base hit in the ballgame,” Glavine said. “If St. Louis gets out of it trailing only 3-0, they’re still in the ballgame.”

Said Gant: “It was one of those plays that was do or die. If you let it drop, they’re going to score a couple runs anyway. Just go all out. See if you can get to it. An inch away, I think.”

Glavine shut out the Cardinals on three hits for seven innings before he was relieved and the Braves coasted to a 15-0 victory, winning the pennant and advancing to the World Series against the Yankees.

“I don’t think we expected to be as dominant as we were,” Glavine said. Boxscore

Old Man River

Ten years later, Glavine, 40, was pitching for the Mets against the Cardinals in the 2006 NL Championship Series. He was superb in Game 1, keeping the Cardinals off balance with a mix of changeups and fastballs on the outside corner. Glavine pitched seven scoreless innings, limiting St. Louis to four hits, and got the win in a 2-0 Mets victory. Boxscore

In his book, “Baseball for Brain Surgeons and Other Fans,” broadcaster and former Cardinals catcher Tim McCarver said, “Glavine is so consistent that he can throw two inches off the plate and get strike calls. When hitters move toward the plate to be able to reach those pitches that are being called strikes, he comes inside enough to keep them honest.

“In the absence of velocity, Glavine relies on a controlled fastball and, for deception, a circle change. He’s like a golfer who never gets much distance on his drives but is always in the fairway.”

With the best-of-seven series squared at 2-2, Glavine was paired against his Game 1 counterpart, Jeff Weaver, in the pivotal Game 5. It would be Glavine’s 35th postseason start, a major league record.

Glavine cruised through the first three innings. The Mets led, 2-0, as the Cardinals came to bat in the bottom of the fourth.

With one out, Albert Pujols crushed a home run off Glavine and snapped the Cardinals out of their funk.

Wrote Post-Dispatch columnist Bernie Miklasz: “The Cardinals began taking pitches. They started to stroke the ball to the opposite field.”

The Cardinals tied the score in the fourth and went ahead, 3-2, in the fifth, knocking Glavine out of the game. The Cardinals went on to a 4-2 victory. Boxscore

Under the headline “Cardinals Put Mets’ Aging Artist on Canvas,” Miklasz observed, “The more intelligent the Cardinals’ approach, the more Glavine gave way. By the end of his start, the classy future Hall of Famer was like one of those old barges on the Mississippi River, stalled on a sandbar.”

It was only the second time Glavine had lost a postseason game in which he was given a lead of two runs.

Inspired, the Cardinals dispatched the Mets in seven games and went on to defeat the Tigers in five to earn their first World Series championship in 24 years.

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