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Great Debate: When Tony La Russa first batted pitcher 8th

Posted in Games, Hitters, Managers, Pitchers on July 8, 2013| 1 Comment »

Tony La Russa had lots of time to think about his faltering Cardinals club during the 1998 all-star break. The Cardinals manager used that time off to devise a batting order that surprised players and fans, creating a controversy that lingered throughout La Russa’s tenure in St. Louis.

In July 1998, La Russa chose to bat the pitcher eighth rather than ninth in the order.

In an article for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, reporter Rick Hummel referred to the decision as “The Great Experiment.”

Intelligent innovation or egotistical folly? La Russa’s move was labeled both.

Even with an offense powered by the record-setting home run pace of Mark McGwire, the bullpen-poor, error-prone 1998 Cardinals entered the all-star break having lost 10 of their last 12 games.

In their first game after the break, July 9 vs. the Astros at St. Louis, La Russa posted a batting order that had pitcher Todd Stottlemyre batting eighth and rookie second baseman Placido Polanco batting ninth.

Stottlemyre became the first major-league pitcher to bat anywhere but ninth in the order since the Phillies’ Steve Carlton on June 1, 1979, at Cincinnati.

(In that game, Phillies manager Danny Ozark batted Carlton eighth and shortstop Bud Harrelson ninth. Carlton went 0-for-3 and hit into a double play; Harrelson, who entered the game hitless in five at-bats that season, was 1-for-3 with a single. The Reds won, 4-2. Boxscore)

The Phillies had been shut out in their previous three games, so the move of Carlton to the eighth spot was a gimmick. Ozark never tried it again.

La Russa was committed to the strategy. He batted his pitcher eighth in each of the last 77 games of the 1998 season.

In the 1960s, Cardinals pitcher Bob Gibson had asked manager Red Schoendienst to bat him eighth and to move shortstop Dal Maxvill to the ninth spot. Schoendienst didn’t do it. “If he had,” Maxvill said to Hummel, “I would have been so ticked off I wouldn’t have talked to him for the rest of my life. I don’t think he would want to show me up.”

La Russa informed Hummel he sought the advice of Schoendienst, then a St. Louis consultant, and Cardinals instructor George Kissell before deciding to bat the pitcher eighth in 1998. “They said it was OK,” La Russa said.

In explaining his decision, La Russa told the Post-Dispatch, “I don’t see how it doesn’t make sense for the ninth-place hitter to be a legitimate hitter. This gives us a better shot to score runs. It’s an extra guy on base in front of Ray (Lankford), Mark (McGwire) and Brian (Jordan). The more guys who are on base, the less they’ll be able to pitch around Mark. I don’t have a problem with it.”

Cardinals’ first game with pitcher batting eighth

Polanco, appearing in his third big-league game, was 0-for-2 from the ninth spot on July 9, 1998, before Willie McGee pinch-hit for him in the seventh. Stottlemyre was 1-for-2. The pitcher led off the third with a single and scored on Royce Clayton’s double. Still, the Cardinals made four errors and grounded into three double plays. Houston won, 5-4. Boxscore

Said Stottlemyre: “I stink whether I hit eighth or ninth. I take my swings. I take my seat. And I get ready to pitch.”

The more La Russa continued to bat the pitcher eighth, the more the criticism grew.

“I think the National League is investigating the Cardinals and Tony,” catcher Tom Pagnozzi said after batting ninth for the first time.

Said La Russa: “It would be nice if it would become a non-issue.”

La Russa legacy?

According to the book “Cardinals Journal” (2006, Emmis Books), the 1998 Cardinals scored 4.98 runs per game with the pitcher batting ninth and 4.96 runs per game with the pitcher batting eighth.

From 1998 to 2011 (his last season as manager), La Russa batted the pitcher eighth 432 times. He batted Cardinals pitchers eighth in the last 56 games of 2007 and in 153 games in 2008.

(Until La Russa, the manager who had batted the pitcher eighth the most times in a season was Lou Boudreau of the 1957 Athletics. He batted the pitcher eighth for the first 56 games that season. Boudreau was fired in August that year.)

La Russa batted Cardinals pitchers eighth 55 times in 2009, 77 times in 2010 and 14 times in 2011.

Previously: Tony La Russa: Proud pupil of mentor Paul Richards

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How Giants beat John Tudor, Cardinals, 21-2

Posted in Games, Hitters, Opponents, Pitchers on July 6, 2013| 2 Comments »

In 1988, the defending National League champion Cardinals staggered into the all-star break after experiencing a humiliating loss during a series that exposed multiple flaws and severely tested their resolve.

The 1988 Cardinals ended their first half of the season with three games at San Francisco. Mike LaCoss pitched a four-hitter in the opener, a 1-0 Giants win. Terry Mulholland pitched a five-hitter in the finale and the Giants won, 2-1.

It was the middle game of the set that sent the Cardinals reeling.

The Giants beat them, 21-2, on Saturday afternoon, July 9, 1988, at Candlestick Park.

Summarizing the Cardinals’ performance, Rick Hummel of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch wrote, “Their defense was less than airtight and their hitting was poor, but, most strikingly, their pitching was colossally bad.”

The 21 runs allowed were the most a Cardinals team had surrendered in 63 years, according to the Post-Dispatch. The Pirates defeated the Cardinals, 24-6, on June 22, 1925, at St. Louis. Boxscore

The 21 runs also were the most scored by the Giants since they moved to San Francisco from New York in 1958. The previous high was 19.

Two unlikely Giants standouts in the blowout win were infielders Chris Speier and Ernest Riles.

Speier, 38, filling in at second base for ailing all-star Robby Thompson, hit for the cycle and had five RBI. He had two doubles, a triple, a home run and a single. It was the only five-hit game in Speier’s 19-year major-league career.

The oldest big-league player to hit for the cycle was Cy Williams, 39, of the 1927 Phillies, the Post-Dispatch reported. Like Speier, Honus Wagner of the 1912 Pirates was 38 when he hit for the cycle.

Speier entered the game with a .191 batting average. “I hadn’t been doing much the last month and a half,” Speier said to the Associated Press. “I had a long talk with my wife and I just decided to relax and have some fun.”

Riles had been acquired by the Giants a month earlier in a trade that sent outfielder Jeffrey Leonard to the Brewers. Riles, who entered the game in the sixth inning as a replacement for shortstop Jose Uribe, hit a three-run home run in the seventh. It was the 10,000th home run in Giants history and the first for Riles as a Giant.

The ball hit off the facing of the upper deck and caromed back onto the field. Disgusted, Cardinals right fielder Tom Brunansky picked up the historic ball and heaved into the stands. After the game, Brunansky sought a closed-door meeting with Cardinals manager Whitey Herzog.

“This was pathetic,” Brunansky told the Post-Dispatch. “I was embarrassed.”

Shortstop Ozzie Smith said, “Anybody who is proud of this shouldn’t be here.”

Cardinals starting pitcher John Tudor entered the game with a 1.72 ERA. The Giants knocked him out with five runs in two innings.

“You don’t figure to lose a game by that much with John Tudor pitching,” Herzog said. “His location was bad, but even then it shouldn’t have been that bad.”

Relievers Bob Forsch and Steve Peters each gave up eight runs.

“It was ugly,” Forsch told the Post-Dispatch. “Ugly for me.”

Said Peters: “It’s the worst embarrassment I ever had.”

The Giants ended up with 20 hits and six walks.

Herzog, keeping a sense of humor, told the Associated Press, “I wish we were playing a doubleheader today. We would have had them (the Giants) tired out for the second game.” Boxscore

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1963 NL all-stars started all-Cardinals infield

Posted in Games, Hitters, Records on July 3, 2013| 2 Comments »

(Updated Jan. 12, 2022)

The 1963 Cardinals infield established an all-star standard that went unmatched for 53 years.

For the first time in major-league history, the National League’s All-Star Game starting infield was composed of players from the same team. They were the Cardinals unit of first baseman Bill White, second baseman Julian Javier, shortstop Dick Groat and third baseman Ken Boyer.

The Giants’ Alvin Dark, who managed the 1963 National League all-star team, told The Sporting News, “When you’ve got an infield that starts with Bill White at first base and runs through Julian Javier, Dick Groat and Ken Boyer, you’ve got power and class.”

In 2016, fans selected an all-Cubs starting NL all-star infield of first baseman Anthony Rizzo, second baseman Ben Zobrist, shortstop Addison Russell and third baseman Kris Bryant.

Fans have voted for the all-star starters each year since 1970. In 1963, the starters were selected in voting by players, managers and coaches in each league.

White, Groat, Boyer and Pirates second baseman Bill Mazeroski were voted the starters for the 1963 NL team, but Mazeroski withdrew after he pulled a muscle in his right leg.

Cubs second baseman Ken Hubbs had finished second to Mazeroski in the voting, but Dark picked Javier to replace Mazeroski as the starting second baseman.

United Press International wrote, “Usually, all-star managers in picking reserves for their squad stick mighty close to the way the players themselves voted earlier in choosing the starting lineup.”

Said Dark to the Associated Press: “I feel this is the strongest squad we have.”

Javier “doesn’t have any shortcomings,” Groat told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. “He runs well, has good range, fine hands and pivots well.”

Here were the top two vote-getters for each NL infield position:

First base: Bill White, 220 votes; Orlando Cepeda, Giants, 38 votes.

Second base: Bill Mazeroski, 227 votes; Ken Hubbs, 14 votes.

Shortstop: Dick Groat, 238 votes; Maury Wills, Dodgers, 25 votes.

Third base: Ken Boyer, 186 votes; Ron Santo, Cubs, 52 votes.

The other starting position players for the 1963 NL all-stars were Giants catcher Ed Bailey and outfielders Hank Aaron of the Braves, Willie Mays of the Giants and Tommy Davis of the Dodgers.

The Cardinals’ Stan Musial, 42, was chosen by Dark as an outfield reserve. It would be a record 24th and final All-Star Game for Musial, who retired after the season.

Best Cardinals infield

In his book “Stan Musial: The Man’s Own Story,” Musial said, “That infield was the strength of the 1963 Cardinals, all right … Marty Marion said the Cardinals’ 1946 infield was a bit better. I’m not so sure, though we did have a good one in ’46. I played first base then, Red Schoendienst second, Marion short and George Kurowski third. That far back, Red hadn’t yet come into his own as a hitter.”

In a 2011 interview, I asked White if the 1963 Cardinals infield was the best he’d seen. White’s response:

“It was a good infield. It probably was not the best. Ken Boyer might have been the best third baseman I’d seen or played with. Groat had mobility problems. He understood how to play the hitters, but he had very little range and he didn’t have that real good arm. Javier was a pretty good second baseman. He made a great double play and he could go way out to center field for pop-ups because Curt Flood played a deep center field.

“It was a good infield, the best infield that I was on, but I’m not sure it was the best ever. It might have been the best Cardinals infield.”

Branch Rickey said the 1963 Cardinals infield was comparable to the 1952 Dodgers infield of first baseman Gil Hodges, second baseman Jackie Robinson, shortstop Pee Wee Reese and third baseman Billy Cox. “I’d still give that Brooklyn infield the edge defensively,” Rickey told The Sporting News in June 1963, “but this Cardinals infield has more offensively and might even get to be better.”

White, Groat aid NL win

White and Groat contributed significantly to the NL’s 5-3 victory over the American League on July 9, 1963, at Cleveland. They and Javier played the entire game. Santo replaced Boyer in the sixth.

In the second, Groat’s single off starter Ken McBride of the Angels drove in Mays from second, giving the NL a 1-0 lead.

With the NL ahead 4-3 in the eighth, White led off against imposing Red Sox reliever Dick Radatz, nicknamed “The Monster,” and singled to center.

Taking his lead off first base, White watched Radatz pitch to Mays and detected a flaw in the pitcher’s motion, he told The Sporting News. As Mays struck out, White swiped second. White ran on his own, Dark said.

Radatz “came set and started his left leg forward a couple of pitches in a way that showed just when he definitely was going to the plate, not to first base,” White told the Post-Dispatch.

Santo singled to center, scoring White and boosting the NL’s advantage to 5-3.

With Dodgers ace Don Drysdale pitching the ninth, the Orioles’ Brooks Robinson singled with one out. The next batter, Bobby Richardson of the Yankees, hit a grounder to White. The Cardinals’ first baseman threw to Groat covering second and Groat’s return throw to White nipped Richardson for a game-ending first-to-short-to-first double play. Boxscore

The NL turned three double plays. White took part in all three and Groat helped turn two. White and Groat each went 1-for-4; Javier and Boyer each was hitless.

(Musial, pinch-hitting for Bailey in the fifth, faced Jim Bunning and lined out to Al Kaline in right field. “I got out in front of the pitch just a fraction or I’d have hit it out of there,” Musial said.)

Groat and Boyer both were elected starters again in 1964, but White and Javier were replaced by Cepeda and the Mets’ Ron Hunt.

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Curt Flood errorless streak ended in controversy

Posted in Games, Records on June 28, 2013| Leave a Comment »

(Updated Sept. 20, 2023)

On the misplay that cost him his perfect fielding streak, Curt Flood gave errors to teammate Lou Brock and the official scorer, but his opinions didn’t count.

Instead, it was Flood who was deemed to have erred on a routine play that ended a stretch of record-setting perfection.

From September 1965 to June 1967, Flood, the Cardinals’ center fielder, flawlessly handled 555 chances and established a National League record for successive errorless games at 226.

“I think Curt was second only to Willie Mays playing the outfield,” pitcher Bob Gibson said to Cardinals Magazine. “Curt didn’t have a really strong arm, so second baseman Julian Javier used to go halfway out to the outfield for the relay, but as far as going and getting the ball, there weren’t too many guys better than Curt.”

On June 4, 1967, Flood’s streak was intact when the Cubs faced the Cardinals at St. Louis.

In the fifth inning, with the score tied at 2-2, Cubs pitcher Rich Nye led off and hit a routine fly to left-center field. According to The Sporting News, “Brock got under the ball and was virtually stationary when Flood moved over.”

Brock, the left fielder, and Flood both called for the ball. As the ball descended, both outfielders again called out, informing the other he would make the catch, the Associated Press reported.

Neither outfielder yielded. As Brock and Flood both reached for the ball, they bumped elbows and shoulders. The ball “bounced in and out of Brock’s glove” and fell to the ground, The Sporting News reported.

Nye reached second base safely on the misplay, moved to third on Don Kessinger’s sacrifice bunt and scored on a Glenn Beckert sacrifice fly, giving Chicago a 3-2 lead.

The official scorer, Neal Russo of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, charged Flood with an error because “Brock easily would have caught the ball if Flood had not bumped him,” The Sporting News reported.

Flood, described by the Associated Press as “upset and disappointed” at being charged with the error, said Brock should have backed away. Flood implied Russo should have given the error to Brock.

“The center fielder is supposed to go after every ball he can get to,” Flood said to the Associated Press. “If he calls, the other player is supposed to leave it.”

Flood told The Sporting News, “The center fielder is the captain of the outfield and is supposed to get every ball (he calls).”

Russo said it was “difficult to see the streak end short of an out-and-out error of physical commission,” but, he told The Sporting News, “based on many similar plays that I have scored and seen scored, the error belonged to Flood.”

(The error was the first for Flood since Sept. 2, 1965, when the Cubs’ Harvey Kuenn singled and advanced to second after Flood mishandled the ball.)

Flood and Brock used their bats in helping the Cardinals rally from the deficit created by their misplay.

In the sixth, Julian Javier singled, moved to third on Flood’s single and scored the tying run on Orlando Cepeda’s sacrifice fly. The Cardinals broke the tie in the eighth. Brock’s single scored Dave Ricketts from second base and St. Louis won, 4-3. Boxscore

In 2013, another Cardinals center fielder, Jon Jay, broke Flood’s mark. Jay’s errorless streak reached 245 games before he made an error on July 30, 2013, against the Pirates in Pittsburgh. Fielding a single, Jay fumbled the ball, allowing the runner to advance to second. Before that, his last error was Aug. 24, 2011.

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Why Tom Henke was a nearly perfect Cardinal

Posted in Games, Pitchers, Records on June 26, 2013| 3 Comments »

(Updated June 28, 2022)

Tom Henke was a consistently dominant closer for the 1995 Cardinals, converting his first 22 save chances.

Signed by the Cardinals on Dec. 12, 1994, after 13 years with the Rangers and Blue Jays, Henke, 37, was a model of effectiveness amid the chaos of a 1995 season in which the Cardinals traded popular first baseman Todd Zeile to the rival Cubs, fired manager Joe Torre and finished 62-81, 22.5 games behind the division-leading Reds.

“Henke has dominated with a mix of fastballs and forkballs,” Mike Eisenbath noted in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. “As the hitters have begun waiting for that forkball, he has adjusted with an occasional sidearm delivery.”

A right-hander, Henke converted his 22nd consecutive save chance on July 22 in a 5-4 Cardinals victory over the Phillies at Philadelphia. Henke worked a perfect 11th, retiring Mickey Morandini, Jim Eisenreich and Lenny Dykstra on fly outs to left, center and right. Boxscore

Henke’s streak ended in his next appearance, July 25, against the Mets at St. Louis. Brought in to protect a 7-6 Cardinals lead in the ninth, Henke blew the save chance when he yielded a two-out, RBI-single to Carl Everett. The Cardinals won, 8-7, in 11. Boxscore

“I’ll start it over tomorrow,” Henke said to St. Louis writer Rick Hummel of the streak. “If somebody had told me at the beginning of the year I’d save 22 in a row before I’d blow my first one, I’d take that in a heartbeat.”

It was a rare misstep for Henke. He converted 36 of 38 save opportunities for the 1995 Cardinals. Henke had a 0.96 ERA in the 36 games he saved, yielding four runs in 37.1 innings.

Overall, Henke struck out 48 in 54.1 innings in 1995 and finished with a 1.82 ERA. Opponents batted .153 (9-for-59) against him with runners in scoring position. Henke yielded only two home runs (hit by Howard Johnson of the Mets and Jason Bates of the Rockies).

Soon after the season, Henke decided to retire. “I’ve always admired guys who have gone out at the top of their game,” Henke said to Hummel. “Sometimes you have to look at what’s the most important thing in life. I’d like to see my kids grow up.”

Previously: Braves fans’ behavior recalls Dodgers’ forfeit to Cardinals

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How Bob Tewksbury outfoxed Mark McGwire

Posted in Games, Hitters, Opponents, Pitchers on June 21, 2013| Leave a Comment »

In a season when Mark McGwire pummeled pitchers with his home run power, Bob Tewksbury used lollipop pitches to keep the Cardinals slugger from hitting the ball out of the infield.

In 1998, Tewksbury, the former Cardinal, was with the Twins in what would be the last of his 13 major-league seasons. McGwire was in his first full year with the Cardinals and headed toward a record-breaking season in which he would hit 70 home runs.

On June 28, 1998, Tewksbury got the start against the Cardinals at the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome in Minneapolis.

McGwire entered the game with 36 home runs and a .313 batting average.

When McGwire came to bat in the first inning, Tewksbury lobbed a pitch toward the plate. McGwire watched it float out of the strike zone for ball one. Tewksbury followed with another lob, a pitch accurately described by Dan Barreiro of the Minneapolis Star Tribune as a lollipop. Rather than give it a lick, McGwire swung and dribbled a grounder to first base.

As he headed toward the dugout, McGwire shared a laugh with first-base coach Dave McKay, the Associated Press reported.

“It was all of 44 (mph),” Tewksbury told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. “… My son (Griffin) calls it The Dominator. (Manager) Tom Kelly calls it The Entertainment Pitch. The hitters probably call it some other things.”

Said McGwire: “It was awesome. I loved it. I tell you what, I’ll swing at it every time if it’s in the strike zone.”

When McGwire came to bat again, in the fourth, Tewksbury got two quick strikes on the slugger before he floated the lob pitch. McGwire swung and popped out near first base.

“The first time it was funny,” Cardinals manager Tony La Russa said. “He kept getting outs with it _ and then it wasn’t funny.”

Said Tewksbury: “I can’t throw the ball by him, but I can throw it slower. I was excited to face McGwire. I couldn’t wait to face him. It was a thrill. He’s one of the best ever to play the game.”

In the sixth, McGwire singled off a Tewksbury curve. “I didn’t want to get crazy with it,” Tewksbury said about why he didn’t try the lob to McGwire again. “He’d hit it in the upper deck.”

When Ray Lankford came up in the same inning, Tewksbury delivered two lobs. Lankford watched one and grounded out on the other, ending the inning.

In 6.1 innings, Tewksbury yielded two runs on seven hits, walked none and struck out two. He threw five lobs _ three to McGwire and two to Lankford _ and recorded three outs with those floaters. The Twins won, 3-2. Boxscore

“From the variance of slowest pitch to fastest in the league, I can probably go farther than anybody,” Tewksbury said. “I can throw 44 (mph) and I can throw 83 (mph).”

Previously: Think Lance Lynn is a surprise? Check out Luis Arroyo

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