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How Stan Musial helped Cardinals rookie Howie Nunn

Posted in Games, Pitchers on March 11, 2012| Leave a Comment »

In a short stint as a Cardinals pitcher, Howie Nunn benefitted from a couple of timely slugging performances by Stan Musial.

Nunn spent five seasons (1954-58) as a successful pitcher in the Cardinals’ minor-league system, posting a 79-33 record (including 23-7 for Class C Fresno in 1956).

At 23, he earned a spot with the Cardinals, opening the 1959 season in the bullpen and joining a staff with fellow rookies Bob Gibson and Ernie Broglio.

A right-hander, Nunn initially struggled with the Cardinals. After eight appearances, he was 0-1 with a 6.94 ERA.

On May 6, 1959, at Philadelphia, Nunn was brought in to face the Phillies, who led, 6-4, and pitched a scoreless seventh. In the eighth, Musial led off with a home run against Ray Semproch, sparking a four-run rally. The Cardinals held on for an 8-7 victory, earning Nunn his first big-league win. Boxscore

The Cardinals were home the next night to play the Cubs. Nunn relieved in the seventh with the score tied 3-3 and shut out Chicago over three innings. In the bottom of the ninth, Musial led off with a homer, the 400th of his career, against Don Elston, giving St. Louis a 4-3 victory and delivering to Nunn his second win in two nights. Boxscore

Musial became the sixth big-league player to achieve 400 homers, joining Babe Ruth, Jimmie Foxx, Mel Ott, Lou Gehrig and Ted Williams.

“That’s a lot of home runs for a singles hitter,” Musial said to the Associated Press. “I don’t pretend to be a home run hitter.”

On May 8, 1959, Cardinals manager Solly Hemus, indicating Nunn would replace Jim Brosnan as closer, utilized the rookie for the third night in a row. With one out and the bases loaded, Nunn entered in the eighth, looking to protect a 2-1 lead for starter Gary Blaylock. Nunn walked the first batter he faced, Randy Jackson, forcing in the tying run. The Cubs won, 3-2, scoring a run off Brosnan in the 10th. Boxscore

The blown save seemed to set back Nunn. In his last five appearances for the Cardinals, Nunn yielded nine earned runs over four innings. In June, the Cardinals dealt Brosnan to the Reds and demoted Nunn to Class AAA Rochester. Nunn was 2-2 with a 7.59 ERA in 16 games for St. Louis.

At Rochester, Nunn went 8-9 with a 4.03 ERA and made unwanted headlines in September when he and outfielder Gene Green were suspended by manager Clyde King for “their condition and conduct” on a late-night team flight to Montreal. Nunn and Green apologized and were reinstated the next day.

In April 1960, the Cardinals sold Nunn’s contract to the Reds, where he was reunited with Brosnan. In 1961, Nunn was 2-1 in 24 games for a Reds team that won the National League title.

In his book about that championship season, “Pennant Race,” Brosnan wrote about his colleague and road roommate. An excerpt:

Nunn is a small, slight-built right-hander who wears glasses and has a prominent, bobbing Adam’s apple. To keep his glasses free from sweat, Nunn wears a thick white band on his forehead. He’s called “The Apache.”

Nunn, as if to compensate for his slight stature, is particularly intense in his pitching delivery. Disregarding classic, or Spalding Guide, form, Nunn throws all of himself into his pitches. His neck wobbles, his hips jerk, his elbows fly about, his front foot stomps the mound, and he stares, mouth agape, toward the plate after each pitch. Fortunately, he gets pretty good stuff on his pitches, the sight of which is not so funny to the batter…

After six appearances for the 1962 Reds, Nunn’s big-league career was finished. His career totals: 4-3 with a 5.11 ERA in 46 games.

Previously: Stan Musial’s 400th homer showed flair for dramatic

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Stint with Boston farm helped Mike Shannon join Cards

Posted in Games, Hitters on February 23, 2012| Leave a Comment »

(Updated Oct. 25, 2022)

Mike Shannon almost got traded to the Red Sox before he played a game for the Cardinals.

Shannon was loaned by the Cardinals to the Red Sox organization during the summer of 1962. For a while, the Red Sox were interested in acquiring him and the Cardinals were interested in doing a deal.

Shannon began the 1962 season with the Cardinals’ Class AAA Atlanta farm club in the International League. After 31 games with Atlanta, Shannon was among the top 10 in the league in batting at .321. He also had four home runs and 15 RBI.

After that, Shannon’s production dropped. He played a total of 66 games with Atlanta and hit .260 with six homers and 28 RBI.

During the 1962 season, the Cardinals loaned Shannon to the Red Sox, who assigned him to their Class AAA Seattle farm club, managed by Johnny Pesky, in the Pacific Coast League. The move revived Shannon, who hit .311 with seven home runs and 47 RBI in 76 games for Seattle.

“The Red Sox showed some interest in him,” Cardinals manager Johnny Keane told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. “We would have dealt him if we could have got what we wanted, but then the Red Sox lost interest in him.”

Overall, Shannon’s combined season statistics for Atlanta and Seattle were solid: .288 batting average, 13 home runs, 75 RBI in 142 games.

At age 23, he finally got the call to St. Louis.

In his first big-league game, on Sept. 11, 1962, at St. Louis against the Reds, Shannon, batting seventh and playing right field, went 1-for-4 in the Reds’ 6-2 victory. Shannon’s hit was one of only three the Cardinals managed against Cincinnati ace Bob Purkey.

After grounding out to second baseman Don Blasingame in the second inning, Shannon led off the fourth with a single to left. Dal Maxvill bunted Shannon to second before Purkey struck out Bob Gibson and Julian Javier. Boxscore

That was Shannon’s lone Cardinals highlight that month. After getting that first big-league hit, Shannon went 0-for-12 the rest of September before singling to left in his last at-bat of the season against Billy Pierce in the eighth inning of a 6-3 Giants victory on Sept. 26 at San Francisco. Boxscore

In 10 games for the 1962 Cardinals, Shannon hit .133 (2-for-15) with a walk and three strikeouts.

Shannon also opened the 1963 season in the minor leagues, but by mid-season in 1964 he became the Cardinals’ right fielder and played an important role in sparking them to a World Series title that year.

Converted to a third baseman for the 1967 season, Shannon was a starter for two more Cardinals pennant winners and another World Series championship team. He joined their broadcast team in 1972.

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Gary Carter and his two 5-RBI games against Cardinals

Posted in Games, Opponents on February 20, 2012| 1 Comment »

Gary Carter’s most dramatic game against the Cardinals was his first with the Mets. On April 9, 1985, Carter hit a 10th-inning walkoff home run against Neil Allen, lifting the Mets to a 6-5 victory on Opening Day at New York. Boxscore

The Hall of Fame catcher played well against the Cardinals in a big-league career from 1974-92. Carter produced 30 home runs, 127 RBI and a .423 slugging percentage versus the Cardinals.

His two most outstanding games against the Cardinals were at St. Louis while he was with the Expos.

On Sept. 26, 1977, Carter went 3-for-4 with five RBI, scored twice, walked and stole a base in the Expos’ 9-5 victory. It marked the first time Carter, 23, had driven in five runs in a big-league game.

The big blow was Carter’s two-out, three-run home run in the seventh inning off starter Eric Rasmussen, snapping a 2-2 tie. In the ninth, after St. Louis had rallied to tie the score 5-5, Carter hit a two-run single to left off Al Hrabosky and scored on a sacrifice fly, keying a four-run Expos uprising. Boxscore

Three years later, May 31, 1980, Carter delivered another five-RBI performance at St. Louis. He was 4-for-4 with two home runs (including an inside-the-park homer) with three runs scored, but the Cardinals won, 8-6.

Batting in the cleanup spot for the first time that season, Carter blooped a ball into left-center field against Bob Forsch in the sixth. As left fielder Dane Iorg and center fielder Tony Scott chased after it, “Iorg threw a cross block on Scott that would have done any football linebacker proud,” the Montreal Gazette reported. “Scott went down in a heap and stayed there. Iorg recovered, but it was shortstop Garry Templeton who eventually tracked the ball down on the warning track as Carter circled the bases.”

It was the second and last inside-the-park home run of Carter’s big-league career.

“We were both looking at the ball,” Iorg said. “I certainly didn’t see Tony and I’m sure he didn’t see me.”

A two-run homer off Pete Vuckovich in the seventh capped Carter’s outstanding evening. Boxscore

Previously: Cardinals were victims of historic homers by Gil Hodges

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Hank Aaron and the home run that wasn’t vs. Cardinals

Posted in Games, Hitters, Opponents, Pitchers on February 17, 2012| 25 Comments »

(Updated Feb. 20, 2023)

Hank Aaron could have added to his home run total if not for an unusual call in a game against the Cardinals.

Aaron, who would break Babe Ruth’s career home run record of 714 in 1974 and finish with 755, hit a home run against the Cardinals in 1965 that didn’t count toward his total.

On Aug. 18, 1965, at St. Louis, Aaron came to bat for the Braves against Cardinals starter Curt Simmons with the score tied 3-3 in the eighth.

In his autobiography, “I Had a Hammer,” Aaron said, “I always had difficulty with Curt Simmons because he would put the ball behind his back and then pound his leg with his glove. You never knew where the ball was coming from. Simmons used to drive me crazy with his herky-jerky delivery and his floating change of pace.”

In the 1965 game, Simmons teased Aaron with a changeup so high and so slow it seemed much like a blooper pitch. “I double-hitched my swing,” Aaron said in his book, “and took a big step up to meet the ball.”

Aaron lifted a high fly ball onto the pavilion roof in right for an apparent go-ahead home run.

Instead, Aaron was called out by plate umpire Chris Pelekoudas for being out of the batter’s box when he connected with the ball, nullifying the home run. Pelekoudas, in his sixth season as a National League umpire, ruled Aaron’s left foot was in front of the batter’s box.

“It’s the worst call I’ve ever seen,” Aaron said to the Associated Press. “I did the same thing the time before and popped up, and he (Pelekoudas) didn’t say a word. I always hit Simmons that way.”

Braves manager Bobby Bragan argued with the umpire and was ejected.

“It was either a grudge call, or he wanted to get his name in the paper,” Bragan said. “I’ve never seen such a call.”

Said Pelekoudas: “Bragan’s protest was strictly on judgment. His only argument was about a grudge _ and that is stupid. I didn’t hesitate in making the call.”

Cardinals catcher Tim McCarver said Aaron stepped out of the box and, “I expected (Pelekoudas) to call it.”

Cardinals coach Joe Schultz told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, “You’ve got to give the umpire credit for having the nerve to call it.”

Aaron said in his book, ‘I won’t swear to you that I didn’t step over the line of the batter’s box, but it was nothing that I or other hitters hadn’t done before.”

Cardinals backup catcher Bob Uecker wasn’t in the game, but years later, in July 1973, he claimed to the Boston Globe and the Associated Press that he “pointed out Aaron’s cleat marks” to Pelekoudas. “It was one of the few occasions I’ve seen Aaron blow his stack,” Uecker said to the Associated Press.

In his 1982 book “Catcher in the Wry,” Uecker told another version. “I had to tell Henry the truth. It wasn’t me,” Uecker said. “Tim McCarver was the catcher who took the homer away from him, but it was the sort of thing I would have been proud to do.”

In the ninth, with Ray Washburn pitching in relief of Simmons, the Braves sent Don Dillard to pinch-hit with a runner on base and two outs. Dillard delivered a home run _ the last of his big-league career.

In a fitting twist, the Cardinals argued the ball hit by Dillard didn’t clear the wall and shouldn’t have been ruled a home run, but the Cardinals lost that argument and the game, 5-3. Boxscore

Umpire Bill Jackowski said the ball hit the top of the wall, caromed off a fan in the stands and bounced back onto the field.

The Post-Dispatch reported the ball Dillard hit “came straight down and hit the outfield wall padding before bouncing onto the field.”

“I came very close to catching the ball,” Cardinals center fielder Curt Flood said to the Post-Dispatch. “I thought it was a big can of corn. There was no way for the ball to come down the way it did if a fan had touched the ball.”

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How Stan Musial turned in a great comeback year at 41

Posted in Games, Hitters on February 10, 2012| 11 Comments »

(Updated June 10, 2023)

In 1962, at age 41, Stan Musial, thought by some to be finished, produced like a star player in his prime. He placed second in the National League in on-base percentage (.416) and third in batting average (.330).

It remains one of the great performances by a player 40 or older.

After hitting .310 or better in each of his first 17 big-league seasons, Musial failed to reach .300 in three consecutive years (1959-61). Many assumed the 1962 season would be his last and that he might be relegated to part-time status.

Musial worked out diligently after the 1961 season and reported to spring training in top shape in 1962. “I came into camp this year weighing 184, four pounds lighter than a year ago,” Musial told The Sporting News. “And believe me, those four pounds make a difference.”

From the start of spring training, Musial hit well _ “The Man had one of the best springs of his career,” The Sporting News reported _ and Cardinals manager Johnny Keane developed a plan to rest Musial as required during the 162-game season schedule.

Keane elected to open the season with an outfield of Musial, 41, in right, Minnie Minoso, 36, in left, and Curt Flood, 24, in center.

At a community luncheon before the season opener, Musial said he told Minoso, “We’re going to keep Flood in good condition. I’ll catch whatever comes to me and you catch whatever comes to you. Curt can have everything else.”

Musial established a blistering pace to open the season. Here is what he did in his first three games:

_ April 11, vs. Mets, at St. Louis: Musial was 3-for-3 with a double, a walk and two RBI in the Cardinals’ 11-4 victory. Boxscore

_ April 13, vs. Cubs, at Chicago: Musial was 2-for-4 in the Cardinals’ 8-5 victory. Boxscore

_ April 14, vs. Cubs, at Chicago: Musial had a home run, two RBI and a stolen base in the Cardinals’ 7-4 victory. The steal was Musial’s first in two years. Surprised Cubs catcher Cuno Barragan, unprepared for Musial’s theft attempt, threw wildly into center field, enabling Stan to scamper to third. Boxscore

“The Cubs, feeling that old guy won’t be going any place, patently ignored him and he was off and running,” reported The Sporting News.

Said Musial: “My boy, Dick, came over from Notre Dame for that game and he said he got a much bigger kick out of watching me steal the base than he did in seeing me hit a home run.”

Musial batted .396 (19-for-48) for April. His batting average dipped below .300 only once (.298 on May 24) all season. In July, undeterred by the steamy St. Louis summer, Musial hit .397 (27-for-68).

On Aug. 9, Musial led the league in batting at .354, nine points better than Tommy Davis of the Dodgers.

All season, Musial continued to defy the odds with sensational performances. Among the most notable:

_ May 19, vs. Dodgers, at Los Angeles: Musial broke an 0-for-9 slump with a ninth-inning single off a Ron Perranoski curveball. The hit was No. 3,431 for Musial, breaking the NL record of Honus Wagner.

“When I finally got to first base after breaking the record, I felt so relaxed I could have fallen over,” Musial told the Associated Press. “That’s when I realized the pressure had been on.” Boxscore

_ July 8, vs. Mets, at New York: Musial hit 3 home runs in the Cardinals’ 15-1 victory. He remains the oldest player to achieve the feat. Boxscore

In his 1998 book, “Baseball for Brain Surgeons and Other Fans,” Musial’s former Cardinals teammate, Tim McCarver, said, “If a batter keeps his shoulder locked in, he can be fooled on a pitch and start forward too early with his body yet still be able to keep his hands back and generate power. Stan Musial was the quintessential guy in this regard. You could fool Musial and his body would commit, but … he had his hands back and, boom, he could still deliver his power.”

_ July 25, vs. Dodgers, at St. Louis: Musial hit a two-run homer off Don Drysdale, giving Stan a NL-record 1,861 RBI, breaking the mark held by Mel Ott. Boxscore

_ Sept. 27, vs. Giants, at San Francisco: Musial went 5-for-5 with 2 runs scored in the Cardinals’ 7-4 victory. Boxscore

After the season, Musial was named the NL comeback player of the year in a poll of national baseball writers conducted by the Associated Press.

In his book “Stan Musial: The Man’s Own Story,” Musial said, “What gave me my greatest thrill in 1962 was the year I had at bat … I walked out there, day after day, certain I would play, confident I would hit. It was like old times.”

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Stan Musial and the Cardinals’ most iconic moment

Posted in Bloggers, Games, Hitters, Pitchers on January 27, 2012| 11 Comments »

(Updated Sept. 10, 2022)

My choices for the top 5 iconic moments in Cardinals history:

1: STAN MUSIAL’S FINAL AT-BAT

What happened: In a fitting ending to an illustrious career, Stan Musial went out like he came in. Playing in his final big-league game on Sept. 29, 1963, against the Reds at St. Louis, Musial broke a scoreless tie in the sixth by smacking a single past second baseman Pete Rose, scoring Curt Flood. Lifted for a pinch-runner, Musial left to a thunderous ovation. He finished his final game with two hits and a RBI. Boxscore Ever consistent, Musial began his career in similar fashion, getting two hits and two RBI in his big-league debut on Sept. 17, 1941, against the Braves at St. Louis. Boxscore The Cardinals won both games by the same score: 3-2. Musial had 3,630 career hits (1,815 at home and 1,815 on the road).

Why it qualifies: The final at-bat brought to a close the career of the greatest Cardinal. No Cardinal has been more outstanding.

Fun fact: After being lifted from the game, Jim Maloney, the Reds pitcher who gave up the two hits to Musial, went to the St. Louis clubhouse to seek out the retiring Cardinal and tell him, “It was a pleasure watching you play ball.”

Top quote: “It was a great day and I’m grateful that I was able to do something well in my last game.” _ Stan Musial to the Associated Press.

2: THE STRIKEOUT OF TONY LAZZERI

What happened: On Oct. 10, in Game 7 of the 1926 World Series at New York, the Cardinals led 3-2. In the seventh, the Yankees loaded the bases with two outs against starter Jesse Haines, who split a finger on his pitching hand. Cardinals manager Rogers Hornsby called on Grover Cleveland Alexander to relieve. Alexander had pitched a complete game the day before in the Cardinals’ Game 6 victory. Boxscore In the book “The Glory of Their Times,” Cardinals catcher Bob O’Farrell said Alexander was “tight asleep in the bullpen, sleeping off the night before,” when Hornsby called him into Game 7.

Facing rookie Tony Lazzeri, who had 18 home runs and 114 RBI that season, Alexander struck him out. Alexander shut down the Yankees with 2.1 hitless innings, earning a save to go with two World Series wins and preserving the 3-2 St. Louis victory. Boxscore

Why it qualifies: By defeating the Yankees and winning their first World Series championship, the Cardinals transformed from a perennial also-ran into an elite franchise in the National League.

Fun fact: Alexander retired the first six batters he faced in Game 7. None of them hit a fair ball out of the infield. The seventh, Babe Ruth, walked with two outs in the ninth and was thrown out attempting to steal.

Catcher Bob O’Farrell, who fired the ball to Hornsby at second to nab Ruth, told author Lawrence Ritter, “I wondered why Ruth tried to steal second there. A year or two later, I went on a barnstorming trip with the Babe and I asked him. Ruth said he thought Alexander had forgotten he was there. Also, that the way Alexander was pitching they’d never get two hits in a row off him, so he better get in position to score if they got one. Maybe that was good thinking and maybe not. In any case, I had him out a mile at second.”

Top quote: “I knew he was all rattled and nervous and would go after anything, so I gave him a low curve a foot and a half from the plate and he swung and missed.” _ Grover Cleveland Alexander to The Sporting News, describing the pitch on which he struck out Tony Lazzeri.

3: DAVID FREESE’S HOME RUN

What happened: On Oct. 27, in Game 6 of the 2011 World Series at St. Louis, third baseman David Freese, whose two-out, two-run triple in the ninth tied the score, delivered a game-winning home run to lead off the 11th. The Cardinals rallied from deficits of 1-0, 3-2, 4-3, 7-4 and 9-7 against the Rangers to win 10-9 in 11 innings. St. Louis became the first team to score in the eighth, ninth, 10th and 11th innings of a World Series game. The Cardinals were within one strike of elimination in the ninth and 10th innings, and survived. Boxscore

Why it qualifies: The home run capped the most dramatic World Series comeback victory in Cardinals history. It advanced the Cardinals to Game 7 and they clinched their 11th World Series title.

Fun fact: Freese became the fourth Cardinal to receive the World Series Most Valuable Player Award, joining pitcher Bob Gibson (1964 and 1967), catcher Darrell Porter (1982) and shortstop David Eckstein (2006).

Top quote: “Your Game 6 performance, David, will turn out to be one for the ages.” _ Baseball commissioner Bud Selig, in presenting the World Series MVP Award to David Freese.

4: ENOS SLAUGHTER’S DASH TO HOME PLATE

What happened: On Oct. 15, in the eighth inning of Game 7 of the 1946 World Series at St. Louis, the Cardinals’ Enos Slaughter was on first base with two outs and the score tied, 3-3. Harry Walker hit a line drive that fell into left-center, where Leon Culberson (who had replaced an injured Dom DiMaggio) retrieved the ball and threw to the cutoff man, shortstop Johnny Pesky. Slaughter rounded third and slid home safely, beating Pesky’s throw. The daring baserunning gave the Cardinals a 4-3 victory and the championship. Boxscore

Why it qualifies: Slaughter’s hustle symbolized the smart and sound Cardinals teams that dominated the National League in the 1940s. The Cardinals won four pennants and three World Series championships in the decade and finished second five times.

Fun fact: Slaughter credited third-base coach Mike Gonzalez for waving him to home plate as soon as he reached third. It was redemption for Gonzalez, who was criticized after Game 4 when two Cardinals baserunners he waved home were thrown out at the plate.

Top quote: “They say if Pesky hadn’t held the throw I would have been out by a country mile. I don’t know about that. I know the throw to the plate was a little wide, up the third-base line. I also know I had to score.” _ Enos Slaughter to International News Service.

5: OZZIE SMITH’S HOME RUN

What happened: In Game 5 of the best-of-seven National League Championship Series on Oct. 14, 1985, at St. Louis, Ozzie Smith snapped a 2-2 tie with a home run in the ninth against Dodgers reliever Tom Niedenfuer, giving St. Louis a 3-2 victory. Boxscore It was the first home run Smith hit left-handed in eight years as a big-leaguer.

Why it qualifies: The blast (along with broadcaster Jack Buck’s memorable call of “Go crazy, folks! Go crazy!”) symbolized the spirit of manager Whitey Herzog’s 1980s Cardinals clubs and helped clinch Smith’s reputation as a Hall of Famer.

Fun fact: Niedenfuer said the pitch was supposed to be up and in to Smith, but instead was down and in. That mistake enabled Smith to drop the head of the bat on the ball and golf it over the right-field wall.

Top quote: “All I was trying to do was get the ball down the line, into the corner. Fortunately, I got enough to put it out. It was exciting.” _ Ozzie Smith to the Associated Press.

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