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Good catch: Andy Etchebarren, Dave Duncan to the rescue

Posted in Hitters on August 24, 2026| 13 Comments »

Closers get the glory, but catchers get the most valuable saves.

Within an eight-month period, August 1966 to March 1967, catchers Andy Etchebarren (Orioles) and Dave Duncan (Athletics) saved people from drowning.

Etchebarren rescued his teammate, Frank Robinson, who sank to the bottom of a swimming pool. Duncan saved a girl who tumbled into the Gulf of Mexico.

Deep end

The 1966 Orioles made themselves hard to catch in the American League pennant race, winning 12 of their first 13 games and then 25 of 33 in June.

A key to their success was Frank Robinson. Acquired from the Reds in December 1965 _ Bill DeWitt Sr. made the decision to trade him _ Robinson would have a spectacular 1966 season, achieving the Triple Crown as the league leader in home runs (49), RBI (122) and batting average (.316). He also was tops in total bases (367), runs scored (122), on-base percentage (.410) and slugging (.637).

“Frank Robinson was the catalyst who transformed a good Baltimore team into one that could be the strength of the American League for several years,” Steve Jacobson of Newsday noted.

On a day off, Monday, Aug. 22, the Orioles (80-43) awoke with a 12.5-game lead over their closest pursuers (Detroit). To reward his hometown heroes, Baltimore mortician Leonard Ruck gave them a private party at his estate that evening.

Many of the guests gathered around or in the swimming pool. Boog Powell, the massive first baseman, slipped and fell trying to throw teammate Moe Drabowsky into the pool. Powell suffered a cut above his right eye and had to go to the hospital for stitches, the Baltimore Sun reported.

Frank Robinson said other players threatened to toss him in fully clothed, even though he told them he couldn’t swim, the Associated Press reported. He said he changed into swim trunks (which he apparently had brought for lounging on the pool deck) and eased into the shallow end to prevent an expected dunking.

“I was jumping up and down (in the water) when I slipped off into the deep end,” Robinson told reporter Gordon Beard. “I went down a couple of times and kept yelling for help every time I surfaced. My wife thought I was kidding, and I guess everybody else did, too.”

Orioles outfielder Paul Blair recalled to the Associated Press, “The way Frank was jumping up and down, it looked like he knew how to swim. We were trying to catch (teammate) Charley Lau to throw him in at the time, so we weren’t paying too much attention (to Robinson) anyway.”

Sensing Robinson, 30, was in trouble, rookie Andy Etchebarren, 23, jumped in. “I thought he was kidding at first,” Etchebarren said to Gordon Beard, “but then I decided it was time to do something. When I reached Frank, he was just off the bottom and couldn’t move up.”

Etchebarren grabbed Robinson, then let go and returned to the surface for air. “I didn’t take a deep breath when I jumped in because I wasn’t really sure if Frank was kidding,” said Etchebarren. “When I realized he wasn’t, I pushed him a few yards and then resurfaced.”

Robinson told the Associated Press, “I remembered that a person in this kind of trouble is not supposed to struggle, so I kept as calm as I could. After giving me a couple shoves, Andy lost contact with me for a few seconds. I could see the headlines: ‘Robinson drowns at team party.’ Finally, Andy grabbed me again and shoved me to the side of the pool.”

No resuscitation effort was needed. “We let him lie by the side of the pool for about five minutes and then he got up,” Etchebarren said to Gordon Beard.

The next day, Etchebarren learned he had a cracked bone in his hand. Five weeks earlier, when he was struck on the hand by a Dennis Higgins pitch, X-rays showed no fracture. Pain persisted, and when another exam was done the day after the pool rescue, the fracture was discovered.

Etchebarren was back in the lineup a week later. In the Orioles’ World Series sweep of the Dodgers, he was the starting catcher in all four games. He fielded flawlessly, with no errors in 36 innings, and handled a pitching staff that limited the Dodgers to two total runs.

Frank Robinson’s home run against Don Drysdale lifted Baltimore to a 1-0 victory in the decisive Game 4. He received both the World Series Most Valuable Player Award and the American League MVP honor. Boxscore

Taking the plunge

After clouting 46 home runs for minor-league Modesto in 1966, Dave Duncan, 21, went to the Kansas City Athletics’ 1967 spring training camp at Bradenton, Fla.

On March 24, 1967, the day after Duncan walloped a 400-foot homer to break a tie and propel the A’s to an exhibition game win against the White Sox, he was fishing from Rod and Reel Pier in Anna Maria, Fla. A family from Benton Harbor, Mich., 11-year-old Vickie Peet and her parents, were fishing there too.

Vickie lost her balance, fell into the sea and sank in about 12 feet, the Tampa Bay Times reported.

Duncan, fully clothed, leaped in after her and “brought the struggling girl to safety,” according to the Bradenton Herald.

“She was backing up (on the pier) and it looked like she stumbled,” Duncan told The Sporting News. “She was struggling around in the water and no one was doing anything, so I jumped in and got her.”

According to the Bradenton newspaper, the girl’s parents, Nick and Patricia Peet, “were eternally grateful.”

Duncan began the 1967 season at Birmingham, Ala., and was brought to the A’s for stints in June and September. He started in 27 games for Kansas City.

In February 1975, Duncan was traded by Cleveland to Baltimore for Boog Powell and Don Hood. With Duncan and Elrod Hendricks sharing the catching spot, the Orioles no longer needed Etchebarren, who was sent to the Angels in June 1975.

Duncan, who played in two World Series for Oakland, became a pitching coach, primarily on teams managed by Tony La Russa. As a coach, Duncan helped Oakland to three American League pennants and a World Series title and St. Louis to three National League pennants and two World Series championships.

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Adios: Hector Espino gave quick hello, goodbye to Cardinals

Posted in Games, Hitters, Prospects on August 10, 2026| 12 Comments »

Just as Yankee Stadium was the House That Babe Ruth Built, perhaps Busch Memorial Stadium, which opened in downtown St. Louis in 1966, could have been the House That Hector Espino Built.

Known as Bambino Mexicano, or the Babe Ruth of Mexico, Espino was invited by the reigning World Series champion Cardinals to their big-league spring training camp in 1965.

A right-handed power hitter who played first base (his best position) and the outfield, Espino joined the Cardinals’ Class AAA Jacksonville Suns farm club in August 1964 and helped them win the International League pennant.

The Cardinals purchased his contract after they prevailed against the Yankees in the 1964 World Series. They were intrigued by Espino’s home run swing as they prepared to move from the former Sportsman’s Park to the new stadium in 1966.

Mentioned with the likes of Babe Ruth, Mickey Mantle and Harmon Killebrew, Espino was considered a sure bet to hit in the big leagues, but it didn’t work out.

Mexican marvel

A truck driver’s son from Chihuahua, Mexico, Hector Espino was 5-foot-10, 190 pounds “with a thick, muscular upper body and large, thick wrists,” according to Scott Ostler of the Los Angeles Times.

Taking a short stride, Espino hit with power to all fields while playing summers in the Mexican League and winters in the Mexican Pacific League. “No one can hit a ball farther and higher than Espino,” Joe Reichler of the Associated Press observed. “He has been known to have hit some drives 500 feet.”

Espino clouted more than 700 home runs in his pro career. According to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, he hit 453 in the Mexican League; 299 in the Mexican Pacific League. Espino also hit 28 homers in the Mexican minors and three more with the Cardinals’ Jacksonville club, MLB.com reported.

The Arizona Daily Star called him “Bambino Mexicano.” Espino’s Jacksonville teammate Joe Morgan (the future Red Sox manager, not the future Hall of Fame second baseman) recalled to Rob Terranova of MLB.com, “I remember them telling us we were getting the Babe Ruth of Mexico.”

In 1989, the New York Times rated Espino as “Mexico’s greatest homegrown (baseball) talent.” Rafael Dominguez of the Mexican Professional Baseball Hall of Fame described him as “the maximum expression of Mexican baseball.”

As Encyclopedia Britannica put it, “Although virtually unknown in the United States, Espino is considered by many in Mexico to be the greatest native-born hitter of all time and is a national hero in that country.”

Cleveland calling

Playing for the Monterrey Sultans as a rookie in the Mexican League in 1962, Espino, 23, made an immediate impact: .358 batting average, .457 on-base percentage, .613 slugging mark. In June 1962, The Sporting News reported that Espino “already was attracting major-league scouts, and (team) owner Anuar Canavati of the Sultans predicted the husky hitter would bring the club a fancy return on the open market in the near future.”

The Sultans and Cleveland Indians formed a working agreement for 1963. Espino and his Monterrey teammate, pitcher Mike Cuellar, were invited to 1963 spring training in Arizona and assigned to Jacksonville, a Cleveland farm club that year.

Ben Geraghty, who 10 years earlier managed Hank Aaron at Jacksonville, gave Espino a chance to play regularly in exhibition games and he hit well, including a game-winning home run against Tacoma on March 31. The next day, Espino was a no-show at Jacksonville’s workout.

In a story headlined “Suns wonder: Where did Hector go?,” Cuellar told the Jacksonville Journal, “I saw him in the morning and I told him where he was supposed to report. He said he understood but I haven’t seen him since.”

According to the Florida Times-Union, Espino “left camp without saying a word.”

Feeling homesick, he was located at Chihuahua, where he was visiting his parents, The Sporting News reported.

Espino opted to stay in Mexico and play for Monterrey.

Pennant push

The Monterrey club shifted Espino from the outfield to first base in 1964. Comfortable with the move, he responded with a big season at the plate: 46 homers and a league-leading .371 batting mark.

Meanwhile, the Jacksonville Suns became a Cardinals farm club in 1964. Managed by Harry Walker, the Suns were competing for the International League pennant. To help their chances, Suns general manager Bobby Maduro used his close ties to Monterrey management to arrange for three Sultans players to join Jacksonville after completion of the Mexican League season in early August.

The trio consisted of former Washington Senators pitcher Evelio Hernandez, shortstop Rigo Mena and Espino, who was expected to provide the right-handed power Jacksonville lost when Mike Shannon was called up to the Cardinals. “There were great hopes (Espino) would be the difference in the International League pennant race,” Jacksonville journalist Jack Hairston wrote.

The transition to a new team late in the summer and in a town that was deeply segregated and filled with racial tension was challenging. Intensely shy and introverted, Espino “spoke no English, had difficulty adjusting to the alien culture and, like many Latin players who come to the United States, he was homesick,” Leo W. Banks of the Arizona Daily Star noted.

Pat Corrales, then a catcher in the Phillies’ system, recalled years later to Newsday, “He had no way to communicate, and this Mexican superstar was treated like a rank amateur … What an insult.”

Jacksonville teammate Joe Morgan said to MLB.com, “I’m just not sure he ever got comfortable here … You definitely got the feeling he was homesick.”

Adding to Espino’s discomfort was the position he was required to play. The Suns put him in the outfield after he thrived at first base in the Mexican League.

A low point came during a doubleheader at Buffalo on Aug. 18. The Cardinals sent their 82-year-old consultant, Branch Rickey, to watch Espino play and assess whether the parent club should purchase his contract. What Rickey saw was a player who shouldn’t be in the outfield.

As Bill Kastelz observed in the Florida Times-Union, “His defensive play in right field was enough to make you turn your head away as he committed three errors in two games and failed to get two or three fly balls which were more or less routine, losing one because his cap fell down over his face.”

It dawned on the Suns that Espino might be better playing first base. Moved there, he began to feel at ease and his overall performance improved.

On Sept. 8, Espino crushed a home run (his 49th of the year) in a win that clinched the pennant. Through interpreter and teammate Coco Laboy, Espino told Wayne Minshew of the Jacksonville Journal, “I’ll take that one over all the rest of my homers.” In 32 games for Jacksonville, Espino hit .300 with 15 RBI, 15 runs scored and three homers.

Deal or no deal

According to the Jacksonville Journal, Harry Walker said Espino showed much potential as a hitter. The Cardinals purchased his contract for $25,000 and invited him to their 1965 big-league spring training camp at St. Petersburg. “Not since Bobby Avila teamed with Lou Boudreau in Cleveland’s pennant-winning years have the Mexican people had a baseball hero to compare with Hector Espino, Mickey Mantle’s counterpart south of the border,” the Associated Press declared.

Plans went awry, however, as the opening of training camp neared. Espino’s father became ill and the first baseman was given permission to report late, but then the Cardinals received no communication from him, the Jacksonville Journal reported.

A few weeks later, Espino’s luggage arrived without him in Florida. He’d taken a flight from Monterrey to Dallas, changed his mind about going to spring training and went back to Mexico. By then his checked baggage was on its way to Florida.

Espino never did report to the Cardinals. He wanted a share of the purchase price Monterrey Sultans owner Anuar Canavati received from the Cardinals for him, but Canavati refused. “When the (spring training) invitation came in 1964, I looked forward to going and wanted to continue with the Cardinals in 1965, but it was Canavati who stopped me,” Espino told the Arizona Daily Star.

He also said to the Los Angeles Times, “If they had given me the money, I’m pretty sure I’d have been there (with the Cardinals) a long time.”

Asked in 1985 whether he had regrets, Espino replied to journalist Leo W. Banks, “I would do the same thing over again.”

The Cardinals kept the door open. In August 1965, St. Louis general manager Bob Howsam told Larry Lee of the Columbus (Ind.) Republic that Espino didn’t want to play in the United States but added, “We’re keeping track of him just in case.”

Safe at home

Espino had one more flirtation with a major league franchise. In 1967, he agreed to report to Angels spring training at Holtville, a California agricultural town of about 3,000 residents and home to the annual Carrot Festival.

Holtville was 15 miles from Mexicali, a bustling Mexican city with the cantinas and strip clubs Holtville lacked. Before camp opened, Angels manager Bill Rigney issued a stern warning to his players about journeying to Mexicali at night. “I realize we are not at war with Mexico, but I would prefer my guys stay on this side of the border,” Rigney told Ross Newhan of the Long Beach Independent.

Espino notified the Angels he would remain in Mexico.

“He was some hitter, but he didn’t care about leaving Mexico,” catcher Elrod Hendricks, a former Cardinals prospect who played three years (1964-66) in the Mexican League before going to the majors, said to the Associated Press.

Testimonials to Espino’s talents from the archives of the Los Angeles Times and Arizona Daily Star included:

_ Maury Wills, who managed the Hermosillo Orange Growers to a Mexican Pacific League title in 1971 with Espino at first base: “Espino is about as fine a hitter as I ever saw. He should have been in the big leagues five or six years ago.”

_ Frank Lane, ex-Cardinals general manager: “He was one of the great hitters … In the major leagues, he would have been a .320 to .340 hitter, with power.”

_ George Brunet, who played 10 seasons in the Mexican League after pitching for the 1971 Cardinals: “If he got a chance in America … he would have been just like Harmon Killebrew.”

_ Eddie Leon, an American League infielder and Espino’s Mexican League teammate: “I saw Hector when he was 36 and even at that age I thought he was as good a hitter as I’d ever seen or played against, and I played with Dick Allen on the White Sox the year after he won the MVP. Hector couldn’t do as many things as Dick Allen, but he was as good a hitter.”

Looking back on his pro career, Espino said to journalist Leo W. Banks, “Hitting a home run is a great satisfaction, but it is momentary … The satisfying thing, the thing I am most proud of, is that I’ve played 24 years.”

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John Sipin went from Cardinals prospect to Japanese star

Posted in Games, Hitters, Prospects, Records, Trades on August 3, 2026| 14 Comments »

John Sipin was taken late in the earliest amateur baseball draft, a 55th-round pick of the Cardinals in 1965.

From that humble beginning, the slender, slugging infielder had some notable experiences during his baseball career, including:

_ Being groomed by Sparky Anderson. Sipin was on two Cardinals farm teams Anderson managed and reached the majors with a Padres club Anderson coached.

_ Sharing a National League record with Willie McCovey. Sipin and McCovey are the only National League players to hit two triples in their big-league debuts.

_ Forming a potent power duo with Sadaharu Oh. Sipin played nine seasons in Japan. In 1979, Oh (with 33) and Sipin (with 27) were the top two home run hitters for the Yomiuri Giants.

Down on the farm

John Sipin was from Watsonville, a California agricultural center in the Pajaro Valley near Monterey Bay. Watsonville, a sanctuary city, is the company headquarters of Monterey Mushrooms, Driscoll’s (a prominent producer of berries) and Martinelli’s (a leading maker of sparkling apple cider and apple juice).

A wave of Filipino migrant farmworkers came to the area in the 1920s and 1930s. Sipin’s father, Johnny Imperial Sipin, immigrated from the Philippines, married Ethel White (whose family moved to California from Arkansas) and got a job managing farmworker camps. Johnny stood 5-foot-4. His son grew to 6-foot-2 and became a standout in baseball, basketball and golf.

After graduating from Watsonville High School in 1964, John Sipin attended Cabrillo College. On the recommendation of scout Bill Sayles, the Cardinals chose the strong-armed shortstop in the first amateur baseball draft, in June 1965, and he reported to their minor-league spring training camp in 1966.

Assigned to St. Petersburg, managed by Sparky Anderson, Sipin became the shortstop and helped the club win 19 in a row. “A key hitter during the streak was John Sipin,” The Sporting News noted. Anderson told the Santa Cruz Sentinel, “I never saw an infielder with a better arm.”

After 31 games at St. Petersburg, Sipin was promoted to Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and continued to impress. Cardinals minor-league hitting instructor Joe Medwick told the Cedar Rapids Gazette that Sipin showed signs of being a power hitter and had one of the “quickest bats” he’d seen among prospects.

Though lanky, Sipin had strong wrists that enabled him to generate bat speed.

The Cardinals liked his bat (14 home runs, 63 RBI) and arm, and put him on their 40-man big-league winter roster after the 1966 season.

Position change

Sipin was the shortstop for Sparky Anderson again in 1967, with Modesto. Though he clouted 19 home runs, he made 51 errors in 123 games.

When Sipin reported to Arkansas in 1968, manager Vern Rapp shifted him to second base. “I feel more suited to second base,” Sipin said to The Sporting News.

Sipin led Texas League second basemen in putouts, assists and double plays, and was named an all-star.

With the National League adding franchises in Montreal and San Diego for 1969, Sipin hoped to be taken in the October 1968 expansion draft, preferably by the Padres, and given the chance to play in the majors for a team in his home state. “I thought they were going to take me,” he said to The Sporting News.

Instead, the Padres passed on Sipin and took another Cardinals infield prospect, Jerry DaVanon, who played high school and college baseball in San Diego.

Dazzling debut

While Sipin began the 1969 season as the second baseman for Warren Spahn’s Tulsa farm team, the Padres opened their inaugural season with Roberto Pena, a former Cubs and Phillies shortstop, as their second baseman.

Padres manager Preston Gomez and coach Sparky Anderson, a former Phillies second baseman, determined the expansion club needed an upgrade at second. Anderson advocated for Sipin.

On May 22, 1969, the Padres dealt Jerry DaVanon and Bill Davis to St. Louis for Sipin, 22, and Sonny Ruberto. “Sipin comes highly recommended,” Gomez told The Sporting News. “He can make the double play, and that’s what we need … The kid has a great arm. We’re working with him to improve his range.”

Two days later, in a game against the Cubs at San Diego, Sipin debuted as the Padres’ second baseman. Batting second, he faced Ken Holtzman in the first inning and tripled. His next time up, in the fourth, Sipin tripled again versus Holtzman. Boxscore

Sipin joined Willie McCovey as the only National League players to triple twice in their big-league debuts. McCovey did it for the Giants against Robin Roberts of the Phillies on July 30, 1959, at San Francisco. Boxscore

(Two American League players also tripled twice in their first games in the majors: Bill Irwin of the 1912 Tigers and Roy Weatherly of Cleveland in 1936. Boxscore and Boxscore)

Sipin was one of the first players of Filipino descent to reach the majors. The first was Bobby Balcena. Born in California to Filipino parents, he had two at-bats for the 1956 Reds. The only Philippines native to play in the majors was Bobby Chouinard. Born in Manila, he pitched for four big-league clubs from 1996-2001.

Sipin followed his two-triple game with a three-hit performance against the Cubs. Boxscore

On May 30, Sipin’s first home run, in the 10th inning against Dan McGinn, gave the Padres a 3-2 win at Montreal. He hit another homer versus the Dodgers’ Don Sutton. On July 30, Sipin had a double and a single against Bob Gibson at St. Louis. Boxscore, Boxscore, Boxscore

Sipin remained the Padres’ second baseman until August when a back ailment required hospital treatment and he was shut down for the season. Sipin made 54 starts for the 1969 Padres, committed just seven errors in 477 innings but batted .223 and had no triples after his first game.

Lion Maru

Sipin had stellar minor-league seasons in 1970 and 1971, but the Padres never brought him back to the majors.

Learning to handle breaking pitches and hit to the opposite field, Sipin batted .301 for Salt Lake City in 1970 and led manager Don Zimmer’s club in total bases (237), slugging (.510), runs (74), doubles (31), homers (20) and RBI (80).

After spring training in 1971, Sipin was with the Padres on Opening Day, but, when he got to the ballpark, management informed him he was being sent to Hawaii. Sipin batted .318 for Hawaii and was the team leader in total bases (262), hits (174) and doubles (26).

Sipin found his comfort zone at his next stop: Japan. He signed with the Taiyo Whales of the Japan Central League in 1972 and became one of the country’s most popular players. Like Ted Simmons, who was nicknamed “Simba” with the Cardinals, Sipin let his hair grow long and was called “Lion Maru,” because he resembled a Japanese TV action hero who was able to transform from a ninja swordsman into a lion-headed warrior.

His play on the field helped earn him fan support, too. As Taiyo’s second baseman in 1972, Sipin, 25, became the first foreign player to win a Japanese Gold Glove Award. He also slugged three grand slams.

Grateful to be playing where he was appreciated, Sipin learned to speak fluent Japanese. “I’m content to stay over there,” he told the Santa Cruz Sentinel.

After six successful seasons (1972-77) as Taiyo’s second baseman, Sipin was traded to the Yomiuri Giants, cut his hair and became Sadaharu Oh’s teammate. Oh and Sipin often batted back-to-back.

In 1979, the Associated Press called Sipin “the most consistent American to play in Japan.” He retired after the 1980 season. In 1,036 career games in Japan, Sipin produced 1,124 hits, including 218 home runs, and batted .297. He three times clouted 30 or more homers in a season.

Sipin went on to have a second career in real estate in Japan and California.

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A first for St. Louis: Two teams together in top spots

Posted in Games, Hitters on July 27, 2026| 16 Comments »

On a typical sweltering July afternoon in St. Louis, baseball fans soothed themselves with refreshing thoughts of a possible October World Series between the Browns and the Cardinals.

On July 22, 1922, St. Louis teams simultaneously were atop the standings of the American League and National League for the first time.

The Browns (53-37) had a .589 winning percentage in the American League and the Cardinals (57-35) had a .620 winning percentage in the National League. Their closest pursuers were New York clubs _ Yankees (.559) in the American; Giants (.612) in the National.

Though the title hopes evaporated and New York teams prevailed, St. Louis experienced a baseball euphoria in 1922. As the St. Louis Post-Dispatch noted, “With two teams in first place, we feel safe in saying there are more baseball followers in St. Louis than there are Democrats in Georgia.”

Tale of two teams

The 1922 Browns and Cardinals were dissimilar teams.

The Browns were managed by Lee Fohl, a former catcher with a fourth-grade education. The Cardinals’ manager was Branch Rickey, a former catcher with a law degree from the University of Michigan.

The Browns had good pitching (a league-leading 3.38 ERA) and the Cardinals didn’t (a 4.44 ERA that was the second-highest in the league).

Browns fielders ranked in the top half of their league in fewest errors committed (199); the Cardinals made the most errors in their league (240).

Their commonality was hitting. The Browns led their league in runs (868), hits (1,684), triples (94), RBI (785), batting average (.310) and slugging (.453). The Cardinals were league leaders in doubles (280), RBI (787) and slugging (.444).

Each had a .400 hitter _ Browns, George Sisler; Cardinals, Rogers Hornsby.

As Peter Golenbock noted in his book “The Spirit of St. Louis,” “Arguments arose in bars all over St. Louis as to who was the better hitter: Sisler or Hornsby.”

(Hornsby and Sisler respected one another. In his book “My War With Baseball,” Hornsby selected Sisler on his all-time team and said, “He is the greatest fielding first baseman I ever saw … He could hit hard to all fields and was an exceptionally good base runner.” In 1928, Sisler was the Boston Braves first baseman when Hornsby was their player-manager. According to the Post-Dispatch, Hornsby said he was one of Sisler’s “strongest admirers.”)

Sisler in 1922 led the American League in runs (134), hits (246), triples (18), stolen bases (51), batting average (.420) and produced a 41-game hitting streak.

Hornsby achieved the Triple Crown in 1922, leading the National League in batting (.401), home runs (42) and RBI (152). He also was the league leader in runs (141), hits (250), doubles (46), on-base percentage (.459), slugging (.722) and had a 33-game hitting streak. His dominance was reflected by his 450 total bases _ 136 more than the runner-up, Irish Meusel of the Giants at 314. Only Babe Ruth (457 with the 1921 Yankees) has had more total bases in a season than Hornsby.

Besides Sisler, the 1922 Browns featured Ken Williams, who swung a 48-ounce bat and led the league in total bases (367), home runs (39) and RBI (155). Williams had more homers than strikeouts (31) that season. He also swiped 37 bases. Two other 1922 Browns hitters of note: Marty McManus (.312, 34 doubles, 109 RBI) and Baby Doll Jacobson (.317, 16 triples, 102 RBI).

Joining Hornsby in the Cardinals’ attack were Milt Stock (.305, 33 doubles), Specs Toporcer (.324) and a couple of rookie .300 hitters called up in August, Jim Bottomley and Ray Blades.

Turning taunts to cheers

On June 26, 1922, the Browns (40-28) held first place in the American League, while the Cardinals (34-29) were in second behind the Giants (39-23) in the National. Then the Cardinals won 23 of their next 29, averaging six runs per game. The last win in that stretch was the one that moved them into first place in the National while the Browns remained atop the American.

The Cardinals did it with a stirring rally against the Braves.

In the third inning, the scoreboard at Sportsman’s Park showed the final from Cincinnati: Reds, 3, Giants 2. That meant the Cardinals could climb past the Giants and into first if they won.

The Braves, though, had other ideas. They scored three runs in the fourth, stretching their lead to 5-1. Many among the crowd of 15,000 reacted by “heaving taunts” at the Cardinals, the St. Louis Globe-Democrat reported.

The mood in the stands remained grim when the Cardinals batted in the eighth, trailing 8-3. Facing Frank Miller, a reliever working his sixth inning, Milt Stock led off with a single and Harry McCurdy walked, but Spec Toporcer’s deep liner to right-center was snared by Walton Cruise, a former Cardinal, for the first out.

Joe Schultz, batting for pitcher Jeff Pfeffer, was next. Schultz was a marvel for the 1922 Cardinals. He hit .384 at home and .363 overall with runners in scoring position. As he had all season, Schultz delivered, booming the ball over the head of left fielder Al Nixon for a two-run double, cutting the Boston lead to 8-5.

The next batter, Max Flack, popped up to second baseman Hod Ford for the second out. Then the Cardinals got a big break. Jack Smith bounced a grounder to Ford for what should have been the inning-ending out, but Ford made a wild throw and Smith was safe at first on the error, with Schultz scooting to third.

The mistake extended the inning and allowed Rogers Hornsby to bat. Hornsby lashed a double, driving in Schultz and making the score 8-6. Smith moved to third. Up next was Heinie Mueller, a St. Louisan who had driven in a mere five runs all season. After getting ahead in the count 2-and-0, Mueller looked for a cripple pitch and got it. He singled to center, sending Smith and Hornsby home and tying the score at 8-8. “Upon this, pandemonium broke loose” in the stands, the Globe-Democrat reported.

Braves manager Fred Mitchell lifted Frank Miller, who faced 26 batters in his relief stint, and brought in a rookie, Tim McNamara. Les Mann ran for Mueller. Del Gainer, the first batter to face McNamara, tapped a ball toward third for an infield hit. Then Milt Stock stroked his second single of the inning through the right side, scoring Mann and giving St. Louis a 9-8 lead.

“Bedlam and pandemonium and all its kindred companions broke out in earnest,” the Post-Dispatch reported.

According to the Globe-Democrat, “frenzied fans smashed straw hats, hurled scorecards onto the field and all but tore the stands into pieces.”

Bill Sherdel, who pitched 10 innings in a win two days earlier, was brought in to work the ninth for St. Louis. He held the Braves scoreless, saving the win that put the Cardinals into first place. Boxscore

That afternoon, in Philadelphia, the Browns stomped the Athletics, 10-1, and boosted their lead over the Yankees to 2.5 games. Boxscore

“For the first time in 21 years, since the American League was organized in 1901, the two St. Louis teams simultaneously occupy first place in the major leagues,” the Globe-Democrat noted.

New York, New York

Soon after, the Giants and Yankees were helped by trades made with the Boston clubs. On July 23, the Red Sox dealt third baseman Joe Dugan to the Yankees for four players and $50,000. Dugan hit .286 for the 1922 Yankees and .385 with runners in scoring position. On July 30, the Braves sent pitcher Hugh McQuillan to the Giants for three players and $100,000. McQuillan earned six wins, including one against the Cardinals, for the 1922 Giants.

Meanwhile, the Cardinals went into a tailspin, losing five in a row, including four to the Giants, after the comeback win against the Braves. The Cardinals were 8-14 in August, including 4-11 at home. Their record after July 22 was 28-34.

The Giants (93-61) were National League champions. The Reds (86-68) placed second and the Cardinals (85-69) and Pirates (85-69) shared third.

The Yankees (94-60) prevailed in the American League, one win better than St. Louis (93-61). The Browns lost 14 of 22 against the Yankees during the season.

The World Series was all Giants, who swept to the title.

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Why Mike Ramsey was next best thing to Ozzie Smith

Posted in Games, Hitters on July 13, 2026| 11 Comments »

During a critical point in the 1982 division title chase, the Cardinals lost shortstop Ozzie Smith for two weeks because of an injury. To replace the Gold Glove Award winner, manager Whitey Herzog chose Mike Ramsey, a utility player with the physique of an exclamation point and a swing he described as “my dork stroke.”

Rising to the challenge, Ramsey fielded flawlessly and performed with steely sturdiness. As Rick Hummel of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch aptly noted, “The iron man was the thin man.”

When St. Louis played five games totaling 46 innings in three days (Sept. 17-19) against the Mets, Ramsey was the only Cardinal to play every inning of each game. St. Louis won all five.

In the 14 consecutive games Smith sat out from Sept. 11 through Sept. 23, Ramsey was the St. Louis shortstop in every inning of every game. He made no errors in that 129-inning stretch and the Cardinals won 10 of the 14 games. St. Louis, in second place when Ramsey replaced Smith, was in first, with a 4.5-game division lead, when Ramsey completed his stint as the starter.

In the book “Whitey’s Boys,” Whitey Herzog said, “Unbelievable … Everybody thought when Ozzie got hurt that we were done, but that wasn’t the case.”

Late bloomer

A college shortstop at Appalachian State, Ramsey was chosen by the Cardinals in the third round of the 1975 amateur draft, but Garry Templeton was the top shortstop in the St. Louis system then.

Ramsey had knee surgery in 1976, made 44 errors with Arkansas in 1977 and another 41 with Springfield (Ill.) in 1978. The Cardinals gave Ramsey a look near the end of the 1978 season, but he floundered at Springfield (hitting .221) in 1979 and was benched in favor of Ron Farkas. Ramsey had a “terrible year,” Cardinals general manager John Claiborne told the Post-Dispatch.

“My mental state wasn’t good then,” Ramsey recalled to Larry Harnly of the State Journal-Register of Springfield, Ill. “I couldn’t put it together. I was 24 and 25, but in my mind I was a young kid. I didn’t go about my job the right way … I got down mentally. Different people mature at different times, and I matured late.”

Left off the Cardinals’ 40-man roster after the 1979 season, Ramsey was available to be drafted, but no team took him. Back at Springfield in 1980, “I knew then I had to show them I could play,” he told the Journal-Register. “I knew I had to do it then, or I might have had to think about quitting after the 1980 season. I turned it around. I started to grasp what I had to do. I took things more seriously.”

In May 1980, second baseman Ken Oberkfell got injured and the Cardinals brought up Ramsey to replace him. He got a boost from coach Dave Ricketts, who helped him with his hitting. “He has put it into my head what I have to do,” Ramsey said to the Journal-Register. “I have to lay off high pitches and I have to hit the ball on the ground.”

From May 26 to June 11, Ramsey hit safely in 12 of the 13 games he started at second. He produced four hits in a game against the Mets at New York. Boxscore

Whitey Herzog, who replaced Ken Boyer as Cardinals manager in June 1980, liked Ramsey. In June 1981, when Garry Templeton told Herzog he was too tired to play the day after a night game, Herzog started Ramsey at shortstop. In August, after the Cardinals suspended and fined Templeton, then moved him to the disabled list, Ramsey took over. He made 27 starts at shortstop for the 1981 Cardinals.

During a Cardinals series at Montreal, Ramsey met a Canadian woman, Merle Yos. “I was playing second base and I flirted with her as I came into the dugout,” Ramsey recalled to the Journal-Register. “I’d look into the stands. I asked her out. We had a long distance relationship. Her dad is a big Expos fan.”

In February 1982, the couple married.

Doing the job

Ramsey, 28, had two extended stretches during the 1982 season when he filled in as a Cardinals starting infielder.

When an injured Tommy Herr was out for a period from May into June, Ramsey replaced him at second base. He hit .358 in May and .308 in June. For the season, Ramsey made 35 starts at second with the 1982 Cardinals.

After Herr returned, Ramsey went back to his utility role. He played second, third, shortstop and even some left field.

On July 25 at St. Louis, Herzog started Ramsey at shortstop against the Astros. Don Sutton was Houston’s starting pitcher that day and Ozzie Smith, who had a .136 career batting mark against him, got a day off.

With the Astros ahead, 1-0, in the second, the Cardinals had two on, one out, and Ramsey at the plate. A switch hitter batting left, he worked the count to 3-and-1. Sutton decided to make the next pitch a fat one. “My chances of getting him out were good enough that I could throw him a strike,” Sutton told the Post-Dispatch. “The worst I would get was a single or a double.”

Instead, Ramsey walloped it over the wall. “I just floated around the bases,” he told the Post-Dispatch. The three-run blast was his first big-league home run. Ramsey told reporter Rick Hummel, “I used to hit them out in wiffleball when I was 10 years old. It was a real small area.”

Referring to the home run as “a fluke,” Sutton said to the St. Louis newspaper, “Who’s the last guy on their ballclub you figured would hit a home run?”

Ramsey’s rocket lifted the Cardinals to a 4-3 victory. “I was happy it came off a guy that good and that it wasn’t a cheap home run at all,” Ramsey told Rick Hummel. Boxscore

(A month later, Sutton was traded to the Brewers and helped them win the American League pennant. He started Games 2 and 6 of the World Series, but the Cardinals won both.)

Ramsey’s only other big-league homer was a solo shot against the Cubs’ Chuck Rainey at Wrigley Field in 1983. Boxscore

Play to win

In a Sept. 10, 1982, game against the Mets, Ozzie Smith ranged far to his left, dived and gloved a hard-hit ball, preventing a run from scoring. The next day his injured right thigh kept him from playing. That’s when Ramsey became the St. Louis shortstop.

“I’ll just play hard and stay within my limitations and try not to be Ozzie,” Ramsey told the Post-Dispatch.

Smith was nicknamed The Wizard _ as in Wizard of Oz _ because of his brilliant fielding, but Ramsey provided magic, too. The unheralded utilityman was a marvel of consistent excellence while performing under the pressure of a title chase.

As Rick Hummel noted in the Post-Dispatch, “He did the nearly unthinkable. He almost made one forget that Ozzie Smith was not there.”

Though he initially struggled at the plate after replacing Smith, Ramsey recovered and hit .385 over a four-game stretch against the Mets and Phillies. “I’ve got my stroke, my dork stroke, back now,” he told Rick Hummel.

Smith returned to the lineup on Sept. 24 and the Cardinals went on to win a division title and then the National League pennant.

In the World Series versus Milwaukee, Ramsey mostly watched from the bench until the decisive Game 7. In the sixth inning, he ran for Gene Tenace and scored the go-ahead run on George Hendrick’s single. Whitey Herzog kept Ramsey in the game at third base, replacing Ken Oberkfell. Ramsey played the final three innings of the Cardinals’ championship clincher. Boxscore

At spring training in March 1983, Tommy Herr had arthroscopic left knee surgery. When the reigning World Series champions opened the 1983 season, Ramsey was their second baseman. Boxscore

“Mike Ramsey is the best utilityman in baseball,” Whitey Herzog declared to the Post-Dispatch.

Told of the manager’s comment, Ramsey replied, “He’s just being kind to me.”

Ramsey made 47 starts, including 36 at second, for the 1983 Cardinals.

In July 1984, Ramsey was traded to the Expos for Chris Speier. Ramsey played his final big-league games with the Dodgers in 1985.

Cardinals director of player development Ted Simmons hired Ramsey to be an instructional coach in 1989, then promoted him to minor-league manager.

Ramsey managed for 14 years in the farm systems of the Cardinals (1991-95), Padres (1996-99), Rays (2000-01) and Giants (2002-04). Among the players he managed were Joe McEwing, Dmitri Young, Carl Crawford and Matt Cain.

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Like a true champion, Bill White kept his promise

Posted in Broadcasters, Executives, Hitters on July 6, 2026| 15 Comments »

In September 1964, the folks at Webster Groves Christian Church in suburban St. Louis asked Cardinals first baseman Bill White to be the featured speaker at a youth banquet on Oct. 15.

White said yes. His calendar for mid-October was clear of any baseball obligations. The Phillies led the National League and seemed uncatchable. The Cardinals figured to be done when the season ended.

In his book “Uppity,” White said, “At the time, I never dreamed we’d be in the World Series and that we’d win the championship the same day as the banquet.”

The Phillies, though, had their title dreams turned into nightmares. They collapsed down the stretch and the Cardinals clinched the pennant in the season finale. The World Series against the Yankees went to a decisive Game 7. Played on Thursday afternoon, Oct. 15, at St. Louis, the Cardinals won, 7-5. White contributed two hits and scored a run, helping St. Louis to its first World Series title since 1946. Boxscore

Party time

Revelry ensued in the Cardinals’ champagne-soaked clubhouse. In his autobiography “Stranger to the Game,” pitcher Bob Gibson called the celebration “out of the ordinary.” Catcher Bob Uecker was “at center stage in the clubhouse, wearing an usher’s cap, dancing a polka, mimicking (club owner) Auggie Busch and grabbing Harry Caray’s microphone to interview himself,” Gibson recalled.

In his memoir “Oh, Baby, I Love It,” catcher Tim McCarver said, “I remember Bob Uecker, without a stitch of clothing on, dancing to the dumbest song I’d ever heard _ ‘Pass the Biscuits, Miranda.’ He was dancing all by himself, somehow putting modern moves to this idiotic song that, for some reason, had been the 1946 Cardinals’ rallying song. Uke could dance, too.”

The club arranged for a victory dinner that night at Stan Musial & Biggie’s restaurant on Oakland Ave.

Bill White would like to have joined fully in the fun, but he couldn’t. He had that youth banquet to attend.

White was ready to leave the clubhouse when someone said manager Johnny Keane was looking for him, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. White stopped by the manager’s office and found him talking with reporters.

“Did you want to see me, John?” White asked.

“Yes,” replied Keane. “I wanted to give you this.”

The manager walked over to White and hugged him. White returned the hug.

For the record

While his teammates headed to Musial’s restaurant, White drove to the church banquet. “A commitment is a commitment,” he said in his autobiography. “The banquet organizers were frankly surprised to see me, but happy to have me.”

After the event, White went to Musial & Biggie’s, where the party was going strong. “My teammates had a big head start on me with the champagne and other booze,” White recalled in his book. “I won’t say I was the only sober guy in the room, but I was one of the few. Maybe that’s why when Bob Howsam got up to give a little speech, I actually heard what he said _ and I didn’t like it one bit.”

Two months earlier, when the Cardinals were 62-55, nine behind the first-place Phillies, Gussie Busch fired general manager Bing Devine and replaced him with Howsam. From there, the Cardinals went 31-14, finishing in first at 93-69, one game ahead of both the Reds and Phillies.

Howsam “must have known something about baseball because later he led Cincinnati to success as the Big Red Machine, but hardly any of us liked the guy,” White said in his book. “As far as most of us on the Cardinals were concerned, it was Bing Devine, not Bob Howsam, who had made our World Series victory possible, not least of all by bringing in Lou Brock.”

In addition to Brock, Devine acquired White, Curt Flood, Dick Groat, Julian Javier and pitchers Roger Craig, Curt Simmons, Barney Schultz and Ron Taylor. With Devine in charge of baseball operations, the farm system developed Bob Gibson, Tim McCarver, Ray Sadecki, Mike Shannon and Ray Washburn.

“So when Howsam stood up that night in Stan & Biggie’s and told the crowd, ‘I just want to point out that this turnaround didn’t happen until I took over the team,’ I went into a slow burn,” White said in his book.

Team captain Ken Boyer rose next and said a few words. Then it was White’s turn. “We won this title for Bing Devine,” White told the room. “Bing put this all together. Bing is the reason we’re all here.”

As White recalled, “Howsam didn’t say anything. I knew he must have hated hearing that, but I didn’t care.”

Lifetime achievement

Bill White, 92, is the 2026 recipient of baseball’s Buck O’Neil Lifetime Achievement Award. O’Neal’s many accomplishments include being the scout who discovered Lou Brock for the Cubs and guiding him into the majors.

White is being honored for his work as an advocate for integration in baseball, and for his success as a player (Giants, Cardinals, Phillies), broadcaster (Yankees) and executive (National League president).

The attributes a recipient is required to possess were exemplified by White on the day the 1964 Cardinals became World Series champs: Character, integrity, dignity.

 

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