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Cardinals made a mistake in giving up on Jose Cruz

Posted in Hitters, Prospects, Trades on October 22, 2014| 4 Comments »

(Updated Sept. 9, 2025)

Unable to supplant Lou Brock, Bake McBride or Reggie Smith, outfielder Jose Cruz left the Cardinals in 1974 and fulfilled his potential with the Astros.

Though he’d been a sensation in the minors and Puerto Rican winter league, Cruz, a left-handed batter, struggled with the Cardinals after debuting with them in 1970. His stock dropped so low that the Cardinals didn’t get anyone in return for him.

Instant upgrade

On Oct. 24, 1974, the Cardinals sent Cruz, 27, to the Astros in a cash transaction for $25,000.

A grateful Preston Gomez, the Astros’ manager, told The Sporting News, “This boy Cruz is better than anybody we had on the ballclub last year. He can hit with power, has better than average speed and he has a good arm.”

(Gomez had his eye on Cruz for several years. In 1971, as manager of the Padres, Gomez told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch he was impressed by Cruz and teammate Luis Melendez. “I like Cruz the best of the lot,” Gomez said of the Cardinals outfield prospects in April 1971. “Melendez is quite a ballplayer, too … I’d take either him or Cruz right now. I wish we had something to offer the Cardinals.”)

Cruz told the Houston Chronicle, “I can hit .300 if I play regularly.”

Cruz spent 13 seasons with the Astros, batting .292 with 1,937 hits in 1,870 games. He twice was named a National League all-star (1980 and 1985), won two Silver Sluggers awards (1983-84), led the league in hits (with 189 in 1983) and helped the Astros to the first three postseason appearances in franchise history.

Struggles in St. Louis

Though impressed by his range and arm, the Cardinals had found Cruz to be an undisciplined hitter, who regularly swung at bad pitches.

Cruz made 89 outfield starts for the 1972 Cardinals and batted .235. In 1973, he made 110 outfield starts for St. Louis and hit .227.

By 1974, Cruz was relegated primarily to being a pinch-hitter and late-inning defensive replacement. He made 25 outfield starts for the 1974 Cardinals and batted .261. He hit .217 as a pinch-hitter that season.

Forgotten man

“The Redbirds had been losing patience with Cruz, who seemed to be leaving too many hits in the winter leagues,” The Sporting News reported.

With Jerry Mumphrey, Jim Dwyer and Larry Herndon also vying for outfield playing time, the Cardinals deemed Cruz expendable. The Sporting News described Cruz as “a forgotten man” most of the 1974 season.

In five seasons with the Cardinals, Cruz batted .247 with 298 hits in 445 games, 26 home runs and 128 RBI.

With Bob Watson moving from the outfield to first base, Cruz was handed the Astros’ starting right field job in 1975. Gomez was fired that season _ he became a Cardinals coach for manager Red Schoendienst in 1976 _ but Cruz remained a starting outfielder for Houston every season through 1987.

Meanwhile, the Cardinals ended up with a void in right field. Reggie Smith was traded to the Dodgers in 1976. The Cardinals tried Hector Cruz, Jose’s brother, as the right fielder in 1977 and Jerry Morales in 1978. It wasn’t until 1979, when George Hendrick took over, that the position stabilized.

Recalling his Cardinals days, Cruz said to Bernie Miklasz of the Post-Dispatch in 1985, “I don’t know if I really had the chance here (in St. Louis), but … the Cardinals did me a favor by sending me to Houston. I got a chance there.”

In May 1988, Jack Clark, a slugger on two Cardinals pennant-winning clubs (1985 and 1987), told Kenny Hand of the Houston Post, “Jose Cruz never got the recognition he deserved. He swings the bat like George Brett. He has been one of the best hitters in the game. I consider myself a good hitter. Jose Cruz is a great hitter. He’s always looked so natural, used the whole field. I have power, but if I could do everything he can do I’d be a great hitter.”

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Jim Edmonds was dandy for Cardinals in 2004 NLCS

Posted in Games, Hitters, Opponents on October 20, 2014| Leave a Comment »

(Updated Dec. 8, 2024)

Teetering on the brink of another letdown in their bid to end a pennant drought, the Cardinals got the matchup they sought against the Astros in Game 6 of the 2004 National League Championship Series.

Jim Edmonds provided the desired result.

On Oct. 20, 2004, Edmonds launched a two-run, walkoff home run in the 12th inning, carrying the Cardinals to a 6-4 victory at St. Louis.

Kept alive by Edmonds’ home run, the Cardinals won Game 7 _ helped, in part, by a diving catch by Edmonds that prevented two runs from scoring in the second inning _ and earned their first National League pennant in 17 years.

Under manager Tony La Russa, the Cardinals had gotten to the National League Championship Series three previous times (1996, 2000 and 2002) but couldn’t clinch a pennant.

It appeared during Game 6 in 2004 that the Cardinals would fall short again.

Sense of dread

After scoring four runs in the first 2.1 innings off starter Peter Munro, the Cardinals were held scoreless by four Astros relievers _ Chad Harville, Chad Qualls, Dan Wheeler and Brad Lidge _ over the next 8.2 innings.

Lidge, the Astros’ closer, had been especially dominating. St. Louis Post-Dispatch columnist Bernie Miklasz described him as “bulletproof.”

Lidge, who entered in the ninth, retired all nine batters he faced. He struck out five, including Edmonds. Only one batter, pinch-hitter Marlon Anderson, who flied to left in the 11th, hit a ball out of the infield against Lidge.

Miklasz wrote that “a growing sense of dread spread through Busch Stadium” as Lidge mowed down the Cardinals.

Lidge, though, had been stretched to the limit with his three innings of relief. He had appeared in 80 games during the regular season and never had worked more than a two-inning stint.

In the 12th, manager Phil Garner lifted Lidge _ along with the Cardinals’ hopes.

High pitch, high drive

Dan Miceli, a right-hander pitching for his 10th big-league team, replaced Lidge.

After Miceli walked leadoff batter Albert Pujols, Scott Rolen popped out.

Edmonds batted next, giving La Russa the matchup he wanted. In the 2004 regular season, left-handed batters hit .307 versus Miceli, with seven home runs. Edmonds hit 37 of his 42 home runs against right-handers in 2004. More than half of Edmonds’ hits (83 of 150) that season were for extra bases.

“I was yelling at him, ‘Hit a line drive. Let’s get first and third.’ That’s all I wanted,” La Russa said to the Associated Press.

On an 0-and-1 pitch, Edmonds got a high, tight fastball, and sent it on a majestic arch over the right-field fence. Check out the You Tube video.

“I got the pitch up again and they hit it out again,” said Miceli, who yielded home runs to Pujols and Rolen in the eighth inning of Game 2.

Said Edmonds: “I wasn’t trying to go deep. I was just trying to hit the ball hard.”

La Russa, delighted Edmonds hadn’t settled for the single he’d been urging him to hit, said, “I didn’t feel too smart. Just happy. Happy and stupid.” Boxscore

Ten years later, in 2014, La Russa told Cardinals Magazine, “He was such a terrific big-game player I wasn’t surprised that he delivered. You’re talking about an individual who is very strong mentally. He was going to keep grinding.”

Big catch

Ahead 1-0 in the second inning of Game 7, the Astros had two on when Brad Ausmus drilled a Jeff Suppan pitch to left-center. An extra-base hit would give the Astros and their ace, Roger Clemens, a 3-0 lead, but Edmonds, with his back to the infield, dived, stretched and snared the ball for the out. The Cardinals went on to win, 5-2. Boxscore

Recalling the catch in an interview for the 2016 Cardinals Yearbook, Edmonds said when he saw where Suppan’s pitch was headed, he adjusted his fielding position, taking a step back.

“Ausmus hit it right where I thought he was going to hit it,” Edmonds said. “I got a really good jump, and when I get a jump like that, I expect to make the catch.” Video

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Why Cardinals traded popular, productive Joe Torre

Posted in Hitters, Trades on October 13, 2014| 4 Comments »

(Updated April 14, 2025)

Having achieved personal success while falling short of the team goal, Joe Torre’s six-year stay with the Cardinals came to an unsatisfying end.

On Oct. 13, 1974, Torre was dealt to the Mets for pitchers Ray Sadecki and Tommy Moore.

Popular and productive, Torre hit .308 with 1,062 hits in 918 games for the Cardinals from 1969-74. His on-base percentage in that time was .382, nearly 20 points better than his career mark.

Though a multi-time all-star who regularly ranked among baseball’s top hitters, Torre exceeded all expectations in 1971 when he led the National League in hits (230), RBI (137) and batting average (.363) and was awarded the NL Most Valuable Player honor over Willie Stargell of the World Series champion Pirates.

Time for change

After the 1974 season, the Cardinals were ready to make Keith Hernandez, 21, their first baseman. In an interview with United Press International, Cardinals manager Red Schoendienst said of Hernandez, “He looks like a tremendous prospect. We had to make room for him.”

Though Torre also played third base and catcher, the Cardinals were set at those positions with Ken Reitz and Ted Simmons.

At 34 and with a yearly salary of $150,000, Torre was deemed expendable.

“His ample salary and his age may have been factors in arranging the deal,” the Associated Press reported. “He was one of a half dozen Cardinals players earning more than $100,000.”

Torre, too, was expecting a departure. In his book “Chasing the Dream,” Torre said, “I knew I wasn’t going to be back with the Cardinals. They had brought up a young first baseman from the minor leagues named Keith Hernandez and made him eligible for the playoffs if we won the East.”

Falling short

The Cardinals, though, finished in second place in the National League East Division in 1974 for the second consecutive year and for the third time in four seasons. They never qualified for the postseason during Torre’s time with the club.

Torre in 1974 hit .312 for the Cardinals in July and .320 in August before he slumped to a .200 batting mark with 22 strikeouts in September. After the season, The Sporting News reported Torre had played the last month of the season with a cracked thumb.

When Torre was acquired by the Cardinals from the Braves for Orlando Cepeda in March 1969, the Cardinals were a premier team, the two-time defending National League champions. “Torre did a heck of a job for us,” Cardinals general manager Bing Devine said. “I’m sincere when I say he took me off the spot by doing so well for us after we traded Cepeda for him.”

Meet the Mets

The Braves almost dealt Torre to the Mets instead of to the Cardinals. “The Mets thought they had him before the 1969 season and Gil Hodges, who was then their manager, went so far as to tell Torre during spring training that, ‘You’ll be with us in a couple of days.’ But that deal fell through because the Mets refused to part with Amos Otis, then a red-hot prospect to play center field for New York,” United Press International reported.

Six years later, the Mets finally got their man. It was the first trade for Mets general manager Joe McDonald, who would become general manager of the Cardinals from 1982-84.

“We’ve needed another right-handed hitter in our lineup and Torre gives us that,” Mets manager Yogi Berra said.

Said Torre, a Brooklyn native: “If I had to be traded anywhere, I’m glad I’m going to New York.”

Devine said Torre didn’t want to be a Cardinals reserve and his first choice among teams to be dealt to was the Mets.

In his book, Torre revealed, “I was going to a team whose season had just ended with 91 losses. That was a very fragile time for me. On top of being unhappy with my marriage, I hit rock bottom in the big leagues with a losing team. And to make matters worse, I became a part-time player. I hated it _ and it showed.”

Aftermath of the deal

Though Torre was the Mets’ starting third baseman on Opening Day in 1975, he eventually was platooned at first base with Ed Kranepool and at third base with Wayne Garrett. Torre hit .247 in 114 games for the 1975 Mets.

“In 1975, for the first time in my life, I dreaded going to the ballpark,” Torre said. “Baseball felt like work. I thought maybe it was time to quit.”

Torre became Mets player-manager in 1977 after he rejected a trade to the Yankees. As Torre recalled to Cardinals Yearbook in 2014, “In 1976, I was approached by Mets general manager Joe McDonald and he said, ‘How would you like to be traded to the Yankees?’ I didn’t jump at it … I said, ‘Not if it’s going to affect my chances of managing this team at some point.’ ”

Torre would manage the Mets, Braves, Cardinals, Yankees and Dodgers, winning four World Series titles with the Yankees and earning induction into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 2014.

The pitchers the Cardinals got from the Mets for Torre had short stays.

Moore, 26, was 0-0 with a 3.86 ERA in 10 relief appearances for the Cardinals before he was traded in June 1975 with shortstop Ed Brinkman to the Rangers for outfielder Willie Davis.

Sadecki, 34, was in his second stint with St. Louis. He’d been a 20-game winner for the 1964 Cardinals and got the win in Game 1 of the World Series that year. In 1975, Sadecki was 1-0 with a 3.27 ERA in eight relief appearances for the Cardinals before being traded in May with pitcher Elias Sosa to the Braves for pitcher Ron Reed and outfielder Wayne Nordhagen.

Nine years earlier, in 1966, the Cardinals had sent Sadecki to the Giants for Cepeda. In proving the adage “what goes around, comes around,” the Cardinals dealt Sadecki for Cepeda, who later was traded to the Braves for Torre, who eventually was traded to the Mets for Sadecki.

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Scott Rolen and his strange stat line in 2004 NLDS

Posted in Games, Hitters on October 6, 2014| Leave a Comment »

Cardinals third baseman Scott Rolen followed the most consistently excellent regular-season performance of his career with a postseason effort that was extraordinarily erratic.

In 2004, the Cardinals won three of four games against the Dodgers in the National League Division Series, even though Rolen went hitless.

Super season

In the 2004 regular season, Rolen achieved career highs in home runs (34), RBI (124), batting average (.314), on-base percentage (.409) and slugging percentage (.598). His RBI total was second only to the 131 of the Rockies’ Vinny Castilla in the National League.

Rolen also was named a National League all-star in 2004, won a Gold Glove Award and finished fourth in the league’s Most Valuable Player Award balloting, behind Barry Bonds of the Giants, Adrian Beltre of the Dodgers and teammate Albert Pujols.

However, Rolen missed 16 games from Sept. 11 through Sept. 27 because of a calf strain. He still was experiencing soreness in the calf when the Cardinals opened the Division Series versus the Dodgers on Oct. 5, but he told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch he was “close to being close” to 100 percent.

Like 0-for-a-zillion

What happened next was unexpected. Rolen played in all four game of the Division Series and was hitless in 12 at-bats. He did walk six times, so along with a .000 batting average for the series Rolen had a .333 on-base percentage.

Batting in the cleanup spot, Rolen drew three walks in Game 4, a 6-2 Cardinals victory that eliminated the Dodgers and advanced St. Louis to the National League Championship Series versus the Astros. Boxscore

Said Rolen, who had sat out most of the 2002 postseason because of a shoulder injury: “I’m standing here after going 0-for-a-zillion and this feels so much better (than 2002). We’ve put ourselves in a position to do something special and I’m just glad to be part of it.”

Asked by Derrick Goold of the Post-Dispatch how he planned to end his slump before facing the Astros, Rolen replied, “I’m going to assess, approach, focus … Oh, that sounded pretty corny. A LaRussaism. He’s getting it in my head. That’s what Tony would say.”

Actually, what Cardinals manager Tony La Russa told Goold was: “Sometimes you have to go beyond the stats. (Rolen) was not a hitless hitter in the Dodgers series. You watch his at-bats, he had tough bases on balls.”

Timing is key

Cardinals hitting coach Mitchell Page said he told Rolen that six walks are as good as six singles.

“What six walks tells you is that they were pitching him careful,” Page said. “They weren’t just going to put something down the middle for him to hit.”

Rolen, though, acknowledged he had fouled off pitches he should have stroked for hits.

“My timing might have been here and there,” said Rolen. “I’m pulling some balls foul that I don’t normally pull foul.”

Rolen recovered, hitting .310 (9-for-29) with three home runs and six RBI in the League Championship Series. He produced the key hit, a two-run home run off Roger Clemens that snapped a 2-2 tie in the sixth inning of Game 7 and lifted St. Louis to a 5-2 pennant-clinching victory. Boxscore

Then, in the World Series versus the Red Sox, Rolen slumped again, going hitless in 15 at-bats.

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Why George Shuba put fear in Cardinals pitchers

Posted in Games, Hitters, Opponents on October 3, 2014| Leave a Comment »

George “Shotgun” Shuba wasn’t an all-star, but he played like one against the Cardinals.

In seven seasons (1948-50, 1952-55) as a Dodgers outfielder, Shuba hit .259.

His career batting average against the Cardinals: .337 (33-for-98).

As a rookie in 1948, Shuba hit .267 in 63 games for the Dodgers.

Against the Cardinals that season, Shuba hit .385 (10-for-26), including .471 (8-for-17) at St. Louis’ Sportsman’s Park.

In his 1971 book “The Boys of Summer,” Roger Kahn wrote of Shuba, “His abiding love was hitting. All the rest was work. But touching a bat, blunt George became The Shotgun, spraying line drives with a swing so compact and so fluid that it appeared as natural as a smile.”

Two of the best performances of Shuba’s career came versus the Cardinals as a rookie.

Double trouble

On July 18, 1948, in the second game of a doubleheader at St. Louis, Shuba, a left-handed batter, was a prominent part of a Dodgers onslaught.

Brooklyn scored 13 runs in the first two innings. Each of the first 17 Dodgers batters reached base safely. Each of the three outs in the five-run Dodgers first was recorded on the base paths. The 17 reached base on four doubles, five singles, six walks and two force outs.

In the first, after Pee Wee Reese doubled and Jackie Robinson walked, Jim Hearn’s first two pitches to Gene Hermanski missed the plate.

Cardinals manager Eddie Dyer lifted Hearn and replaced him with Al Brazle. Hermanski drew a walk, loading the bases.

Shuba then ripped a two-run double.

In the second, with Gerry Staley pitching, Shuba doubled again, scoring Robinson, who had singled.

Shuba finished 3-for-5 with 3 RBI and 2 runs scored, sparking the Dodgers to a 13-4 triumph. Boxscore

Cardinals nemesis

The next month, Aug. 30, 1948, Shuba led the Dodgers to an improbable comeback victory versus the Cardinals in the first game of a doubleheader at St. Louis.

Cardinals starter Murry Dickson carried a 5-2 lead into the ninth. Hermanski led off with a single and Shuba followed with a double, advancing Hermanski to third. Pete Reiser doubled, driving in Hermanski and Shuba and cutting the Cardinals’ lead to 5-4.

Ted Wilks relieved Dickson. After the Dodgers tied the score at 5-5, Shuba came to the plate with Arky Vaughan on third and Bruce Edwards on first, one out.

Shuba singled to right, scoring Vaughan with the run that completed a four-run ninth and brought the Dodgers a 6-5 victory. Boxscore

Of all the Cardinals pitchers Shuba raked during his career, Wilks was his favorite. Shuba hit . 833 (5-for-6) with 4 RBI vs. Wilks.

Shuba had two other noteworthy games against the Cardinals.

He drove in three runs, including a two-run, two-out home run off Joe Presko, in a 10-4 Dodgers victory over the Cardinals on Aug. 24, 1952, at St. Louis. Boxscore

A year later, Aug. 1, 1953, Shuba was 3-for-4 with two runs scored in the Dodgers’ 11-4 win against the Cardinals at St. Louis. Boxscore

Previously: How Andy Pafko gave Cardinals inside-the-glove home run

Previously: Duke Snider, Stan Musial put on big show

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Mike Matheny sparked Cards over Dodgers in 2004 NLDS

Posted in Games, Hitters, Opponents, Pitchers on October 1, 2014| Leave a Comment »

Catcher Mike Matheny played a big role for the Cardinals in the 2004 National League Division Series versus the Dodgers.

On Oct. 5, 2004, Matheny contributed a solo home run against reliever Elmer Dessens in the Cardinals’ 8-3 victory in Game 1 of the best-of-five series at St. Louis.

Cardinals fans rewarded him with an ovation and urged a curtain call. A hesitant Matheny went to the top step of the dugout and acknowledged the sustained applause.

“It’s a huge honor,” Matheny, 34, said to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. “It’s taken me five years (with the Cardinals) and this is the first year I’ve had one. I didn’t know how to get out there.” Boxscore

Hot hitter

Two days later, on Oct. 7, 2004, the Cardinals entered Game 2, knowing a victory would give them control of the series.

In the fifth inning, with the Cardinals ahead, 4-3, Matheny batted against starter Jeff Weaver with the bases loaded, two outs, and stroked a two-run single to center, giving the Cardinals a 6-3 lead and knocking Weaver out of the game.

“He gets fired up,” Cardinals manager Tony La Russa said.

Dan Haren, who followed starter Jason Marquis and Cal Eldred, held the Dodgers scoreless in the fifth and sixth, stabilizing the game for St. Louis. It was an impressive effort for a pitcher making his first postseason appearance.

A grateful La Russa called Haren, 24, “a cool dude” and “tough as nails” and said Haren’s shutdown of the Dodgers “turned the momentum.”

Said Matheny: “He came into a tough situation and made pitches right away.”

RBI record

In the seventh, the Cardinals, looking to stretch their three-run lead, had Reggie Sanders on second and Edgar Renteria on third, with two outs. Though first base was open and pitcher Ray King was on deck, the Dodgers decided to pitch to Matheny and he singled to left off a first-pitch curve from Giovanni Carrera, scoring both runners. The Cardinals won by the same score as the opener, 8-3. Boxscore

“The hit (Matheny) got off Weaver, he hit a good pitch,” said Dodgers manager Jim Tracy. “It was a breaking ball down and away and he got it. In the seventh, that wasn’t a good pitch.”

Wrote Post-Dispatch columnist Bernie Miklasz: “The Dodgers probably wonder how it is that Matheny became Johnny Bench.”

Matheny became the first Cardinals hitter to produce four RBI in a Division Series game.

“I know that I haven’t put up huge (regular-season) numbers offensively, but I also know what my purpose is on this team,” Matheny said. “First of all, it’s behind the plate _ and I put a whole lot more pressure and expectations on myself back there.”

The Cardinals eliminated the Dodgers with a Game 4 triumph, advancing to the National League Championship Series against the Astros. The Cardinals beat the Astros in four of seven games, winning their first pennant in 17 years and progressing to the World Series against the Red Sox.

Previously: Why Mike Matheny ended his playing career as a Giant

Previously: Pitcher for 1964 Cardinals was mentor to Mike Matheny

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