Feeds:
Posts
Comments

Archive for the ‘Hitters’ Category

Grant Dunlap: From Cardinals pinch-hitter to novelist

Posted in Games, Hitters, Prospects on September 23, 2014| Leave a Comment »

Grant Dunlap possessed a variety skills. He was a winning coach in multiple sports, an accomplished author and a pinch-hitter deluxe for the Cardinals.

grant_dunlapDunlap played his lone big-league season with the 1953 Cardinals.

A Stockton, Calif., native, Dunlap, 17, was signed by the Reds in 1941. He was given an $870 bonus and used the money to pay for surgery for his mother. A year later, he joined the Marines, became an officer and served in the South Pacific and China during World War II.

In 1952, Dunlap was the Texas League batting champion, hitting .333 for Shreveport. The first baseman, a right-handed hitter, was purchased by the Cardinals in December 1952 and placed on the big-league roster. The Cardinals said Dunlap would compete with Steve Bilko and Dick Sisler for the everyday first base role.

Ready to hit

A 29-year-old rookie, Dunlap made a favorable impression when he joined the Cardinals at their spring training camp at St. Petersburg, Fla., in February 1953.

In its March 11 edition, The Sporting News reported, “Perhaps the outstanding ‘sleeper’ in camp is Grant Dunlap … In the early batting drills, he attracted attention and in the first squad game he swung at the first pitch and whacked the ball far over the left field wall into Tampa Bay. Dunlap looks like a hitter. He poises his bat and is ready for every pitch.”

Said Cardinals manager Eddie Stanky: “Dunlap looks pretty shifty around first base, too.”

Two weeks later, The Sporting News wrote, “Grant Dunlap is another substantial hitter on the Cardinals squad and may remain because of his prowess with the war club.”

Wounded warrior

Late in spring training, during a game against the Braves, Dunlap suffered an injury that derailed his chances of winning the first base job. After stroking a single, he was on first when Hal Rice hit a grounder to second baseman Jack Dittmer. Dunlap braked to avoid a tag and Dittmer threw out Rice at first.

First baseman Joe Adcock then pursued Dunlap, who got trapped in a rundown. In the frenzy, Adcock accidently stepped on Dunlap’s left foot. Dunlap suffered “a five-suture spike wound” near the instep and was “carried off the field on a stretcher to minimize bleeding,” The Sporting News reported.

Bilko opened the season as the Cardinals’ starting first baseman. Stanky kept Dunlap on the roster as a pinch-hitter.

St. Louis slugger

Dunlap’s first two big-league hits were significant.

In his third big-league at-bat, Dunlap got his first hit _ a pinch-hit home run off Ken Raffensberger in a 5-2 Reds victory at Cincinnati on May 10, 1953. Boxscore

A month later, Dunlap got his second hit and it produced a Cardinals victory.

On June 12, 1953, at New York’s Polo Grounds, the Giants led the Cardinals, 1-0. In the seventh, with Cardinals runners on first and second, one out, Dunlap drove a pinch-hit triple off the right field wall against Dave Koslo. Ray Jablonski and Rip Repulski scored, giving the Cardinals a 2-1 lead. Pitcher Harvey Haddix ran for Dunlap and scored on Solly Hemus’ sacrifice fly. The Cardinals won, 3-1. Boxscore

Used primarily as a pinch-hitter, Dunlap batted .353 (6-for-17) for the Cardinals, but couldn’t displace Bilko at first base and wasn’t getting at-bats. In August, the Cardinals sent Dunlap to their minor-league affiliate at Houston. Stanky predicted Dunlap would be “a terrific man” for Houston given the chance to play regularly.

On Aug. 11, 1953, Dunlap went 5-for-5 for Houston in a game against Dallas. He hit .277 in 35 games for Houston.

Life after baseball

After the season, the Cardinals sold Dunlap’s contract to their Rochester affiliate. In December 1953, Rochester traded Dunlap to another Class AAA club, Minneapolis, for pitcher Bill Connelly.

Dunlap spent the 1954 and 1955 seasons in the minor leagues. Then he began a successful second career.

An all-conference baseball and basketball player at Occidental College, Dunlap returned to the Los Angeles school in 1955 and coached both sports teams.

In 30 years as Occidental baseball coach, Dunlap had a 510-316 record and won nine conference titles. He was 205-156 with five league championships in 16 years as Occidental basketball coach. Dunlap also was the Occidental athletic director from 1971-76. He retired in 1984.

Dunlap wrote an acclaimed mystery novel “Kill the Umpire” that was published in 1998. Dunlap was praised for his vivid, lively prose, drawing on his minor-league experience to recreate the feel of the Texas League towns of the 1940s and what it was like to be a ballplayer in that time. The book is available on Amazon.

 

Read Full Post »

How Bake McBride and his mad dash led to a 25-inning win

Posted in Games, Hitters, Opponents, Pitchers, Records on September 8, 2014| 7 Comments »

(Updated Feb. 3, 2019)

No National League night game has gone more innings than the one played by the Cardinals and Mets on Sept. 11-12, 1974.

bake_mcbride2Beginning at 8:08 p.m. on Sept. 11 and ending at 3:15 a.m. on Sept, 12, the Cardinals beat the Mets, 4-3, in 25 innings at New York’s Shea Stadium. Started before a crowd of 13,460, it ended before about 1,000 spectators, including baseball commissioner Bowie Kuhn.

The Cardinals-Mets marathon remains the longest National League night game in innings played.

In the longest major-league game by innings, the Dodgers and Braves played to a 1-1 tie in 26 innings on May 1, 1920. That National League game was played on a Saturday afternoon at Braves Field in Boston. Boxscore

Only one 25-inning game has been played in the major leagues since the Cardinals-Mets classic in 1974. In an American League game, the White Sox, managed by Tony La Russa, beat the Brewers, 7-6, in 25 innings at Chicago’s Comiskey Park. That night game began on May 8, 1984, was suspended after 17 innings with the score tied at 3-3 and completed on May 9. Boxscore

With no National League curfew, the Cardinals and Mets played their 25-inning game without a stop in play.

When it ended, Cardinals outfielder Reggie Smith told his teammates, “There’s no way that your wives are going to believe you guys were out playing baseball all night.”

Reitz to the rescue

The Cardinals trailed, 3-1, entering the ninth. After Joe Torre struck out, Ted Simmons singled and was replaced by pinch-runner Larry Herndon. Herndon went to second on a wild pitch by starter Jerry Koosman, but Bake McBride struck out.

With the Mets an out away from victory, the Cardinals’ last hope, Ken Reitz, hit a two-run home run, tying the score at 3-3.

“I was looking for a fastball, a strike, and I got it,” Reitz said to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

Cardinals reliever Claude Osteen, who had a clear view of the home run from his perch in the bullpen, held his hands less than a foot apart when he told United Press International the ball “went out by about that much.”

Scoreless relief

For the next 15 innings, Cardinals and Mets relievers threw shutouts.

Al Hrabosky, Rich Folkers, Ray Bare, Osteen and Sonny Siebert were the Cardinals relievers who stopped the Mets in extra innings. Osteen pitched 9.1 innings _ the equivalent of a complete-game shutout.

A pair of former Cardinals, Harry Parker and Bob Miller, joined Bob Apodaca and Jerry Cram as the Mets relievers who stopped the Cardinals. Cram pitched eight innings.

They escaped several jams.

_ Torre was out at the plate trying to score on a single by McBride in the 13th.

_ In the 20th, the Cardinals had runners on first and second, no outs, but Smith was picked off at second and the threat fizzled.

_ In the 23rd, the Mets loaded the bases with two outs before Cleon Jones flied out.

_ Both teams loaded the bases with two outs in the 24th but failed to score.

Bake was cooking

Hank Webb relieved Cram in the 25th inning. McBride led off with an infield single and Reitz was up next.

Cardinals manager Red Schoendienst gave the hit-and-run sign. Webb made a pickoff throw, but it sailed over first baseman John Milner and rolled into foul territory in right field.

“I figured I could get to third,” McBride told the Associated Press. “Then, when I turned second, I said to myself, ‘I’m going all the way.’ ”

McBride raced around third without looking toward coach Vern Benson, who was showing the stop sign. “I didn’t see any sense in sending him home with nobody out,” Benson said.

Milner retrieved the ball and fired a throw to catcher Ron Hodges. McBride and the ball arrived at the plate about the same time. Hodges dropped the ball before he could attempt a tag.

“I don’t think he would have had me, even if he had held the ball,” McBride said. “He was out in front of the plate and I was past him.”

Benson saw it differently. “It was a good throw by Milner, and Hodges probably would have got McBride if he hadn’t taken his eyes off the ball,” Benson said.

The Cardinals led, 4-3, but the Mets still had their turn to bat.

Happy ending

Siebert retired the first two batters, Ken Boswell and Felix Millan, on fly outs.

Brock Pemberton, appearing in his second big-league game, batted for Webb and singled, prolonging the drama with his first big-league hit. When the ball was removed from the game so Pemberton would have a keepsake, Mets pitcher Tom Seaver quipped from the dugout, “Don’t give it to him. It’s the last ball we’ve got left.” (Fifteen dozen balls were used in the game, The Sporting News reported.)

Milner, the Mets’ top home run hitter, batted next.

Siebert struck him out, ending the game at 7 hours, 4 minutes. Boxscore

Dizzying stats

The Cardinals used 26 players and the Mets, 24. The Cardinals stranded 20 base runners and the Mets, 25.

Nine players played the entire game. They were McBride, Reitz, Smith, Torre and Ted Sizemore for the Cardinals; Millan, Milner, Wayne Garrett and Dave Schneck for the Mets.

“Ordinarily, I get two hits and it’s a decent night, but 2-for-11?” Schneck said to the New York Daily News.

McBride, Reitz and Millan each had four hits in 10 at-bats. Garrett was 0-for-10 with four strikeouts. Lou Brock, the Cardinals’ future Hall of Famer, was 1-for-9 and was caught stealing in his lone attempt.

The home plate umpire, Ed Sudol, also had worked the plate in a 23-inning game between the Mets and Giants in 1964 and a 24-inning game between the Mets and Astros in 1968.

“My legs feel like a couple of lead posts,” Sudol said.

Asked to sum up the long night, Mets pitcher Tug McGraw said, “The only thing I regret now is that all the eating places are closed. I’ll have to go home and make myself a baloney sandwich.”

Previously: Reggie Smith and the Cardinals’ after-hours club

Read Full Post »

The night Lou Brock broke the record for steals in a season

Posted in Games, Hitters, Records on September 5, 2014| Leave a Comment »

(Updated Jan. 25, 2024)

On the night he broke the record for stolen bases in a season, Lou Brock triggered a wide range of emotions. Cool Papa Bell was delighted. Maury Wills was melancholy. Bob Boone was bitter.

lou_brock10Brock was relieved.

“I’m glad to get it behind me,” Brock said to the Associated Press.

On Sept. 10, 1974, in an 8-2 Phillies victory over the Cardinals at St. Louis, Brock got his 104th and 105th stolen bases of the season, surpassing the mark of 104 established by Maury Wills of the 1962 Dodgers. The steals were the 739th and 740th of Brock’s career and made him the all-time National League leader, surpassing Max Carey, who swiped 738 for the Pirates and Dodgers from 1910-29.

In achieving the single-season record, Brock stole second base 100 times and third base five times.

Sorry, Maury

Brock, 35, got his 105 steals in 134 games. Wills got his 104 steals in 165 games. (The Dodgers and Giants had a three-game playoff after ending the 162-game schedule in a tie for first place.)

“I never thought anyone would approach the record this soon, probably not in my lifetime,” Wills said. “I just feel that was my record. I was very proud of it … I don’t think anyone looks forward to seeing his own record broken.”

Asked by The Sporting News to compare his skills with Brock’s, Wills replied, “I had more finesse and got a better lead, but I guess Brock has more speed.”

In his book “On the Run,” Wills said, “I wasn’t at the game when Brock stole his 105th base. I was at an NBC studio, waiting to comment on it. When it happened, they asked me how I felt about it. ‘I don’t like it at all,’ I said honestly. ‘I wasn’t pulling for him.’ ”

Hometown hero

The game against the Phillies on Sept. 10 was the Cardinals’ last at home before embarking on a trip to New York, Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. Brock was motivated to break the record at St. Louis.

“The only pressure was that which I’d put on myself by saying I wanted to do this at home,” Brock said.

In the first inning, before 27,285 at Busch Stadium, Brock led off with a single against Dick Ruthven. On the second pitch to the next batter, Ron Hunt, Brock broke for second and beat Boone’s throw, which bounced into center field. Brock was credited with a steal of second and advanced to third on the error.

Brock led off the seventh with a single. On Ruthven’s second pitch to Hunt, Brock took off and beat a wide throw from Boone to shortstop Larry Bowa for the record-breaking 105th steal. Video at 2-minute mark

“On 105, I felt my legs swaying just before I reached the base,” Brock said. “I didn’t even have enough energy to pop up with my slide. I guess I was pretty well spent.”

Salute to Lou

As Cardinals fans chanted “Lou, Lou, Lou,” the game was halted and Brock was honored in an on-field ceremony. Second-base umpire John McSherry shook hands with Brock. Bowa did, too.

Bell, a Negro League speedster who had been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame, presented Brock with the second-base bag. “We decided to give him his 105th base because if we didn’t he was going to steal it anyway,” Bell said.

Addressing the crowd, Brock thanked Ted Sizemore _ “My partner in crime.” _ who had batted behind him for most of the season and patiently took pitches in order to provide Brock with the chances to attempt steals.

Brock also thanked teammates Bake McBride and Reggie Smith “for helping me clock the pitcher’s delivery” and trainer Gene Gieselmann because he “pumps my legs up every day.”

Said Brock of the record: “The key to it all was getting on base enough and staying healthy.”

Sour grapes

Two innings later, with the Cardinals trailing by six, Brock led off the ninth and reached first on Bowa’s error. He tried to swipe second, but was caught by Boone.

Boone criticized Brock for running into an out with the Cardinals so far behind.

“I thought it was brutal,” Boone said. “When anybody tries to steal with his club six runs behind, he better darn sure make it. I lost a lot of respect for the man when he tried that … You just can’t get thrown out in that situation.

“My dad played with a guy named Jungle Jim Rivera and he was paid by the number of bases he stole. Maybe Brock’s got something like that in his contract, too. I don’t know why he did it. It wasn’t good baseball.”

Said Phillies third baseman Mike Schmidt: “What the hell’s he stealing for in the ninth inning?”

Replied Brock: “Sometimes you can make things happen by the unexpected.”

Green means go

Several Phillies defended Brock.

“Everybody knows he’s going to run and he still does and makes it most of the time,” Bowa said.

Said Phillies second baseman Dave Cash: “When a man steals 104 or 105 bases, you don’t put the red light on.”

Phillies pitcher Steve Carlton, Brock’s former Cardinals teammate, said, “These people came to see him run.” Boxscore

Brock finished the 1974 season with 118 steals. It was the only time in 19 seasons in the majors he swiped more than 74.

In 1979, Brock told writer Roger Angell, “That record meant the most, because it was the only one where I challenged. All the other records I just caught up with, because of time. They were milestones.”

Brock’s record of 118 steals in a season didn’t last long. In 1982, Rickey Henderson swiped 130 for the Athletics. Henderson is the big-league career leader in steals at 1,406. Brock is second at 938.

Read Full Post »

Joe Cunningham had powerful start to Cardinals career

Posted in Games, Hitters, Records on August 31, 2014| 3 Comments »

(Updated June 29, 2019)

Joe Cunningham hit for average, not for power, so the three home runs he slugged in his first two big-league games with the 1954 Cardinals were surprising.

joe_cunninghamA left-handed batter and first baseman, Cunningham, 22, began the 1954 season at Class AAA Rochester. On June 28, 1954, the Cardinals came to Rochester to play an exhibition game versus the Red Wings. Cardinals manager Eddie Stanky said the prospect he was most interested in seeing was Cunningham.

Cunningham had two singles and walked twice in four plate appearances against the Cardinals.

Impressed, the Cardinals decided to promote Cunningham. On June 29, 1954, before the Red Wings played a doubleheader against Havana at Rochester, Cunningham was told he would be joining the Cardinals in Cincinnati the next day.

Cunningham was replacing rookie first baseman Tom Alston. In 66 games, Alston, the Cardinals’ first black player, hit .246 with four home runs and 34 RBI, but he slumped in June (.181 batting average for the month).

Whirlwind journey

Cunningham planned to catch an overnight train from Rochester to Cincinnati after playing both games of the doubleheader against Havana, but because of the length of the games, he missed the train.

A member of the Rochester publicity staff agreed to drive Cunningham from Rochester to the Buffalo airport the next morning. Cunningham took a flight from Buffalo to Cincinnati, arrived in the afternoon and went to the ballpark.

Cunningham barely had time “to bolt down a meal, sign a contract and learn the club’s signs,” the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported.

Stanky put Cunningham in the starting lineup, batting him fifth against the Reds that night.

St. Louis slugger

In his debut game on June 30, 1954, Cunningham produced five RBI.

In the fifth inning, facing Art Fowler, a 32-year-old rookie, Cunningham hit a three-run home run for his first big-league hit, “a towering drive that landed well up into the right-field bleachers,” according to the Cincinnati Enquirer.

Cunningham followed with a two-run single off Harry Perkowski in the seventh, helping the Cardinals to an 11-3 victory. Boxscore

Immediately afterward, the Cardinals traveled to Milwaukee for a game the next day, July 1, 1954, against the Braves and their ace, Warren Spahn.

Cunningham hit two home runs off Spahn. The first was a 390-foot solo shot to right in the second inning. In the fifth, he connected for a three-run home run that landed just inside the right-field foul pole. The Cardinals won, 9-2. Boxscore

Dream come true

“This is just like a dream,” Cunningham said to the Associated Press. “I always wanted to be a big leaguer, but I had no idea it would come so soon.

“I left the minors in such a hurry I only brought along one pair of trousers,” Cunningham said. “I guess I’m still in a sort of shock. I had all my stuff at the cleaners and the only pants I’ve got are the ones I’ve been wearing.”

The next day, July 2, 1954, playing in his third game in his third city in three days, Cunningham was 1-for-3 with a single and a walk against the Cubs at Chicago. Boxscore

Cunningham finished the 1954 season with a .284 batting average, 11 home runs and 50 RBI in 85 games for the Cardinals.

In 12 big-league seasons, seven with the Cardinals, Cunningham hit .291 with 64 home runs. His single-season high in home runs was 12 for the 1958 Cardinals.

 

Read Full Post »

How Joe McEwing endeared himself to Tony La Russa

Posted in Games, Hitters, Records on August 29, 2014| Leave a Comment »

(Updated Oct. 23, 2017)

An overachiever with a team-oriented attitude, Joe McEwing was Tony La Russa’s kind of Cardinals player.

joe_mcewingMcEwing played for the Cardinals in 1998 and 1999 when La Russa was their manager. Called up from the minors in September 1998, McEwing, 25, made his big-league debut with the Cardinals and played in 10 games that month.

Ticketed for a utility role with the 1999 Cardinals, McEwing earned the second base job over Placido Polanco.

McEwing achieved a 25-game hitting streak from June 8-July 4. He broke the Cardinals rookie record held by Johnny Mize (22-game streak in 1936). McEwing’s streak was the longest by a Cardinals player since Lou Brock (26 consecutive games) in 1971.

“I appreciate Cardinal history,” McEwing said to columnist Bernie Miklasz of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch during the streak. “I’m a big fan of the game and to be mentioned in the same sentence with Johnny Mize, Lou Brock, Hall of Famers. You couldn’t ask for anything more.”

Asked whether he thought of the streak when he awoke each morning, McEwing replied to Miklasz, “When I get up, I worry about getting my coffee and doughnuts.”

Super streak

The streak began with a pair of singles against Royals starter Chris Fussell on June 8 at Kansas City. Boxscore

It reached 25 games in a row on July 4 with a home run off Diamondbacks starter Andy Benes, a former Cardinal. Boxscore

“He plays each game like it’s the seventh game of the World Series,” La Russa said of McEwing during the streak. “He is never different.”

Willie McGee, who had a 22-game streak for the 1990 Cardinals, said McEwing “deserves it. He works hard … He’s an outstanding person and an outstanding player.”

Beaten by the best

McEwing’s streak was snapped by Diamondbacks left-hander Randy Johnson on July 5. McEwing was 0-for-4 against Johnson, who won the National League ERA title and the second of his five Cy Young awards in 1999. In his last at-bat, McEwing lined out to left in the seventh with the bases loaded and two outs. Boxscore

“I told him he just got beat by a Hall of Famer,” La Russa said.

Added McEwing: “It was a good run and I enjoyed it.”

McEwing hit .318 during the streak, with 13 runs scored.

McEwing finished the 1999 season with a .275 batting average and 141 hits, including 28 doubles, in 152 games. He paced the Cardinals with 16 infield hits. McEwing made 85 starts at second base, 18 in center field, 16 in left and eight in right.

After the season, the Cardinals acquired second baseman Fernando Vina from the Brewers. During spring training in March 2000, the Cardinals traded McEwing to the Mets for reliever Jesse Orosco. McEwing helped the Mets win their first pennant in 14 years, eliminating the Cardinals in the National League Championship Series.

In eight big-league seasons with the Cardinals, Mets, Royals and Astros, McEwing batted .251 with 443 hits.

Read Full Post »

Leaving the Cardinals was twice as hard for Tim McCarver

Posted in Hitters, Trades on August 27, 2014| 1 Comment »

(Updated Sept. 10, 2025)

Being discarded by the Cardinals was tough on Tim McCarver the first time it happened. The second time was worse.

tim_mccarver4On Sept. 1, 1974, the Cardinals sold the contract of McCarver to the Red Sox.

At the time of the transaction, the Cardinals were in second place in the National League East, 2.5 games behind the Pirates.

It hurt McCarver that the Cardinals saw him as a liability rather than an asset in their late-season bid for a division championship.

McCarver, 32, was in his second stint with the Cardinals in 1974. He debuted with them as a teen catcher in 1959. A two-time all-star who finished runner-up to teammate Orlando Cepeda in voting for the 1967 Most Valuable Player Award, McCarver was an integral part of a Cardinals club that won three National League pennants and two World Series titles in the 1960s. His leadership skills and special bond with pitching ace Bob Gibson also were important.

Feeling the hurt

In October 1969, the Cardinals dealt McCarver, Curt Flood, Joe Hoerner and Byron Browne to the Phillies for Dick Allen, Cookie Rojas and Jerry Johnson. In his book “Oh, Baby, I Love It,” McCarver said, “When general manager Bing Devine broke the news to me about my going to Philly, he said it hurt him to do it. That’s like a father dangling a razor strap in front of his 4-year-old son and saying, ‘This is going to hurt me more than it’ll hurt you.’ Bull. Since St. Louis had been my baseball home since my rookie year, it had to hurt me more than a little, too.”

Reacquired by St. Louis in a November 1972 trade with the Expos for Jorge Roque, McCarver hit .266 with 49 RBI as a utility player for the 1973 Cardinals.

In 1974, McCarver’s role was to be the Cardinals’ top pinch-hitter, although he also filled in at catcher and at first base. He struggled, hitting .179 (7-for-39) as a pinch-hitter and .217 (23-for-106) overall. He produced one extra-base hit.

Bound for Beantown

On Aug. 29, as the Cardinals left San Diego to open a series in San Francisco, Bob Kennedy, Cardinals player personnel director, informed McCarver he likely would be dealt to the Athletics, who were atop the American League West and headed to their third consecutive World Series championship. The Athletics were seeking a veteran backup to catcher Ray Fosse.

“I thought I was being traded to Oakland,” McCarver said in his book. “When the Cards took a flight to San Francisco, I went with them, fully expecting to transfer across the bay.”

After arriving at San Francisco, McCarver called his wife, Anne, at their home in Memphis and said, “I need you.”

Said McCarver: “I was pretty depressed about leaving the Cards, who had a shot at the pennant that year. Anne flew from Memphis to San Francisco and we had dinner that night. The next morning, I got word that I was heading to (Boston).”

The Red Sox, who led the American League East, were seeking help for catcher Bob Montgomery, who was filling in for an injured Carlton Fisk.

“When the Red Sox picked me up, I hadn’t the slightest notion they had any interest in me,” McCarver said.

Trust issues

The transaction caught many by surprise. In The Sporting News, Peter Gammons reported this exchange with Red Sox manager Darrell Johnson: “On Aug. 30, Johnson was asked if the Sox were interested in Tim McCarver. ‘No,’ he answered, but McCarver was bought the next day.”

Wrote St. Louis reporter Neal Russo: “It’s usually the custom to add a few veterans for a club’s final push, but the Cardinals dropped one.”

With McCarver gone, the Cardinals called up prospects Marc Hill to back up catcher Ted Simmons and Keith Hernandez to back up first baseman Joe Torre.

In the end, neither the Cardinals nor the Red Sox qualified for the postseason. The Cardinals finished in second place, 1.5 games behind the Pirates, and Boston placed third, seven behind the first-place Orioles.

The Red Sox released McCarver in June 1975, but he signed with the Phillies. From 1975-79, one of his roles with the Phillies was being the personal catcher for Steve Carlton.

In the 2003 book “Few and Chosen,” Carlton said McCarver “was always thinking.”

“Tim’s a great bridge player,” Carlton noted, “and that’s a game where you have to remember what cards have been played. Tim brought that ability to the field as a catcher. He remembered the sequences of pitches we used to get a hitter out. He had great instincts. There was a synchronicity between us. He was uncanny. He has such a good mind, and he was a great strategist … I always thought Tim would have made a good manager.”

Read Full Post »

« Newer Posts - Older Posts »