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Tough task: How Charlie James tried succeeding Stan Musial

Posted in Games, Hitters on January 13, 2014| Leave a Comment »

(Updated April 19, 2025)

After Stan Musial retired, Charlie James was chosen to replace him as the Cardinals’ left fielder in 1964.

Three months into the season, James was replaced by Lou Brock.

charlie_james2 A St. Louis native, James was a standout athlete at Webster Groves High School and went on to play halfback for the University of Missouri football team and outfield for the baseball team. After his junior season in football, James chose to pursue a career in baseball. The Cardinals signed him in January 1958 and, after a stint in the minors, he was promoted to the big leagues in August 1960.

While playing professional baseball, James earned a bachelor of science degree and a master’s degree in electrical engineering from Washington University in St. Louis.

During the winter, before reporting to spring training with the 1964 Cardinals, James taught electrical engineering courses as an instructor at Washington University. Cardinals infielder Dal Maxvill, also a Washington University graduate in electrical engineering, was moonlighting as a recruiter for the school’s engineering department and Charley Johnson, starting quarterback for the NFL St. Louis Cardinals, was working on his doctorate in chemical engineering there, The Sporting News noted.

Endorsed by Stan

James hit .268 with 10 home runs and 45 RBI in 116 games for the 1963 Cardinals. With Musial retiring and right fielder George Altman traded to the Mets, the Cardinals talked with the Giants about a trade of James and pitcher Ray Sadecki for outfielder Felipe Alou, The Sporting News reported.

Instead, the Cardinals went into 1964 spring training with James as the popular choice to replace Musial in left.

“Altman and I drove in 105 runs last year,” Musial said, “but I’m sure that James and (right fielder Carl) Warwick can do better than that playing all the time. I’m sure they’ll do much better.”

The Sporting News observed, “James, in particular, has been groomed to take Stan the Man’s place ever since he joined the varsity in 1960. Musial, in fact, back in 1959 pin-pointed the former Missouri gridder as the next major outfield star for the Cardinals.”

(According to the Houston Post, when reporters asked how he got along with Musial, James would grin and say, “Just fine. Stan goes his way and I go mine. He goes to the deposit window and I go to the withdrawal window.”)

James hit .320 in 20 spring training games in 1964 and appeared to validate the Cardinals’ confidence in him.

“Charlie is responding well to the challenge,” said manager Johnny Keane. “He knows it is his job and he’s going to keep it.”

Said Musial: “Charlie will get 15 to 20 homers for us.”

Goodbye, Charlie

The Cardinals opened the 1964 season with James in left, Curt Flood in center and Carl Warwick in right.

James, 26, had some big games early in the 1964 season:

_ April 22: He hit a three-run home run off Sandy Koufax in the Cardinals’ 7-6 victory over the Dodgers. Boxscore

_ May 8: He had three hits off Jack Fisher and scored twice in the Cardinals’ 5-4 loss to the Mets. Boxscore

_ May 15: He hit two home runs, one off starter Denny Lemaster and the other against Bobby Tiefenauer, in the Cardinals’ 10-6 victory over the Braves. Boxscore

A right-handed batter, James was hitting .281 on May 19 before he slumped, producing two hits in his next 22 at-bats and dropping his batting mark to .246. By June 15, the day the Cardinals acquired Brock from the Cubs, James was hitting .238.

James was limited to six starts after July 4. He ended the season with a .223 batting average, five home runs and 17 RBI in 88 games. He struggled to hit right-handed pitching, producing a .196 batting average, and was unproductive with runners in scoring position (.183).

With his hitting (.348) and speed (33 steals), Brock was the catalyst in propelling the Cardinals to the National League pennant.

James went hitless in three pinch-hit appearances against the Yankees in the 1964 World Series. After the season, he was traded to the Reds, played one season with them and launched a successful business career, eventually becoming president of Central Electric Co. in Fulton, Mo.

Previously: Gibson vs. Koufax: A grand game for Charlie James

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Why Cardinals passed on chance to draft Frank Thomas

Posted in Hitters, Prospects on January 10, 2014| 1 Comment »

Thinking they had the next Bo Jackson, the Cardinals turned down the chance to draft Frank Thomas.

In the first round of the June 1989 baseball draft, the Cardinals, with the sixth pick, selected outfielder Paul Coleman of Frankston (Texas) High School.

With the next pick, No. 7, the White Sox chose Thomas, a first baseman from Auburn University.

Thomas, a two-time winner of the American League Most Valuable Player Award, was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame on Jan. 8, 2014. Playing for the White Sox, Blue Jays and Athletics from 1990-2008, Thomas hit .301 with 521 home runs and 1,704 RBI in his big-league career.

Coleman never reached the major leagues.

The top seven selections in the first round of the 1989 draft:

1. Ben McDonald, pitcher, Orioles.

2. Tyler Houston, catcher, Braves.

3. Roger Salkeld, pitcher, Mariners.

4. Jeff Jackson, outfielder, Phillies.

5. Donald Harris, outfielder, Rangers.

6. Paul Coleman, outfielder, Cardinals.

7. Frank Thomas, first baseman, White Sox.

All except Jackson and Coleman played in the big leagues. Only Thomas made the Hall of Fame.

Sure bet

The Cardinals rated Coleman the fifth-best player in the draft, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported, and felt fortunate he was available at No. 6.

“We’ve been looking for a power hitter and we think Coleman is the type of guy who is going to come through,” Fred McAlister, Cardinals director of scouting, told Vahe Gregorian of the Post-Dispatch. “He’s built along the lines of a Bo Jackson.”

Coleman, 5 feet 11 and 215 pounds, hit .498 with 39 home runs in his high school career.

A right-handed batter, Coleman had 119 RBI in 93 high school games. As a senior, he was successful on all 25 of his stolen base attempts. He was 63-for-67 in steal attempts during his prep career.

“We’ve had five of our people look at him,” McAlister said. “I’ve seen him three times myself. He’s an outstanding individual. We’re very fortunate to have had the opportunity to select him.”

Cardinals scout Hal Smith, a former big-league catcher with St. Louis, saw Coleman hit a home run that soared more than 500 feet. “It just went on into the night and you never saw it again,” Smith said. “It left everything.”

Local hero

Coleman, the first outfielder chosen by the Cardinals in the first round since Andy Van Slyke in 1979, was delighted to be taken so early by St. Louis. “I lost my breath when I heard,” he said.

Said Sonny Perry, baseball coach at Frankston High School: “It’s the biggest thing that’s ever happened to this town. It’s the biggest thing that ever will happen to this town.”

Coleman spent five years in the Cardinals’ minor-league system, never advancing beyond Class AA.

His best professional season was in 1993 with the Cardinals’ Arkansas club in the Texas League. Playing for manager Joe Pettini as part of an outfield with John Mabry and Allen Battle, Coleman hit .244 with 24 doubles, seven home runs and 30 RBI in 123 games.

Big Hurt

Thomas, 6 feet 5 and 240 pounds, hit .403 with 19 home runs and 83 RBI for Auburn in 1989.

“He’s strong with outstanding power and not that bad defensively,” Al Goldis, White Sox scouting director, said to the Chicago Sun-Times on draft day. “He does need to lose weight, though.”

A year later, Aug. 2, 1990, Thomas made his big-league debut with the White Sox.

Previously: Frank Thomas let his bat do talking vs. Cardinals

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How Ray Lankford made a surprise Cardinals comeback

Posted in Hitters on January 5, 2014| 6 Comments »

After sitting out the 2003 baseball season, Ray Lankford worked on his hitting with the help of outfielders Carlos Beltran of the Royals and Moises Alou of the Cubs. At 36, Lankford was plotting a comeback to the big leagues.

Cardinals general manager Walt Jocketty, who traded Lankford to the Padres in August 2001, was looking for a left-handed batter to bolster the bench in 2004. He called Lankford and liked what he heard.

“A couple weeks ago, I was asking anybody if they’d seen or heard from Ray,” Jocketty said to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. “He’d just dropped out of sight. I got a call from his agent and was told (Lankford) missed playing. I talked to (Lankford) a while and got the sense he had a desire to come back home to St. Louis. I think he’s highly motivated.

“He’s had a year away from the game. Sometimes that will change a guy’s outlook toward things to the positive.”

On Jan. 9, 2004, the Cardinals signed Lankford to a minor-league contract and invited him to spring training as a non-roster player with no guarantee of earning a job.

Lankford, a prominent part of the Cardinals’ lineup from 1990-2001, was grateful for the opportunity. He hit .224 in 81 games for the 2002 Padres. “Weight issues and complications from knee surgery conspired to sap his productivity,” the Post-Dispatch reported.

Be a man

When Lankford was dealt to the Padres for pitcher Woody Williams on Aug. 2, 2001, his attitude toward the Cardinals, particularly manager Tony La Russa, was negative. “Lankford had voiced displeasure over what he termed La Russa’s lack of communication about his limited playing time,” wrote Rick Hummel of the Post-Dispatch. “La Russa wondered if Lankford’s dedication had waned in the midst of a multiyear deal that paid him $35.5 million over five years.”

Said La Russa: “Ray got comfortable more than anything else.”

In the Jan. 21, 2004, Post-Dispatch, in a story headlined “Lankford is eager to show he still has something left,” Hummel asked, “Will we see a different Lankford from the one who left the Cardinals bitter at manager Tony La Russa?”

Lankford responded, “I’ve moved on. What’s in the past is in the past. Kids hold grudges. Grown men move forward. I’m moving forward. I’m sure Tony’s doing the same thing. I want to win. He wants to win.

“I’m going to camp with eyes wide open and try to make the team. I’ve never been in a situation where I had to try to make a team.”

Back in business

The improbable turned into the remarkable. Lankford made the team and was named the 2004 Cardinals’ Opening Day left fielder.

He hit .280 in April and remained the Cardinals’ starter for the first three months of the season in an outfield with Jim Edmonds in center and Reggie Sanders in right. Lankford’s batting average through June was .266.

In July, though, he developed a sore right wrist and it hurt his swing. Lankford batted .154 in July and the Cardinals placed him on the disabled list on July 25. Three weeks later, they acquired slugger Larry Walker from the Rockies.

Walker took over the right field job, with Sanders moving to left. Lankford sat out all of August. When he returned in September, he was ineffective, hitting .083 in a reserve role.

Still, his surprise contributions in the first half of the season helped the Cardinals start strong on their way to a 105-57 record and first-place finish in the National League Central Division.

Lankford played more games in left field (66) and made more starts at that position (43) than anyone else on the 2004 Cardinals. In 92 games, he batted .255 with six home runs.

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Do Cards still win if Dick Groat gets dealt for Roger Maris?

Posted in Hitters, Trades on January 2, 2014| Leave a Comment »

(Updated Dec. 20, 2019)

Dick Groat and Roger Maris, players who helped the Cardinals win World Series championships in the 1960s, might never have played for St. Louis if the Pirates and Athletics had completed a proposed trade involving them.

In December 1959, the Pirates were close to dealing Groat to the Athletics for Maris but backed off at the last moment. Spurned, the Athletics turned to the Yankees and traded Maris to New York.

The decisions worked out well for the Pirates and Yankees _ and, eventually, for the Cardinals.

Groat, the Pirates’ shortstop, won the 1960 National League Most Valuable Player Award and helped the Pirates win the pennant and World Series championship, their first since 1925. Maris, the Yankees’ right fielder, won the 1960 American League Most Valuable Player Award and helped the Yankees win their 10th pennant in 12 seasons under manager Casey Stengel.

Two years later, in December 1962, the Pirates traded Groat to the Cardinals and he helped them win the 1964 World Series title, their first in 18 years. In December 1966, Maris was dealt by the Yankees to the Cardinals and he helped them win consecutive pennants and the 1967 World Series championship.

If Groat had been traded for Maris in December 1959, the chances of both landing with the Cardinals likely would have been diminished.

Pirates wanted power

Pirates general manager Joe L. Brown went to the 1959 baseball winter meetings determined to trade for a slugger. He told The Sporting News he made offers for Tigers outfielder Al Kaline, Indians outfielder Rocky Colavito, Senators third baseman Harmon Killebrew and Maris, an outfielder for the Athletics.

“Cleveland turned us down quickly for Colavito, but Detroit, Kansas City and Washington considered our propositions,” Brown said.

The Athletics wanted a shortstop because their starter, Joe DeMaestri, was considering retirement. If the Pirates would deal Groat, the Athletics were willing to send them Maris. Brown and Athletics general manager Parke Carroll agreed to make the trade.

Interviewed for the book “Roger Maris: Baseball’s Reluctant Hero,” Groat recalled, “I heard it was cut-and-dried.”

George Weiss, general manager of the Yankees, told The Sporting News in January 1960 that the Pirates came close to completing the deal for Maris.

The proposed deal was for the Athletics to send Maris, DeMaestri and catcher Hal Smith to the Pirates for Groat, center fielder Bill Virdon, pitcher Ron Kline and catcher Hank Foiles, The Sporting News reported. According to the Pittsburgh Press, the deal was Groat, Kline, outfielder Roman Mejias and pitcher Dick Hall to the Athletics for Maris, Smith and pitcher Ned Garver.

Under the headline “Swap Groat? Very Thought Jars Bucs Fans,” The Sporting News wrote, “The shocker developed when Dick Groat’s name bobbed up in discussions with several American League teams, notably the Senators and Athletics … Word from Kansas City has revealed that Groat’s name also was bandied about when the Pirates sought outfielder Roger Maris.”

Pirates manager balks

According to the Maris biography by co-authors Tom Clavin and Danny Peary, Brown and Pirates manager Danny Murtaugh stepped out of the room during a break in the talks with the Athletics.

Said Groat: “When they got out in the hallway, Danny said, ‘I don’t want to trade Groat.’ And they called it off.”

In a slightly different version, Brown told The Sporting News, “I believe we could have completed the deal for Maris, but the more I thought it over I felt perhaps we were giving up too much.”

“If we had gone through with this trade,” Brown added, “it would have been Page One in Pittsburgh and Kansas City.”

Wrote The Sporting News: “Chances are that thoughts of operating next season without Groat were the factor in casting the negative vote in Brown’s scheme. Brown and his aides probably couldn’t have visualized a Pirates team without the steadiness of Groat and thus backed out on the trade talk.”

On Dec. 11, 1959, the Athletics swapped Maris, DeMaestri and first baseman Kent Hadley to the Yankees for outfielders Hank Bauer and Norm Siebern, pitcher Don Larsen and first baseman Marv Throneberry.

“Had I gone to Kansas City, I’d have been buried for my career,” a grateful Groat told the Maris biographers.

Groat was the 1960 National League batting leader at .325 and paced the Pirates in hits (186).

Maris was the 1960 American League RBI leader with 112. He slugged 39 home runs and topped the league in slugging percentage (.581).

Previously: Cardinals nearly traded Bob Gibson to Senators

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Though speedy, Curt Flood was no Lou Brock as base stealer

Posted in Hitters on December 26, 2013| Leave a Comment »

An email exchange among members of the Society for American Baseball Research offered a statistic about Curt Flood that surprised me.

In 1958, his rookie season with the Cardinals, Flood attempted 14 stolen bases and was caught 12 times.

Flood had speed. Even if some of the failed steal attempts were botched hit-and-run plays, he should have been successful more than twice in 14 tries in 1958.

In a March 5, 1958, article headlined “Flood Can Run _ Cards Hoping For Great Jump, Too,” The Sporting News reported Johnny Temple, Flood’s manager in the 1957 winter league in Venezuela, told Cardinals general manager Bing Devine that Flood “is one of the best I’ve seen in baserunning.”

But that speed didn’t transform him into a top base stealer.

Flood, 20, was caught stealing in his first attempt of 1958, was successful on his second and then had just one steal in his last 12 tries. He was unsuccessful in his last eight consecutive steal attempts.

Flood’s two steals in 1958 came against the Pirates and the battery of pitcher Bob Friend and catcher Danny Kravitz on May 24 Boxscore and against the Reds and the battery of pitcher Don Newcombe and catcher Ed Bailey on June 18. Boxscore

Bailey also nailed Flood twice that season (both times with Brooks Lawrence pitching).

Four other catchers also twice threw out Flood attempting to steal in 1958: Joe Pignatano of the Dodgers, John Roseboro of the Dodgers and Carl Sawatski of the Phillies. Don Drysdale was the pitcher who teamed with Roseboro on both plays.

Other catchers who caught Flood trying to steal in 1958: Del Crandall of the Braves, Joe Lonnett and Stan Lopata, both of the Phillies and Sammy Taylor of the Cubs.

Flood never developed into an exceptional base stealer. In 12 seasons with the Cardinals, Flood had 88 steals and was caught 72 times. That’s a success rate of 55 percent.

By comparison, his teammate, Lou Brock, had 888 steals in 1,173 attempts during his 16 Cardinals seasons. That’s a success rate of 75 percent.

In 1963, Flood had a single-season career high of 17 steals for the Cardinals. He was caught 12 times that year.

His most successful single-season rate was when he had 14 steals in 21 attempts for the 1966 Cardinals. That’s a success rate of 66 percent.

Previously: George Crowe: mentor to Curt Flood

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Collision with Cardinal almost cost Mark Ellis a leg

Posted in Games, Hitters, Opponents on December 20, 2013| Leave a Comment »

Mark Ellis nearly lost a leg when injured playing against the Cardinals.

Less than two years later, a healthy Ellis has joined the Cardinals as a reserve infielder and mentor to second baseman Kolten Wong.

Ellis, 36, a free-agent second baseman, signed a one-year contract with the Cardinals on Dec. 16, 2013. In 11 big-league seasons with the Athletics, Rockies and Dodgers, Ellis has a .265 batting average and 1,311 hits. He ranks third in fielding percentage among active major-league second basemen at .9907, behind Placido Polanco (.9927) and Dustin Pedroia (.9909).

On May 18, 2012, Ellis was playing second base for the Dodgers against the Cardinals at Los Angeles. In the seventh inning, with the score tied at 4-4, Tyler Greene was the baserunner at first for the Cardinals when Shane Robinson grounded to shortstop.

Dee Gordon fielded the ball and tossed it to Ellis, covering second. Greene slid into Ellis, who landed hard on his lower left leg.

Ellis remained in the game and lined out leading off the bottom of the seventh. When the pain and swelling in his leg increased, Ellis was replaced before the start of the eighth. The Dodgers won, 6-5. Boxscore

Dodgers manager Don Mattingly called the play “clean” and “a good, hard slide,” reported Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

Greene said he wasn’t trying to hurt Ellis. “There’s nothing going on there,” Greene said. “You’re trying to break up the double play. I don’t think he anticipated me being there as soon as I was. The way he came off the bag into the baseline he almost went right in front of it. I think he mistimed it.”

The next day, before the Cardinals played the Dodgers, Ellis told trainer Sue Falsone the leg still was causing pain. After an examination, Falsone and the Dodgers medical staff got Ellis to a hospital.

Doctors determined Ellis needed an emergency fasciotomy. Surgeons cut a six-inch incision into Ellis’ left calf to drain blood and fluid, the Los Angeles Times reported.

Mattingly said he was told by the team’s physician, Dr. Neal ElAttrache, that Ellis might have required amputation of the leg had he not undergone the urgent fasciotomy, MLB.com reported.

“Doc said that if that thing goes another six or seven hours (Ellis) has a chance to lose a leg,” Mattingly said.

Ellis spent five days in the hospital. When the swelling went down, Ellis was diagnosed with a sprained medial collateral ligament, according to the Orange County Register.

On July 4, 2012, Ellis returned to the Dodgers’ lineup and resumed being the everyday second baseman. He played 110 games in 2012 and produced 107 hits. In 910.1 innings at second base that season, Ellis committed only three errors.

Previously: How Cardinals pursued trade for Don Mattingly

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