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Willie McCovey and his legendary St. Louis home run

Posted in Broadcasters, Games, Hitters, Opponents on August 17, 2012| 15 Comments »

(Updated Jan. 30, 2023)

Before Mark McGwire, who played for the Cardinals from 1997-2001, another Big Mac, Willie McCovey of the Giants, hit the longest home run seen in St. Louis.

Cardinals broadcaster Mike Shannon has said the longest home run he has witnessed was hit by McCovey on Sept. 4, 1966, at St. Louis.

Leading off the third inning against Cardinals starter Al Jackson, McCovey hit a changeup that landed in the upper deck above the scoreboard in right-center field at Busch Memorial Stadium. The ballpark opened four months earlier, in May 1966.

Shannon was playing right field for the Cardinals that day and “had a good look” at McCovey’s home run. Shannon said he later asked McCovey (who had 521 career home runs in the major leagues) whether it was the longest ball he’d hit. “I don’t know if it was the longest,” Shannon said McCovey replied, “but it was the hardest.” Boxscore

Cardinals catcher Tim McCarver told writer Roger Angell of The New Yorker magazine, “There’s no doubt in my mind about this. It was as if McCovey had hit it off a tee. It caromed off the upper part of the scoreboard and bounced back onto the field.”

The book “Baseball’s Ultimate Power: Ranking the All-Time Greatest Distance Home Run” had this description of McCovey’s St. Louis home run: “The ball was struck on a line drive trajectory that resulted in a 515-foot journey.”

The Cardinals’ 2005 Busch Stadium commemorative yearbook said many who witnessed McCovey’s blast will continue to regard it as the longest home run in that stadium’s history. “That may be the farthest hit anywhere,” Shannon said. “I’ll never forget it as long as I live.”

In the first inning, with the Cardinals using an infield shift against the left-handed slugger, McCovey bunted for a single. Asked by Jack Hanley of The San Mateo Times whether he got more pleasure from the bunt or from the mammoth home run, McCovey replied, “The more I think about it, the more I’m becoming convinced I get a bigger kick out of the bunt. It’s because, when you do the unexpected, the other fellow is completely surprised and it’s a trifle upsetting. The bunt can win a ballgame as much as a homer.”

(On Sept. 16, 1966, 12 days after his shot in St. Louis, McCovey hit a 505-foot home run off Mets starter Jack Fisher at San Francisco’s Candlestick Park. It’s the longest home run hit at that stadium, according to the San Francisco Examiner. Boxscore)

Until McGwire arrived, Pirates first baseman Willie Stargell came closest to challenging McCovey’s home run for longest hit at Busch Memorial Stadium. On July 4, 1979, Stargell hit a slider from reliever Darold Knowles 510 feet, above and to the right of the scoreboard. Boxscore

“That’s the longest home run I’ve ever seen hit in this ballpark by a left-hander,” Cardinals first baseman Keith Hernandez said to the Associated Press.

Said Stargell: “When I saw it go out, I saw (Knowles) flinging something like his cap. He was disgusted. It was a ball that Darold, I’m sure, got in an area he didn’t want. It was a nice, easy swing. I had no idea it was going that far.”

Nineteen years after Stargell’s shot, McGwire hit what officially is called the longest home run at Busch Memorial Stadium. The 545-foot home run on May 16, 1998, against the Marlins’ Livan Hernandez hit the St. Louis Post-Dispatch sign in center field. For the remainder of the season, a giant Band-Aid marked the spot where the ball dented the sign. Boxscore

“It’s the best ball I’ve ever hit,” McGwire said. “I don’t think I can hit one better than that.”

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Don Drysdale vs. Stan Musial and the NL RBI record

Posted in Games, Hitters, Records on August 13, 2012| Leave a Comment »

(Updated July 25, 2020)

Mel Ott, the left-handed Giants slugger who five times led the National League in home runs during the 1930s, was one of the boyhood favorites of Stan Musial.

Musial, in turn, was one of the boyhood idols of Dodgers pitcher Don Drysdale.

When Musial surpassed Ott as the NL career leader in RBI by hitting a two-run home run against Drysdale on July 25, 1962, at St. Louis, it was a feat with special meaning for the Cardinals standout.

Musial broke Ott’s NL RBI record of 1,860.

In 2020, Hank Aaron is the major-league career leader in RBI at 2,297. Aaron also is the all-time NL leader at 2,202. Barry Bonds rates second in career NL RBI (1,996), 45 ahead of Musial (1,951).

Musial, 41, had a splendid season for the Cardinals in 1962. He was batting .351 entering the game against Drysdale and the Dodgers at Busch Stadium. “Small wonder that the Polish boy from Donora, Pa., earns more than most bank presidents,” the Los Angeles Times noted.

A winner of his last seven decisions, Drysdale entered the game with a 17-4 record and 2.90 ERA.

In the sixth inning, the Dodgers led, 2-0, when Musial faced Drysdale with Bill White on first. Drysdale’s first pitch to Musial was a fastball, low and away. Musial swung and launched a drive that bounced off the right-field light tower, about 85 feet above the playing field, the Associated Press reported. The ball ricocheted back onto the field and was retrieved by umpire Ed Vargo, who gave it to Cardinals trainer Bob Bauman for safekeeping. Boxscore

“Not many balls have been hit harder off me,” Drysdale told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. “If the light tower hadn’t stopped the ball, they’d have a tough time measuring the distance. The ball would have gone right through Hurricane Esther.”

The two RBI gave Musial 1,862, moving him ahead of Ott (who had driven in his last run in 1946) for the all-time NL lead.

In his book “Stan Musial: The Man’s Own Story,” Musial said, “Ottie, one of my early idols, was a class guy as well as a great player and I’m glad I had the chance to play against him. I liked his mannerisms and his manners.”

Drysdale congratulated Musial in the Cardinals clubhouse and told reporters Musial was his boyhood idol. Drysdale was 5 years old when Musial got his first major-league RBI in his debut game on Sept. 17, 1941.

“We didn’t have big-league baseball in California when I was growing up,” Drysdale said to the Post-Dispatch. “So I’d pick up the paper and look at the box scores. If Stan didn’t get at least one hit, I was unhappy.”

Replied Musial: “I’m glad I broke the record against a tough pitcher.”

Musial said Drysdale “has a real good sinker, his control is all right and he can strike out a man when he has to.”

Drysdale, like Musial, was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame. Musial batted .324 (22-for-68) against Drysdale, but the hit that gave him the career NL RBI lead was his lone career home run off the dominating Dodger.

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Lessons learned from Cardinals’ 19-0 loss to Pirates

Posted in Games, Hitters, Opponents, Pitchers, Records on August 10, 2012| 4 Comments »

Be careful not to tip your pitches and don’t let a blowout loss keep you down.

Those were among the lessons learned by the 1961 Cardinals after a humiliating loss to the Pirates.

The Pirates beat the Cardinals, 19-0, on Aug. 3, 1961, at St. Louis. It’s the most lopsided shutout loss in Cardinals history. Until then, the only other National League game decided by a 19-0 score was the Cubs’ victory over the Giants on June 7, 1906, according to The Sporting News.

Pittsburgh had 24 hits against three Cardinals right-handers: Al Cicotte, Bob Miller and Lindy McDaniel. Each of the nine Pirates in the starting lineup, including pitcher Harvey Haddix, had at least one hit.

“Some of our pitchers were tipping their pitches,” Cardinals manager Johnny Keane said to the Associated Press. “We were watching them closely after (the Pirates) got a big lead and we could call almost every pitch. Maybe the Pirates could, too.”

Cicotte, making the last start of a five-year big-league career, yielded eight runs in two innings. Miller gave up nine runs in three innings. McDaniel surrendered two runs, but shut out the Pirates over the last three innings.

Among the most notable Pittsburgh hitting achievements that Thursday night at Busch Stadium:

_ Roberto Clemente had hits in each of his first five at-bats. He finished 5-for-6, improving his league-leading batting average to .366, 24 points higher than the next-best hitter, Frank Robinson of the Reds.

“This is just one of those years when the balls are falling in for hits,” Clemente said. “I’m less tense this season than ever before. I can relax better at the plate.”

_ Smoky Burgess had two home runs (both off Cicotte) and six RBI. The homers were the first by Burgess since June 22.

“This is the first time in almost six weeks I’ve been able to pull the ball,” Burgess said. “I know now I tried to play too soon after I hurt my finger late in June. Everything is fine now.”

_ Dick Stuart hit a grand slam off Miller and finished with five RBI.

_ Bill Mazeroski, the eighth-place batter, had four hits.

_ Three Pirates, Don Hoak, Bill Virdon and Bob Skinner, each had three hits. All of Skinner’s hits were doubles.

Pittsburgh, the defending World Series champion, broke a five-game losing streak with the victory. Boxscore

“I can’t help thinking we’d be in the first division if you could spread those runs around a little,” Pirates manager Danny Murtaugh said.

The loss dropped the Cardinals to 48-53.

In a classic example of the power of perserverance, the Cardinals followed the blowout loss with an eight-game winning streak, turning around their season. The Cardinals were 20-9 in August and finished the season at 80-74.

Among the wins in that streak: a shutout of Pittsburgh. On Aug. 9, six days after the Pirates scored 19, Curt Simmons and Ed Bauta combined for a seven-hitter in St. Louis’ 4-0 victory.

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Cardinals rode avalanche of fans to 13 doubles in game

Posted in Games, Hitters, Records on August 8, 2012| Leave a Comment »

The Cardinals collected a club-record 13 doubles in a game against the Cubs, but were aided by unusual circumstances.

On July 12, 1931, the first-place Cardinals played the Cubs in a Sunday doubleheader at Sportsman’s Park in St. Louis. The Cubs’ player-manager was former Cardinals standout Rogers Hornsby.

“The park, with fewer than 35,000 seats, was inadequate to accommodate all who wanted to see the struggle,” The Sporting News reported, “and shortly after daybreak the eager customers began to arrive at the park. The gates were opened at 9 o’clock and long before noon every unreserved seat in the park was occupied and the spectators were standing in the aisles.”

With insufficient security to manage the growing wave of arrivals, ballpark and team officials lost control of the situation and spectators pressed toward the outfield gates in confusion.

“When the gates in the bleacher and pavilion walls were opened, the customers avalanched out into the field like invading hordes,” The Sporting News reported. “There were no police or guards to herd them into position and they spilled all over the field. An attempt was made to herd the fans back to the walls, but it was hopeless.”

According to the Associated Press, “Umpires appealed to the crowd to move back. Finally, a police detail arrived and aided in the work.”

The opener of the doubleheader began with thousands of people standing in the outfield. The overflow, according to The Sporting News, was deepest in right field “about 70 feet beyond first base and extending through center field, not more than 150 feet back of second base and across over (to) the left foul line, perhaps 100 feet beyond third base.”

Official attendance was 45,715. That exceeded by 7,419 the previous regular-season record crowd for a Cardinals home date (against the Giants on May 20, 1928).

The doubleheader was played, The Sporting News opined, “under unspeakable conditions.”

Uncatchable balls hit into the outfield crowd were declared ground-rule doubles.

The Cubs won the opener, 7-5, overcoming a 3-2 Cardinals lead by scoring five runs in the seventh, three on Hack Wilson’s home run off Bill Hallahan. The Cubs hit five doubles; the Cardinals, four.

“Conditions for that first game were bad enough, but they were excellent compared to those that prevailed during the second contest,” The Sporting News reported.

The Cardinals and Cubs combined for 23 doubles in the second game, and the Cardinals won, 17-13.

All of the doubles were official, though most were tainted.

“Pop flies that good infielders could have caught dropped in the crowd for doubles and the two games were more like county fair exhibitions than major league contests,” The Sporting News reported. “In the two games, there were 32 doubles and perhaps six of the two-baggers were legitimate.”

Seven players accounted for the Cardinals’ 13 doubles in Game 2. Rip Collins and Gus Mancuso hit three apiece. Chick Hafey and Frankie Frisch each hit two. George Watkins, Andy High and Ernie Orsatti contributed one each.

The Cubs got doubles from Woody English and Gabby Hartnett (each with three), Footsie Blair (two) and Rogers Hornsby and Les Bell (one apiece). Boxscore

The 1931 Cardinals finished as the major-league leaders in doubles, with 353. The Cubs were second at 340.

Previously: Rip Collins was one-of-a-kind hitter for Cardinals

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Whiteyball: Willie McGee at short, Ricky Horton in right

Posted in Games, Hitters, Managers, Opponents, Pitchers on August 6, 2012| Leave a Comment »

(Updated Aug. 7, 2018)

Imagine a Cardinals lineup of Willie McGee at shortstop, Ricky Horton in right field and Jose Oquendo on the mound.

Manager Whitey Herzog could.

In 1987, during a blowout loss to the Phillies, Herzog made all of those unusual moves. He also batted Oquendo for Jack Clark and used John Tudor as a pinch-hitter with two runners on base.

On Aug. 7, 1987, the Cardinals were in first place in the National League East Division, but on that Friday night at Philadelphia’s Veterans Stadium the Phillies grabbed control early, scoring seven runs in the first two innings off Joe Magrane.

In the fifth inning, with the Phillies ahead 12-1, St. Louis had runners on first and second, two outs, when Herzog lifted Clark, the Cardinals’ slugging first baseman, for Oquendo.

Oquendo struck out against Phillies starter Shane Rawley and stayed in the game, replacing Ozzie Smith at shortstop.

In the eighth, Philadelphia led 12-4 and St. Louis had runners on first and third with one out. Reliever Bill Dawley was due to bat against Kent Tekulve, the Phillies’ sidearm-throwing right-hander. Herzog instead sent another pitcher, Tudor, a left-handed batter, to face Tekulve.

Tudor, a career .154 hitter, grounded into an inning-ending 4-6-3 double play, lost his balance as he tried to beat the relay throw and fell. “He runs down the line like a damn nut,” Herzog said to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

Things got even more strange.

Needing a pitcher to replace Dawley for the bottom of the eighth, Herzog turned to his shortstop. Oquendo already had played every position except pitcher and catcher in 1987.

To replace Oquendo in the infield, Herzog moved his center fielder, Willie McGee, to shortstop. The right fielder, John Morris, moved to center. That left the Cardinals without a right fielder. So Herzog put pitcher Ricky Horton in that spot.

It would be the only times in their big-league careers McGee would play shortstop and Horton would appear in the outfield.

Two balls were hit to right field. Both carried over the head of the harried Horton. The first, by Glenn Wilson, was ruled a double and drove in a run. The second was a single by Lance Parrish that scored Wilson.

“Horton played what must be described as periscope outfield,” the Post-Dispatch reported. “He would take two steps and watch from afar as the ball sailed over his head.”

“Some outfielders shy away from the walls,” Horton said to The Sporting News. “I just happened to shy away 30 yards from it.”

After watching the spectacle from the mound, Oquendo said, “I could have got out of the inning. We need better outfielders.”

Said Horton: “I apologized to Jose, but the good thing is I didn’t get anybody hurt, including myself.”

McGee handled his defensive chores at shortstop skillfully. With a runner on first, Milt Thompson grounded to McGee, who fielded the ball and threw to second for the forceout. Later in the inning, with Parrish at first, Steve Jeltz grounded to first baseman Jim Lindeman, who threw to McGee covering second for the forceout.

Oquendo surrendered three runs on four hits and a walk in his inning of relief work. He also hit a batter, his friend and fellow Puerto Rican Luis Aguayo.

“The best pitch he threw was when he hit the guy,” umpire Joe West said to the Post-Dispatch.

Before facing his first batter, Oquendo told catcher Steve Lake he could throw six different types of pitches. After his outing, Oquendo quipped, “He called the wrong pitches.”

Lake good-naturedly replied, “He says he’s got six pitches. I call fastball and he says, ‘Yeah.’ I call another fastball. ‘Yeah.’ Then I call something else. He says, ‘No.’ ”

(Oquendo would pitch for the Cardinals in two more games, one in 1988 and the other in 1991. He went four innings in 1988 against the Braves and took the loss in a 19-inning game won by Atlanta, 7-5.)

After the debacle in Philadelphia, a 15-5 Phillies win that broke a six-game losing streak, Herzog told the Associated Press, “In 162 games, you’ll have one like this.” Boxscore

Previously: How Andy Van Slyke amazed Jose Oquendo

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September hot streak carried 1982 Cardinals to title

Posted in Games, Hitters, Pitchers on August 3, 2012| Leave a Comment »

An eight-game winning streak over seven days in mid-September broke open a tight division race and propelled the Cardinals to their first National League East title in 1982. From there, St. Louis swept the Braves in the league championship series and defeated the Brewers in a seven-game World Series.

On Sept. 14, the 1982 Cardinals were at a critical point in their season. In losing 2-0 the night before to Philadelphia and ex-Cardinal Steve Carlton, St. Louis had slipped out of first place, a half-game behind the Phillies. Boxscore

With two more to play at Philadelphia before heading to New York for a five-game series, including back-to-back twi-night doubleheaders, against the Mets, the Cardinals appeared to be in jeopardy of falling farther behind.

Instead, buoyed by spectacular pitching (including starts from a Mexican League retread and a 43-year-old left-hander), the Cardinals regrouped and won the next eight in a row from Sept. 14 through Sept. 20. The streak placed the Cardinals comfortably into first place, 5.5 games ahead of Philadelphia.

During the streak against the Phillies and the Mets, the Cardinals held their opponents to seven total runs in winning eight, seven on the road.

Here is how it happened:

_ Sept. 14 at Philadelphia, Cardinals 2, Phillies 0: Backed by catcher Darrell Porter’s two-run home run, John Stuper (7.1 innings) and Bruce Sutter combined on the shutout. In the eighth inning, with the bases loaded, Sutter got third baseman Mike Schmidt to bounce into an inning-ending double play.

“The eighth and ninth innings belonged to me,” Sutter said to the Associated Press. Boxscore

_ Sept. 15 at Philadelphia, Cardinals 8, Phillies 0: Joaquin Andujar, overcoming a bruised right knee, retired the first 12 batters and finished with a three-hit shutout, his fifth of the season. Right fielder George Hendrick drove in four runs, two with sacrifice flies.

“We still have a long way to go … We have to beat everybody, not just Philadelphia,” Andujar said to United Press International. Boxscore

_ Sept. 17 at New York, Game 1, Cardinals 3, Mets 2: Eric Rasmussen, who spent most of the season with Yucatan in the Mexican League, joined the Cardinals in September. Making his first big-league start since 1980, Rasmussen held the Mets to four hits and two runs in seven innings. Sutter relieved and pitched three scoreless innings for the win.

In the 10th, rookie center fielder Willie McGee doubled, driving in first baseman Keith Hernandez from second with the winning run. Boxscore

_ Sept. 17 at New York, Game 2, Cardinals 7, Mets 1: Steve Mura (5.2 innings) started and earned the win, his last as a Cardinal and his first in more than a month. Doug Bair pitched 3.1 innings of scoreless relief.

After sweeping a doubleheader started by the unlikely duo of Rasmussen and Mura, manager Whitey Herzog told the Associated Press, “My pitching has been good this year. I have no complaints.” Boxscore

_ Sept. 18 at New York, Game 1, Cardinals 2, Mets 0: Bob Forsch (7.1 innings) and Bruce Sutter combined on the shutout. David Green, getting the start in center field, hit a fourth-inning home run off ex-Cardinal Pete Falcone. Boxscore

_ Sept. 18 at New York, Game 2, Cardinals 6, Mets 2: Jim Kaat, 43, got the start, his first since June and the 625th and last of his major-league career. Kaat went three innings and limited the Mets to a run, a solo homer by catcher Bruce Bochy. Jeff Lahti pitched the last six innings for the win. Boxscore

_ Sept. 19 at New York, Cardinals 3, Mets 1: Stuper (6.1) innings and Bair combined on another gem, completing the five-game sweep.

“I never figured on taking all five,” Herzog said to the Associated Press. “Maybe three, possibly four, but never five.” Boxscore

_ Sept. 20 at St. Louis, Cardinals 4, Phillies 1: Hendrick’s two-run double during a three-run fifth knocked out ex-Cardinal John Denny. Boxscore

Seven days later, the Cardinals clinched the division championship with a 4-2 victory over the Expos at Montreal. Boxscore

The 1982 Cardinals received several outstanding individual performances in September. Among the best:

_ Andujar, 5-0 record, 0.81 ERA.

_ Bair, 2 saves, 1.65 ERA.

_ Hendrick, .341 batting average, .383 on-base percentage, 17 RBI.

_ Hernandez, .333 batting average, .438 on-base percentage, 13 RBI.

_ Sutter, 6 saves, 2.04 ERA.

Previously: Jim Kaat interview: 1982 Cardinals were most close-knit club

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