RetroSimba

Discovered at a tryout camp in Greensboro, N.C., at age 18 in the autumn of 1934, Enos Slaughter made a rapid rise through the Cardinals’ system. From almost the first day Slaughter arrived at the Cardinals’ major-league spring training site in Daytona Beach, Fla., in 1938, manager Frankie Frisch deemed the rookie the starting right fielder.

Confident and talented, Slaughter collected an extra-base hit in each of his first five regular-season games for the 1938 Cardinals.

Slaughter, a left-handed batter, had an extra-base hit in each of five games against the Pirates and Cubs from April 19 through April 23 in 1938. Slaughter, who would turn 22 on April 27, had three doubles, a triple and a home run in that stretch, with a batting average of .435 and a slugging percentage of .783.

In a report about Slaughter in The Sporting News in May 1938,  J. Roy Stockton wrote: “The farm system and the scouts can take pride in his development and point to him as a shining example of how rapidly a young man can advance in the club’s great organization if he has the stuff.”

Slaughter, a native of Roxboro, N.C., was a standout high school player. He attended the Cardinals’ tryout camp as a second baseman. He had trouble fielding grounders consistently, but displayed a strong arm, speed and hitting ability. The Cardinals signed Slaughter and converted him into an outfielder.

In his first professional season, 1935 at Class D Martinsville (Va.), Slaughter had 25 doubles, 11 triples and 18 home runs in 109 games. He went to Class B Columbus (Ga.) in 1936. Playing for manager Eddie Dyer, Slaughter hit .325 with 31 doubles and 20 triples in 151 games.

At Class AA Columbus (Ohio) in 1937, Slaughter put together a season that earned him his chance at the major-league roster the following year. Slaughter hit .382 and compiled a .609 slugging percentage, with 245 hits, 42 doubles, 13 triples and 26 home runs in 154 games.

While at Columbus, manager Burt Shotton gave Slaughter the nickname “Country.” Wrote The Sporting News: “It appealed to the youngster who loves the cows and chickens and the earth which his family has tilled through many generations.”

At spring training in 1938, Frisch was seeking a right fielder to replace Don Padgett, who hit .314 but committed 11 errors in 1937, and join an outfield of Joe Medwick in left and Terry Moore in center. Slaughter was the immediate choice.

“Enos hits to all fields, has made a goodly share of extra-base blows and has shown as strong a punch against left-handers as against the supposedly easier right-handers,” The Sporting News reported.

In his major-league debut, in the Cardinals’ 1938 opener at home against the Pirates on April 19, Slaughter, batting third, was 3-for-5 with a double, starting his extra-base streak. Boxscore

The next day, Slaughter hit his first big-league home run, a two-run shot in the ninth inning off Jim Tobin of the Pirates. Boxscore

The 1938 Cardinals lost their first three games and appeared headed to a fourth consecutive loss when they trailed the Cubs, 5-2, heading into the ninth inning at Chicago on April 22. Slaughter rescued the Cardinals, hitting a bases-loaded triple and scoring the winning run on an error, giving St. Louis a 6-5 victory. Boxscore

Asked to explain the difference between minor-league and big-league pitching, Slaughter replied, “It’s the better control that makes the pitchers harder to hit up here.”

Slaughter finished his rookie season with a .276 batting mark, .438 slugging percentage, 20 doubles, 10 triples and eight home runs.

He played 13 years for the Cardinals in a 19-season major-league career that earned him induction into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1985.

Previously: Hornsby, Musial, Slaughter, Brock all singled for hit No. 2,000

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(Updated Aug. 27, 2015)

An indicator of how special a hitter Ted Simmons was is the number of four-hit games he had for the Cardinals.

Simmons achieved four hits in a game 19 times as a Cardinal.

Simmons had more four-hit games (six) against the Cubs than any other opponent.

Here is a look at Simmons’ five most notable four-hit games as a Cardinal:

_ Cardinals 11, Pirates 0, Aug. 14, 1971, at Pittsburgh: Simmons caught Bob Gibson’s only career no-hitter and went 4-for-6 with a RBI and two runs scored. It was Simmons’ first four-hit game in the big leagues.

Simmons is the only Cardinals catcher to achieve four hits in a game in which he caught a no-hitter.

Simmons’ four hits came against three pitchers: a RBI-single off Bob Johnson in the first, a fifth-inning double off Bob Moose, and singles in the sixth and eighth innings off Bob Veale. Boxscore

In the book “The Ted Simmons Story,” Simmons said of the no-hit game by Gibson, “I’d never seen anything like it. I guess it will always remain my biggest thrill in baseball.”

_ Cardinals 2, Cubs 1, Sept. 30, 1972, at Chicago: In an admirable display of durability and productivity, Simmons was 4-for-7, scored the winning run, caught all 16 innings, made 15 putouts and committed no errors in a game that took 4:49 to complete.

In the 16th, Simmons led off with a double against Tom Phoebus and scored on Ted Sizemore’s single to left, breaking the 1-1 tie. Boxscore

_ Cardinals 8, Reds 0, June 13, 1973, at Cincinnati: Simmons came stunningly close to catching another no-hitter while collecting four hits.

Rick Wise held the Reds hitless until Joe Morgan singled to center with one out in the ninth. Wise settled for a one-hitter and the win.

Morgan singled sharply on a 2-and-1 belt-high fastball. Simmons had called for a curve.

“You have to go with your pitcher _ he’s the man who’s going for the no-hitter,” Simmons said to The Sporting News. “He wanted to challenge them with his best pitch. I thought when Pete Rose (first batter in the ninth) flied out, the no-hitter was in the bag. Rick had pinpoint control. He was painting the outside corners on both right- and left-handed batters.”

Simmons was 4-for-5, including a two-run single off Jack Billingham in the Cardinals’ seven-run third inning. Boxscore

_ Cardinals 8, Braves 7, May 4, 1976, at Atlanta: Simmons was 4-for-5 with three RBI, including the game-winning hit.

With the score 7-7 in the 12th, Simmons hit a one-out double to the right-center field gap off Adrian Devine, scoring Bake McBride from first. Boxscore

It was Simmons’ second four-hit game in four days. As the starting left fielder, he had four hits on May 1 against the Dodgers.

_ Cardinals 8, Braves 5, June 9, 1980, at Atlanta: Simmons played an integral role in assuring Whitey Herzog’s first game as St. Louis manager was a success. Simmons was 4-for-4 and scored three runs.

In the 10th, with the score tied 5-5 and Larry Bradford pitching, Keith Hernandez walked and Simmons followed with a single to center. Bradford was replaced by Gene Garber, who yielded a three-run home run to the first batter he faced, George Hendrick. Boxscore

Previously: The story of how Ted Simmons became a Cardinal

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With a dominating hitting performance, Matt Carpenter joined an exclusive and eclectic Cardinals rookie club.

Batting sixth and starting at first base, Carpenter was 4-for-4 with five RBI, a home run and a triple in the Cardinals’ 10-3 victory over the Cubs on April 15 in St. Louis. Carpenter, a left-handed batter, had a RBI-single off left-hander Paul Maholm in the second inning, a two-run homer off right-hander Lendy Castillo in the fifth and a two-run triple off right-hander Rodrigo Lopez in the seventh. Boxscore

According to the Elias Sports Bureau, Carpenter is the third Cardinals rookie with four hits, five RBI and a home run in a game. The others are third baseman Les Bell (1925) and first baseman Fred Whitfield (1962).

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch and MLB.com, using information supplied by a Cardinals media relations staffer, reported outfielder Joe Hague also had four hits, five RBI and a home run in a 1970 game as a St. Louis rookie.

(Though Hague did achieve such a performance, I believe he wasn’t a rookie when it occurred. According to Major League Baseball, a player is considered a rookie if he hasn’t exceeded 130 big-league at-bats and hasn’t accumulated more than 45 days on a big-league team’s active roster. Hague accumulated more than 45 days on the Cardinals’ roster in 1969. He opened the ’69 season with the Cardinals and was with them until being demoted to the minor leagues in mid-June.)

Nonetheless, the magnitude of Carpenter’s achievement is placed in perspective when one considers it’s been at least four decades (and probably longer) since any other Cardinals rookie did the same.

Here’s how the others did it:

LES BELL

After appearing in fewer than 18 games for St. Louis in 1923 and again in 1924, Bell, 23, opened the 1925 season as the Cardinals’ everyday third baseman.

On April 18 at Chicago, the rookie, batting fifth, went 5-for-6 with two home runs and six RBI in the Cardinals’ 20-5 victory over the Cubs.

A right-handed batter, Bell hit a three-run homer off right-hander Guy Bush in the fourth and a two-run homer off right-hander Elmer Jacobs in the seventh. Bell also had two doubles and a single. It would be the only five-hit game of his nine-year big-league career. Boxscore

FRED WHITFIELD

A first baseman and left-handed batter, Whitfield as a rookie had a reputation as a potent hitter held back by fielding deficiences. On Aug. 12, 1962, Whitfield, 24, started at first base in the second game of a doubleheader against the Phillies at St. Louis. Batting third, he went 4-for-5 with a home run and five RBI, though the Phillies completed a sweep with a 9-7 victory.

In the sixth inning, Whitfield hit a grand slam off left-hander Bill Smith, giving the Cardinals a 7-6 lead. It was St. Louis’ first grand slam of the season. Whitfield also had a double and two singles. Boxscore

“Fred Whitfield is the greatest hitter I’ve ever seen _ for the number of times I’ve seen him bat against us,” Phillies manager Gene Mauch said to The Sporting News.

In 1970, Whitfield finished his nine-year big-league career with the Expos, managed by Mauch.

JOE HAGUE

Whether or not he was a rookie, Hague, a left-handed batter, deserves mention here for going 4-for-5 with a home run and five RBI in the Cardinals’ 9-2 victory over the Mets on May 28, 1970, at New York.

Batting sixth and playing right field, Hague, 26, had a two-run single off right-hander Don Cardwell in the first, a solo homer off left-hander Tug McGraw in the eighth and a two-run single off McGraw in the ninth. Hague also singled in the sixth. Boxscore

The home run was the first by a Cardinals batter other than Richie Allen or Joe Torre in nearly three weeks.

(Note: In the next game after Carpenter’s historic performance, he hit a bases-loaded sacrifice fly in the 10th inning to give the Cardinals a 2-1 win over the Reds on April 17. According to Elias Sports Bureau, Carpenter is the first rookie with a walk-off RBI in the major leagues this season.)

Previously: Is David Freese capable of 100-RBI season?

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(Updated March 1, 2022)

In 2000, Will Clark produced four home runs in the first five games he played for the Cardinals.

A first baseman, Clark was acquired by the Cardinals from the Orioles on July 31, 2000, in a trade for minor-league infielder Jose Leon. The first-place Cardinals, seeking to secure the National League Central Division crown, saw Clark, 36, as a replacement for slugger Mark McGwire, who was sidelined because of tendinitis in his right knee. In 79 games with the 2000 Orioles, Clark batted .301 with nine home runs and 28 RBI.

San Francisco treat

With the Giants from 1986-93, Clark batted .299 with 1,278 hits in 1,160 games and an on-base percentage of .373. In the 1987 National League Championship Series versus the Cardinals, Clark batted .360 with nine hits in seven games. Nine months later, in July 1988 at St. Louis, Clark got into a tussle with Cardinals infielders Jose Oquendo and Ozzie Smith, who didn’t like the way he slid into second base.

Asked what he thought about Clark becoming his teammate, Oquendo, a coach with the 2000 Cardinals, told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, “Will is a nice guy. He knows the game, knows how the game should be played.”

Regarding their 1988 altercation, Oquendo said, “That’s all forgotten. We always have joked about it every time we see each other.”

Warm welcome

Clark was delighted to join the Cardinals and play for a contender. In an interview with the Baltimore Sun, Clark said his message to the Cardinals was, “I’ll do whatever you need me to do. That’s what team players do. That’s how you win, by going about things in a team concept. Whatever (manager) Tony La Russa and the Cardinals want me to do, I’ll do.”

La Russa told the Associated Press, “Will Clark is a winning-type of veteran. He should help us … (Clark) knows how to come up and get a base hit in a key situation. He’s a very competitive guy.”

Clark was in the second season of a two-year, $11 million contract. As part of the trade, the Orioles agreed to pay about half of Clark’s remaining salary for the season, the Baltimore Sun reported.

“There was a great deal of interest from Clark’s side to try to come here,” Cardinals general manager Walt Jocketty said to the Post-Dispatch. “He wanted to play on a winner.”

Columnist Tom Wheatley of the Post-Dispatch concluded, “Clark’s team-first attitude will fit right in.”

Sizzling slugger

In his Cardinals debut, Aug. 1, 2000, at Montreal, Clark entered the game in the sixth inning to play first base, replacing Eduardo Perez. In the seventh, Clark doubled versus Expos reliever Anthony Telford in his first Cardinals at-bat. Boxscore

Clark started at first base in each of the Cardinals’ next four games _ and he hit a home run in each. Here’s a look:

_ Aug. 2, 2000, Cardinals 10, Expos 7, at Montreal: Batting cleanup, Clark went 3-for-4 with a walk, two RBI and two runs scored. He hit a second-inning solo home run against Mike Johnson. Boxscore and video

_ Aug. 4, 2000, Braves 6, Cardinals 4, at St. Louis: In a preview of the NL Division Series matchup, Clark, batting sixth, hit a solo home run against Tom Glavine in the second inning on the first pitch he saw in his first home game as a Cardinal. Clark received a standing ovation from the crowd of 48,901 when he walked to the plate for the first time, and he got a curtain call after hitting the home run. Boxscore and video

“After that first standing ovation, in my heart I bonded with them already before I even stepped to the plate,” Clark said. “The change of scenery, the emotional lift it gave me, means a lot. The batteries have been recharged.”

_ Aug. 5, 2000, Cardinals 5, Braves 0, at St. Louis: Clark hit a two-run home run in the first inning against John Burkett, a former Giants teammate. Clark also drew two walks and scored twice. Boxscore

_ Aug. 6, 2000, Braves 6, Cardinals 4, at St. Louis: Clark’s solo home run against Kevin Millwood in the fourth inning was part of a 3-for-4 performance. Clark’s batting average after five games with the Cardinals was .643. Boxscore

“I’ve got a whole new attitude,” Clark said. “I’m loving life.”

In a profile of Clark after he joined the Cardinals, Sports Illustrated’s Kostya Kennedy described him as “St. Louis’ swaggering shaman, a wise head on the field and a spirited voice in the clubhouse.”

“Sarcastic, cantankerous and quick to carp in his chipmunk-pitched Louisiana drawl, Clark struts through the clubhouse razzing all men equally,” Kennedy noted.

Real deal

In a 2019 interview with Cardinals broadcasters Dan McLaughlin and Rick Horton, Clark recalled when he joined the team he was brought in to see La Russa, who said, “We let the players police themselves and that’s what I want you to do. I want you to run the clubhouse.”

Clark replied, “Sounds great to me.”

“I had a lot of fun doing it,” Clark said. “J.D. Drew and Rick Ankiel took some (verbal) beatings. Rick didn’t mention that in his book, I don’t think.”

McGwire returned to the Cardinals in September, but was limited to 14 at-bats for the month. Clark played in 51 regular-season games for the 2000 Cardinals and batted .345 (59-for-171) with 12 home runs, 42 RBI, a .426 on-base percentage and a .655 slugging percentage.

Sparked by Clark’s hitting, the Cardinals won the division title, finishing 10 games ahead of the second-place Reds.

Clark continued to deliver in the postseason. He hit a three-run home run against Glavine in Game 2 of the NL Division Series at St. Louis on Oct. 5. Boxscore In the NL Championship Series against the Mets, Clark led the Cardinals with a .412 batting average (7-for-17).

The Cardinals offered Clark a chance to return in 2001, but it would have meant being a utility player and learning to play the outfield. He opted instead to retire from playing.

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